Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Libraries Across The Sea: Using A Virtual Presence And Skilled Student Assistants To Serve Students Abroad, Kimberly Posin Chan, Jaimie Beth Colvin, Marc Vinyard, Claire Leach, Mary Ann Naumann, Paul Stenis

Jaimie Beth Colvin

The authors discuss methods and challenges of supporting branch academic libraries overseas that are not staffed onsite by librarians or permanent staff. The authors present their two-pronged approach of creating a virtual presence carefully customized to the needs of the students studying abroad along with specially and highly trained student workers. The new program, grounded partly in theories from education and business management, is shown to have substantially improved both library services for our study abroad students as well as library student workers’ performance.

The Brief Wondrous Life Of The Syracuse Kindle, Melinda Dermody, Suzanne Preate, Nancy Turner, Scott Warren

Suzanne Preate

In the fall 2009 semester, the Syracuse University Library launched a pilot program to test two Kindle DX e-book readers as content delivery devices. The pilot objectives included exploring additional options for access to curricular resources that are cost-prohibitive and frequently requested by library users, testing a new technology, i.e., Kindle DX, for delivery of ebooks, gauging user reactions to e-book readers, and using Kindle statistics and user feedback to develop or modify services and technologies. Through the pilot, the Library gained practical experience with a new technology and attempted to determine whether an e-book reader loan program would interest …

University Data Policies And Library Data Services: Who Owns Your Data?, Lisa Zilinski, Abigail Goben, Kristin Briney

Lisa Zilinski

EDITOR’S SUMMARY: A review of research data and library data services presented on the websites of 206 top research universities as of July 2014 provided insights into policies and practices. Limited to publicly accessible information, the review indicated about half of the surveyed libraries offer some type of data services beyond a resource guide, about four in 10 had a librarian fully or partly dedicated to data management support and about one in 10 had a dedicated data repository. Institutions are likely to have a specific data policy if they are more involved in research and have higher research spending, …

The Life Of Pi: A Paper Born In Smu: Skit On Publishing, Open Access, Research Data, Pin Pin Yeo

YEO Pin Pin

The SMU librarians performed a skit in celebration of Open Access Week. The skit entitled "The Life of Pi: A Paper Born in SMU" tells the story of an original manuscript’s journey to get accepted in a journal, finally getting published in an open access journal and depositing an appropriate version in the institutional repository. The Library also wanted the research data to be deposited. Done with Singapore flavour using some Singlish, the skit was performed on 28 October at a function for faculty in the Li Ka Shing Library at the Singapore Management University. Cast: Rajendra Munoo, Tamera Hanken, …

Porch Reads: Encouraging Recreational Reading Among College Students., Heidi Gauder, Joan Giglierano, Christine Schramm

Joan Plungis

Leisure reading in America has declined in the last 20 years, especially among 18 to 24 year olds. Studies show, however, that a positive relationship exists between college students' academic achievement and the time they spend in recreational reading. Reading for pleasure improves reading comprehension, writing style, vocabulary, spelling, and grammatical development. Librarians at the Roesch Library, University of Dayton (OH), collaborated with colleagues in Residence Education on a yearlong pilot recreational reading program to address this cultural shift on a small scale. Porches, informal gathering places familiar to students, served as an appropriate theme for the program's goal of …

Factors That Increase The Probability Of A Successful Academic Library Job Search, Max Eckard, Ashley Rosener, Lindy Scripps-Hoekstra

Ashley Rosener

Finding a position in an academic library can be challenging for recent Library and Information Science (LIS) graduates. While LIS students are often encouraged to seek out experience, network, and improve upon their technology skills in hopes of better improving their odds in the jobmarket, little research exists to support this anecdotal advice. This study quantifies the academic and work experiences of recent LIS graduates in order to provide a better understanding of what factorsmost significantly influence the outcome of their academic library job searches. The survey results demonstrate that the job outlook is most positive for candidates who applied …

