Library and Information Science Commons^™

Reflections On The Art Of Mentoring, Richard Leiter

Marvin and Virginia Schmid Law Library: Faculty Publications

I know that there are probably many articles on the subject of mentoring. Many of these articles have been written by colleagues, or recognized experts in the field of management. However, I have not read these articles and in advance I apologize for not reading them all or using them as references in the following essay. I come from a school of thought about management that believes that good managers are not made. They are born. This is not to say that we can't learn things about management. The fact is, we learn a great deal from others when we …

Review Of Race: The Reality Of Human Differences By Vincent Sarich And Frank Miele; Westview, 2004, Sue Ann Gardner

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

This is a non-rigorous scientific examination of race that largely relies on 40-year-old work. The thesis of the book is that race accounts for significant differences among humans, including intelligence. While medically and culturally race has meaning, in terms of biology it is not generally considered to be a relevant attribute of an organism. To use biological data as these authors do, and to ignore so much biological work that has touched on the issue of human racial differences over the past 40 years, calls into question the conclusions made here. Racists throughout modern history have used science to justify …

Transitioning To The Learning Organization, Joan Giesecke, Beth Mcneil

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Peter Senge popularized the concept of the learning organization, and several libraries have tried, with varying degrees of success, to adopt the learning organization model. This article explores why organizations consider attempting to become learning organizations, includes an overview of the theory of learning organizations, presents steps to becoming a learning organization, and describes examples of learning organization efforts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries and other libraries.

Business, Economics, And Labor, Tracy Bicknell-Holmes

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Falling In And Out Of Love: The Impact Of Moving To A Remote Location On Cataloging Workflow, Jean Dickinson, Charity K. Martin, Margaret Mering

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

As academic libraries undergo renovation and building projects, various technical service operations are frequently moved out of the main building and housed in an off-site location. The aim of this research was to discover, by means of a questionnaire, what the impact of such a move is on the workflow of professional catalogers. The researchers concluded that a positive experience on the part of the catalogers depends upon detailed planning, thoughtful administrative support, and an element of luck. However, some problems are unavoidable in moving catalogers away from the main collection.

Librarians And Link Rot: A Comparative Analysis With Some Methodological Considerations, David C. Tyler, Beth Mcneil

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

The longevity of printed guides to resources on the web is a topic of some concern to all librarians. This paper attempts to determine whether guides created by specialist librarians perform better than randomly assembled lists of resources (assembled solely for the purpose of web studies), commercially created guides ('Best of the web'-type publications), and guides prepared by specialists in library science and other fields. The paper also attempts to determine whether the characteristics of included web resources have an impact on guides' longevity. Lastly, the paper addresses methodological issues of concern to this and similar studies.

Document Delivery: An Analysis, Jeff Luzius

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

This paper will take a look at in-house document delivery activities in college research libraries. The process of document delivery will be explained and the amount of work at one institution will be displayed. An examination of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members will also take place to see who is providing document delivery and if the patron is charged. Lastly, a commentary on the value and service provided and things to consider will be touched on.

Usability Of E-Journals And Preference For The Virtual Periodicals Room: A Survey Of Mathematics Faculty And Graduate Students, Lutishoor Salisbury, Emilio Noguera

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Introduction

Using several variables, the University of Arkansas Libraries conducted a survey in 2002 to measure the nature and extent of journal use in the Mathematics Reading Room, the Virtual Periodicals Room and Mullins Library.

The aims of this survey were two-fold: firstly, to collect information on the current level of support for electronic-only journals to aid in collection development, and secondly, to ascertain whether a Virtual Periodicals Room is a viable alternative to the physical Reading Room for the Mathematics faculty.

Conclusion

It is obvious from the results of the survey that greater use is being made of the …

Digital Reference Evaluation: Assessing The Past To Plan For The Future, J. B. Hill, Cherie Madarash-Hill, Ngoc Pham Thi Bich

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Historically, libraries have routinely evaluated their reference services both quantitatively and qualitatively. With the increasing volume of digital reference transactions, there is a need to modify and apply to digital reference, the same evaluation techniques that have been used successfully in the evaluation of traditional reference service. At Southeastern Louisiana University, a recent evaluation of the library's Ask a Librarian digital reference service included an unobtrusive observation of current practice through a detailed examination of archived reference transactions, as well as an assessment of future needs through a survey of users. Through this evaluation, it was possible to assess the …

Paper Use And Recycling In Academic Libraries, Michele Calloway, Darren Callahan

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Conclusions

While it is difficult to predict what the future may hold in regard to paper use and recycling, without a doubt, academic libraries are sites of enormous consumption and they should be proactive in institutional improvements in waste management. A paperless society is unlikely to become a reality for a very long time, if ever, but what can libraries do now to discourage paper waste and encourage recycling? According to the results of this survey, libraries are taking steps to divert recyclables from the garbage. In the future, as people become even more accustomed to working in the electronic …

Bibliographic Instruction: Two Models Converging In A Common Goal, Stephen J. Shaw

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Introduction

This essay will explore research in the undergraduate curriculum by examining the divergent ways research is understood. The debate centers around the ways that the typical student perceives the role of the library in her education at the university. To limit the discussion to the relation between the student and the librarian misses the larger issue at stake. What needs does the average undergraduate have after completion of the B.A., if they have no plans to continue education further? Are research skills necessary only for the graduate student, or is there some truth to the humanistic notion of 'knowledge …

An Often-Tumultuous Saga Of Books And Book-Places In The World: A Review, Dayne Sherman

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Book review of Battles, Matthew. Library: An Unquiet History. W.W. Norton, New York, NY, 2003. $24.95.

