Library and Information Science Commons^™

Small Library, Big Job, Carol Reid

The Christian Librarian

Many small college libraries employ only one professional. T hat means one person serves as reference librarian, cataloger, acquisitions specialist, circulation supervisor, inter-library loan officer, periodicals manager, information literacy instructor, and administrator- as well as conm1ittee member and sometimes teacher. (We won't mention organist, student activity sponsor, or even volleyball coach.) Wearing so many hats at one time can be both a bane and a blessing. "No two days are ever alike." "I like being my own boss." " It's never boring." A 2004 ACL Conference roundtable discussion brought out all of these positives about working in the single-professional library. …

Free, Full-Text, Scholarly Journals On The Web, John Jaeger

The Christian Librarian

In the November, 2000 issue of College & Research Libraries, Michael Fesmire and Elizabeth Young had a fascinating article entitled, "Free Scholarly Electronic Journals: What Access Do College and University Libraries Provide?" In the article, they discussed the rapid growth of these free, academic, peer-reviewed journals on the Internet that covered all different subject areas. Through careful effort, the authors had located over 200 scholarly, full-text, peer reviewed journals, many of which were indexed in major services such as ERIC, Medline, MathSciNet, INSPEC, and C henucal Abstracts. They also noted, though, that most college and university libraries were not making …

Connecting The Gospel And Reality Via Fiction, Leanne Hardy

The Christian Librarian

Despite the fact that last year The Purpose Driven Life outsold Harry Potter 5, other than a blip around the time of Mel Gibson's record breaking film The Passion of the Christ, there has been a steady decline in the number of Christian bookstores over the past two years. And yet religious books are big sellers. Popular fiction is strong. Evangelical publishers are moving beyond Christian versions of secular genres and even breaking new ground in some areas. Ray Blackston's Flabbergasted (Revell, 2003) pokes fun at Southern church culture, where singles rank churches according to which has the best pick …

Resource Reviews, Phyllis Fox

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Resources On The Historical Study Of Jesus, Dennis Ingolfsland

The Christian Librarian

Jesus of Nazareth has been the center of significant media attention in recent years. Even before Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," Jesus had been the focus of featu re articles in Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report. Jesus was also the subject of television documentaries by PBS, A&E, T LC, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel and even a fu ll length prime time special by ABC News. Most presentations focus on Jesus as a man of history. In fact, the last 20 yea rs have been part of what scholars are now calling the "Third …

President's Note, Steve L. Preston

The Christian Librarian

The Association's Board of Directors met in October in Cedarville, Ohio. It was a busy and productive time. We reviewed work that is in progress in the Association office to improve record-keeping and the ability to provide data needed for planning and marketing. A process was begun to periodically survey ACL members on their satisfaction with services and products. Service standards were drafted by which to measure performance of ACL staff, officers, teams, and individual appointees. The surveys will enable us to revise the standards to better reflect members' expectations.

Motion Of Actions By The 48th Board Of Directors Of The Association Of Christian Librarians, June 12, 2003 - November 1, 2003

The Christian Librarian

The following motions are a record of the actions taken by the 48'h Board of Directors of the Association of Christian Librarians from June 12, 2003- November 1, 2003. Some business was conducted via email; other business was conducted at the midyear meeting of the Board of Directors in Cedarville, OH, Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2003.

Resources Received, Phyllis Fox

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Resource Reviews, Phyllis Fox

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Ministry Resource Center: Access Through A Database-Driven Website, Greg Sennema

The Christian Librarian

The new Ministry Resource Center (MRC) of Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary is a premiere collection of practical resources for all aspects of congregational ministry. To help MRC patrons locate appropriate resources, the College and Seminary s Hekman Library has created a website that combines information from manually created static webpages and bibliographic data imported from the Library s online catalog. The result is one website that gathers together, and provides access to, the entire MRC collection.

Beyond The Book: Promoting Effective Research, Jana M. Borchardt

The Christian Librarian

In the past library professionals have primarily collected and provided access to materials; however, this paper will argue that we must now go beyond access or "Beyond the Book. " One way to do this is to learn about the information search process and then assume a new and more assertive role as a "research advisor. " We need to change our patrons 'expectations so that they see us as knowledgeable about sources, yes, but also as experts on effective research as a process of discovery. Three relevant information search process models are covered, as well as the way people …

Resources Received, Phyllis Fox

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Frontmatter (The Christian Librarian 47:1)

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Extent Of Service: Minnesota Libraries Disability Services And Quality Of Websites: Assessing Public & Academic Libraries, Mark Yannie

The Christian Librarian

This article addresses the availability of software/hardware and other sources for all persons with disabilities in Minnesota libraries, and also the navigability of websites of these libraries for those who are visually impaired. Many electronic resources are prohibitively difficult or impossible for the Blind to access. On a practical level, the article surveys and evaluates what is available and what works for people with disabilities at present.