Assessment In Academic Libraries, Gregory Smith

Gregory A. Smith

Academic library assessment has a rich history, its roots being traceable to a time when today’s information technologies were beyond the realm of imagination. The field has developed at an accelerating pace for more than 40 years, fueled by scholarly and creative output within and beyond the field of library/information science. Prevailing economic, political, and technological conditions have already thrust assessment into the mainstream of academic library operations around the world, and this trend is unlikely to be reversed. In the past 20 years, advocates for library assessment have developed new venues for intellectual exchange, launching conferences and journals focused …

Measuring The International Usage Of U.S. Institutional Repositories, Lauren Fralinger, Jonathan Bull

Jonathan Bull

Purpose – In an educational world with increasing internationalization, digitization, assessment and financial justification, US institutions, especially academic libraries, must justify each new project. Institutional Repositories (IRs) are no exception. The authors attempt to identify factors that might affect the international usage of US IRs as part of assessment efforts to determine an IR's return-on-investment. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was disseminated to IR administrators asking for demographic information, international usage counts for website hits and downloads, and any internationalization efforts connected to the IR in order to determine any influencing factors on an IR's international usage. Findings – While many …

If You Build It, They Will Come (If You Invite Them Thoughtfully): Institutional Repositories In Academic Libraries, Janelle Wertzberger

Janelle Wertzberger

The road to a successful institutional repository is a long and involved one - so where would an interested library begin? What are some important initial considerations? What options exist for repository platforms? Eric Jeitner will discuss some of those considerations, as well as the methodology used to decide on the staging for Arcadia University's ScholarWorks repository.

After picking a platform, decisions must be made about what work belongs in your IR, and why. How can librarians build campus awareness about open access? Who should be promoting your IR? Janelle Wertzberger will talk about the education and outreach efforts that …

Embedding Librarians In Virtual Communities, Elizabeth Parang, Valerie Hill, Doug Campbell, Angela Colmenares, Lilly Ramin, Rhonda Super

Elizabeth Parang

No abstract provided.

Robots In The Library: Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems, Lowell Walters, Thomas Fesmire, Gregory Smith

Gregory A. Smith

While ASRS (automated storage and retrieval system) installations in libraries are not new, Liberty University’s was distinctive on several fronts: The ASRS vendor had no previous experience in libraries; the library aggressively chose to store some 70% of its main library collection in the ASRS; bins with books were preloaded as construction progressed, allowing for rapid ingestion into the ASRS and subsequent launch of regular retrieval; and the ASRS is a technological showpiece of the new library building. The speakers look at the planning, collection analysis, software development, loading and ingestion, and ILS management.

Mission Possible: A Retreat To Prepare Librarians To Infiltrate Upper-Level Curricula, Priscilla Finley, Diane Vanderpol, Susie Skarl, Sidney Lowe

Susie Skarl

From its humble beginnings a scant fifty years ago as a small desert school, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) has rapidly evolved into a dynamic urban academic institution dedicated to creating a learning environment that empowers students to become lifelong learners. UNLV's first classes were held in 1957, and its solitary campus building housed all of the classrooms, offices, science labs, and a library of 2,000 books managed by a part-time librarian. Today, the UNLV Libraries include the 302,000 square foot Lied Library, three campus branches, 125 employees, and a book collection that expanded to well past a …

The D.B. Weldon Library's Instruction Portfolio: A Grassroots, Team-Based Approach, Kim Mcphee, Melanie Mills, Marg Sloan

Melanie Mills

The Moving Targets Of Teaching And Technology: Virtual Reference As Information Literacy Intermediary, Melanie Mills, Jennifer Robinson

Melanie Mills

Don't Worry Mom, I'M At The Library: Making Connections With Undergraduate Students, Melanie Mills, Jennifer Robinson, Marisa Mitchell

Jennifer Robinson

For the past three years Western Libraries has introduced our services, collections and facilities to students via a welcome tent erected during orientation week. A great deal of planning goes into creating interactive and meaningful orientation displays that will capture attention and educate students about the role of the academic library as a physical and a virtual space!