Excerpt:

Library: An Unquiet History dignifies the work of librarians as a profession, something needed more now than ever before, as we encounter this chaotic Communication Age. It tells us why we are here toiling in the library by telling us how we arrived as keepers of books and guardians of democracy.

Tribal College Libraries, Charles D. Bernholz

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

Compares American Indian college libraries with depositories in U.S. territories in the Pacific, and argues for their inclusion in the Federal Depository Library Program.

Are They Really Teachers? Problem-Based Learning And Information Professionals, Michael Anderson, Virginia Baldwin

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Traditionally, working with teaching faculty is the primary consulting role for most faculty development professionals. The boundaries, however, are not always clear regarding instructional assistance that is provided to other personnel. This chapter demonstrates how collaboration among faculty consultants and information specialists can result in enhanced library utilization and bett er research-related instruction. Our model uses problem-based learning (PEL) as a vehicle for teaching research and retrieval skills in either a single class experience or in multiple classroom visits with an engineering librarian.

Computer Literacy: Necessity Or Buzzword?, Scott Childers

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

While the concept of computer literacy has existed for some time, the name has certainly changed. Whatever the name, the concept of computer literacy still has merit. By looking at the history of the computer literacy movement for grounding, we can build a definition for the next century and affirm that learning computer basics is a good thing for library staff to do.

The term computer literacy seems to have faded from library literature, but has the belief that the general populace should possess a basic computer-skill level faded as well? Have we already achieved this nebulous goal, or has …

Caveat Relocator: A Practical Relocation Proposal To Save Space And Promote Electronic Resources, David C. Tyler, Brian L. Pytlik Zillig

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Despite ever-increasing electronic information, space on library shelves continues to be a problem. This article discusses one library's efforts to find space on overcrowded library shelves by moving selected resources to off-swite storage and at the same time promoting use of electronic resources, namely the electronic journals that make up the JSTOR database. Issues explored include in-house use of bound periodicals, circulation statistics, interlibrary loan requests, and computer printing vs. photocopying for print titles available through JSTOR.

Reflections On Ranganathan’S Five Laws Of Library Science, Richard Leiter

Marvin and Virginia Schmid Law Library: Faculty Publications

This article is adapted from a column that I wrote for Legal Assistant Today in 1996. The column’s audience was legal assistants, some of whom, I discovered over my seven years as a columnist for the publication, had responsibility for managing law firm libraries or library resources in addition to their other duties. So from time to time my column drifted into advice about managing libraries. This particular column came about at a time when I was mentoring some younger librarians and discovered to my surprise that they did not know of Ranganathan’s Five Laws of Library Science. When I …

A Study Of Interdisciplinary Research Needs: Results From Input Of Faculty In Six Engineering Departments In Prioritizing Serial Subscriptions, Virginia A. Baldwin

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

Baldwin, Virginia (2003) "A Study of Interdisciplinary Research Needs: Results from Input of Faculty in Six Engineering Departments in Prioritizing Serial Subscriptions," American Society for Engineering Education Conference, June 23, 2003, Nashville, TN,

An Appreciation Of Ted Kooser, Paul Royster

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

A year before he was named U.S. Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser was honored by an event sponsored by the Friends of the University of Nebraska Press. These are remarks from that evening by Paul Royster, then director of the press. Included are introductions of speakers Suzanne Wise, Chuck Hassebrook, Charlie Tisdale, Laura Casari, Jonis Agee, and a telegram from Jim Harrison.

Building A New Infrastructure For Digital Media: Northwestern University Library, M. Claire Stewart, H. Frank Cervone

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

The Northwestern University Library has been a pioneer in text and media digitization. From early efforts primarily focused on enhancing access to reserve material to current projects involving vast quantities of streaming media, in great part these projects have been the result of close collaboration between the library and other units on campus, particularly Academic Technologies. As the depth and breadth of digitization efforts have increased, so have the technological and organizational issues. This article examines the history of digitization efforts at Northwestern University as a context for exploring the emerging issues most libraries face as digitization enters a new …

A Model For Strategic Business Instruction, Signe Swanson, Tracy Bicknell-Holmes

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of In The Shadow Of The Pali: A Story Of The Hawaiian Leper Colony By Lisa Cindrich; Putnam, 2002, Sue Ann Gardner