I surveyed all Academic Libraries and Public Library Systems in Minnesota as to their disability services, and evaluated the accessibility of library websites through the help of people with visual disabilities. The websites …

Apasport To Service Quality: Developing A Performance Assessment System Part 1: The Context For Performance Assessment, Lynn A. Brock

The Christian Librarian

Since the late 1990's, the library literature has been full of studies and analyses of service quality, customer satisfaction, and outcomes assessment as relevant and critical domains for the academic library. Several years ago the Centennial Library professional staff began exploring service quality issues with an interest in developing service quality plans for each library department. While progress has been made on that front, a more intensive effort has been invested in staff performance assessment as an integral element in maintaining high levels of service quality.

Resources Received, Phyllis Fox

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Resource Reviews, Phyllis Fox

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

New Frontiers In Collection Development Preparing To Meet New Standards, Gary R. Shook

The Christian Librarian

This article describes the general policies which may be included in a comprehensive collection development policy, attempting to follow national guidelines. It also describes one approach to analyzing how well the library collection supports the various parts of the curriculum, and presents a technique to compare a library collection with peer libraries by subject majors. Finally, the "Collection Development Plan" section provides a format for stating an action plan to develop the collection based upon all of the information gathered.

Frontmatter (The Christian Librarian 47:2)

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

President's Note, Steve L. Preston

The Christian Librarian

Our annual conference has developed a pattern of high quality sessions and great opportunities for learning and fellowship. Woodie Moore has a rich history of ACL conference participation, planning, and coordination. He is imminently qualified to host us with excellence. More details are available elsewhere in this journal issue and on the ACL conference Web page- http:/ !www.acl.org/conference.htm. I look forward to seeing many of you at Evangel University in June.

Resource Reviews, Phyllis Fox

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Frontmatter (The Christian Librarian 47:3)

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Demystifying The Tenure Process, Lindsay L. Van Sicklen

The Christian Librarian

The tenure process holds a lot at stake for the candidate. In an effort to demystifY it, the panel will discuss questions about tenure review, the process of tenure review and how to prepare for it, a supervisor's perspective of a candidate up for tenure review along with examples of tenure portfolios.

Four individuals served as panelists for this presentation. Lindsay Van Sidden (Periodicals Librarian) fi·om Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) set the stage by introducing questions that many have as they approach preparing for tenure. She also shared different ways in which OBU paved the way for their candidates. Tami …

Devotional Cccu Library Directors Meeting "Le'l' The Process Go On" I June 13,2003, Linda Poston

The Christian Librarian

We can all recite the saying "The Christian life isn't a bed of roses" - so why do we get so surprised or upset when difficult things happen to us? Why do we somehow feel we have to "have it all together" and never show any signs of need or weakness? I believe we have let the world squeeze us into its mold of "the good life" - free of pain and struggle, full of self-indulgence and the mind-set of avoiding pain and struggle at all costs.

Student Worker Experience Making It Meaningful For Today & Tomorrow, Roundtable Discussion, Lindsay L. Van Sicklen

The Christian Librarian

This article is the result of a Roundtable Discussion given at the 2003 annual ACL conference. The conference brochure description of the Roundtable follows: Most of us have student workers. How can we ensure that the experiences they have today equip them for the future they face after they graduate? Come prepared to discuss the role we can have in making our student workers time with us count both for today and tomorrow.

Thanks, Anne-Elizabeth Powell

The Christian Librarian

Please join me in thanking Diane for her service to ACL and for the product she has so ably assisted in bringing to the Association 3 times a year for almost a decade.

The Pixel Frontier: Electronic Books Twenty-First Century In The Library, Lori Thornton

The Christian Librarian

The author examines the growing popularity and acceptance of e-books by taking a look at their availability, strengths and weaknesses, acceptance by users, and ways to introduce readers to the format. This was accomplished through a survey of the literature, observations of users, and an informal survey of students at Carson-Newman College.

New Frontiers In Christian Fiction, Leanne Hardy

The Christian Librarian

Christian fiction must strive for a new quality of writing and be willing to go beyond what is "safe" if it is going to have an impact outside the church. Although such fiction may include language and situations that are not acceptable among Christians, it will glorify God by presenting the world as he sees it and grappling with deep spiritual issues rather than using cliches to brush over them. Librarians should support quality Christian fiction by purchasing it, recommending it and praying for those in the publishing industry.

Duplex List, Ruth Mcguire

The Christian Librarian

The new DUPEX Service has been going for about a month now. Thanks to all who have signed up and are sharing their lists regularly. I wanted to extend another invitation to those who'd like to join but haven't gotten around to signing up yet- it's never too late. And if you're one who's not sure what this Service is all about but think you might be interested, I extend an invitation for you to email me with your questions.

Collegiality: An Atmosphere For Expanding Intellectual Stimulation, Tami Echavarria Robinson

The Christian Librarian

Libraries are the arena where intellectual interaction takes place through the universal conversation of scholarship. Librarians share a common commitment to learning and service. In addition Christian librarians share a calling to knowledge and service that comes from the Holy Scriptures. Aspects of integrating our Christian faith, through the professional environment we create in our workplace, are considered. Collegiality as the means to achieve a productive library ambience for scholarship is suggested. When a Library has an atmosphere conducive to promoting learning it is a place of intellectual stimulation where the culture is collegial and the values of Christianity are …