The Life Of A Wiki: How Georgia State University Library's Wiki Enhances Content Currency And Employee Collaboration, Sarah Steiner, Joel Glogowski

Sarah King Steiner

In recent years, the ease of use and collaborative nature of the wiki has made it a popular tool in many libraries. Georgia State University Library has hosted an internal wiki since 2003, and since its inception it has been utilized in many different and innovative ways. This article will provide an overview of some of the more interesting uses of the GSU Library wiki, specifically, its life as a reference guide, training manual, committee meeting and planning ground, home for material price quotes, and finally, as a place for entertaining work-related content.

Information Workers In The Academy: The Case Of Librarians And Archivists At The University Of Western Ontario, Melanie Mills

Melanie Mills

For much of its history, the organizational culture for academic librarians and archivists at The University of Western Ontario was primarily a culture of the practitioner. While librarians and archivists supported teaching, research and service at Western, they did not directly engage in it. As a result of grassroots efforts undertaken by members of Western’s academic community in the mid-2000s however, the potential contributions of information workers to the teaching, research and service mandate of University began to garner recognition. Born out of this collective awakening, a successful union drive and shortly thereafter an inaugural Collective Agreement for The University …

It Takes A Village To Raise A Tent: A Case Study In Pitching The Academic Library To Incoming Undergraduate Students, Melanie Mills, Marisa Mitchell

Melanie Mills

Rather than continuing to pursue formal inclusion in the University of Western Ontario’s O-Week program, Western Libraries shifted its approach to library orientation for incoming undergraduate students by launching its very own orientation campaign in the fall of 2005. The following article details the planning process and subsequent launch of Western Libraries inaugural system-wide library orientation initiative, whose aim was to position Western Libraries strategically as a key contributor to ‘the best student experience’ at Western. The overall impact of the campaign, as well as its influence on future orientation initiatives at the University of Western Ontario are also considered …

The Effect Of Next-Generation Catalogs On Catalogers And Cataloging Functions In Academic Libraries, Susan Wynne, Martha Hanscom

Martha J. Hanscom

No abstract provided.

A Declaration Of Survey Interdependence, Tammy Sugarman, Jennifer Jones

Jennifer L. Jones

Georgia State University Library administered LibQUAL+®, the library service quality survey, in 2003, 2005, and 2007. In 2009 when it was time to make decisions about another administration of LibQUAL+®, opinions were mixed. Some administrators liked the longitudinal data our previous iterations provided, and the comments always are quite valuable. On the other hand, the response rate drops each year, even with the introduction of incentives in 2007. Additionally, while LibQUAL+® provides useful information, it is not always specific to reports required by the university, such as the library’s institutional effectiveness report. The library decided on a two-fold approach. We …

Institutional Repositories At Small Institutions In America: Some Current Trends, Melissa Nykanen

Melissa Nykanen

The research reported in this article was undertaken to determine the level of implementation of institutional repositories (IRs) at small institutions enrolling fewer than 10,000 students. The study analyzed quantitative and qualitative data from IRs at a number of small institutions with the aim of observing relevant patterns and trends that may or may not be unique to small institutions. The study concludes that IRs at small institutions exist in significant numbers, and they exhibit some unique patterns, particularly in the benefits and challenges specific to small institutions, the association with IR consortia, and the focus on student research.

Ordering Up Gimlet For Data Mining Success., Susan Gardner, Ken Simon

Susan Gardner Archambault

Positioning The Technological University Library In Higher Education And Human Resources Development In Africa, Elisha Chiware

Elisha Chiware

No abstract provided.

Snapshots Of Laptop Use In An Academic Library, Judi Briden, Ann Marshall

Ann Marshall

Information Literacy And Writing Across The Curriculum: Sharing The Vision, James Elmborg

James K. Elmborg

Points out the similarities and differences between library instruction and writing instruction in the higher education curriculum. Notes that information literacy librarians can learn from the experiences of composition instructors regarding curricular revision and reform. Suggests that one of the keys to information literacy reaching its potential is to find common ground with programs like Writing across the Curriculum.

Faculty Organizations In Arl Libraries: Activities And Documents, Susan Massey, Mary Sheble

Susan A. Massey

No abstract provided.