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

The leper colony on the Hawaiian island of Molokai has been covered in a number of books over the years, both fiction and nonfiction, many focusing on the efforts of Father Damien of Belgium, who sacrificed his own health to improve the conditions of the exiles. This latest volume is written from the perspective of a 12-year-old Hawaiian girl, Liliha, who contracts the disease from her cruel grandmother, and the novel is set in the years before Father Damien arrived at the colony in 1873. Before his arrival, there was anarchy, little food for the inhabitants, no health care, and …

A Celebration Of The Journals Of The Lewis And Clark Expedition, Paul Royster

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

Remarks at reception honoring Gary Moulton for the completion of the 13-volume edition, the publication of the 10-volume paperback edition, the publication of the one-volume compilation, and the inauguration of the online pilot project and website http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu; at the Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, February 28, 2003. Remarks include a publication history of the scholarly edition 1983-2003, and its importance to the fields of Western history, American literature, native American studies, geography, and the literature of discovery and exploration. Topics include funding, outreach, honors, participants, and the impact on the scholarly world and on the local economy.

Why Study The Holocaust?, Paul Royster

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

In February 2003 the University of Nebraska Press announced a new series of books—The Comprehensive History of the Holocaust—to be co-published with Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem. The series will contain 15 to 20 volumes representing the latest and best research by an international collection of scholars and historians, including Steven Bowman, Yitzhak Arad, Mosche Mosek, Lilliana Piccotto, Livia Rotkirchen, Wolf Grunner, Rene Poznansky, Jean Ancel, Yoav Gelber, and Christopher Browning. This series will, for the first time, present a complete authoritative history of oppression and mass-murder in Greece, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Rumania, the Soviet …

Strategies For Providing Access To A Specialized Collection: Cataloging Decisions Affecting The Quilt Newsletter Collection At The University Of Nebraska–Lincoln, Charity K. Martin, Mary Cassner

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Libraries often receive gifts of unique, specialized materials to add to their collections. In 1999, the University Libraries at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln received a quilt newsletter collection as an addition to the American Quilt Study Groups quilt collection. In order to provide the best access to the collection, the cataloger in charge of the quilt newsletters developed a unique classification number for the collection and organized the collection by state of origin, followed by organization.

Usability Testing At Florida International University Libraries: What We Learned, Sarah J. Hammill

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

The Florida International University Libraries’ Web site’s new look was launched in Fall 2001. As a result of the new look, a group formed to undertake a usability study on the top page of the site. The group tested three target groups to determine the usability of the top page. The study pointed out some revisions for the top page; however, more importantly, it suggested areas for future research.

Digitization In An Archival Environment, Sally Mckay

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Introduction

Cultural institutions such as museums, libraries, archives, and historical societies house remarkable collections of cultural artifacts. It is the responsibility of the staff working for those institutions to preserve, protect and provide responsible stewardship for the materials, and to the best of their ability, provide continued long-term access (Russell, 2000).

Advances in technology allow institutions to provide expanded access and education; however, there are important priorities that must be addressed prior to embarking on a digital conversion project.

Digitization in an archival environment includes taking a physical object or analog item, such as an art object, a tape recording, …

Review Of Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, And Profit By Vandana Shiva; South End Press, 2002, Sue Ann Gardner

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

A renowned expert in global agricultural and environmental issues, Shiva has produced another volume, this time on the perils of privatization and pollution of water resources. Covering water's significance, from its practical necessity to its spiritual essence, Shiva sets out to justify the premise that "The water crisis is the most pervasive, most severe, and most invisible dimension of the ecological devastation of the earth." Though the topic is timely and poignant, the presentation is more that of a collection of research notes than a fully formed essay. The organization is not straightforward either chronologically or in terms of subject …

Do We Catalog Or Not? How Research Libraries Provide Bibliographic Access To Electronic Journals In Aggregated Databases, Charity K. Martin, Paul S. Hoffman

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Traditionally, librarians have provided access to journal titles through the library’s catalog. With the introduction of full-text databases, which consist of articles from many different journals, librarians are faced with the challenge of providing access to these titles. This article reports the results of a survey which tried to determine if research libraries were attempting to catalog the titles in aggregated databases and the issues surrounding their decision.

Distributing Non-Marc Metadata: The Cugir Metadata Sharing Project, Adam Chandler, Elaine L. Westbrooks

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Technical Service departments throughout libraries today are increasingly in the position to create and maintain non-MARC metadata that may be shared among institutions. The Cornell University Geospatial Information Repository (CUGIR) Metadata Sharing Project is an example of a system that manages heterogeneous metadata such as MARC, Dublin Core, and Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM). The mechanics and policies required to exchange MARC records are mature and well understood. In contrast, non-MARC metadata resource sharing is largely uncharted territory. The authors present and discuss the mechanisms they implemented to enable heterogeneous metadata sharing. Now that CUGIR geospatial metadata records …