Textbook Affordability: Is There a Role for the Library?

Try searching the library catalog, as many students do each semester for the latest version of the textbook being used in a class at many universities and you will likely come up empty-handed. Many academic libraries—due to high prices, frequently issued new editions, and a tendency to go missing from the collection—have justifiably chosen to play only a marginal role in the provision of textbooks on campus. However, the dynamics of the textbook market are changing rapidly and this presentation explored the question: Should libraries reconsider the roles they play in the provision of course materials on campus? This session focused on the issue of affordability in the context of the rapid evolution and increased availability of e-textbooks (electronic versions of textbooks). Topics covered included: an overview of the e-textbook market, purchasing options and outlets for e-textbooks, new business models for institutional access to e-textbooks, potential savings from e-textbook adoptions, information on negotiating with publishers and platform providers, and why the library is well-positioned to play a prominent role in the provision of e-textbooks.     

Is There a Future for Library Catalogers?

Is there a future for the library cataloger? For the past thirty years this debate has increased with the continued growth of online resources and greater access to the World Wide Web. Many are concerned that library administrators believe budgetary resources would be better spent on other matters, leaving library users with an overabundance of electronic information to muddle through on their own. This article focuses on the future of the cataloging profession and its importance to the needs of library patrons.     

Is There a Future for Journalism?

A functionalist perspective on the future of journalism would posit that because human society needs journalism, we will find ways to support this communications practice. Yet such a perspective, however consoling, assumes a teleology that is far from guaranteed. What will happen is far from easy to predict; nevertheless, this paper pinpoints several key issues that impact on the future of journalism. It also advances some general propositions and a broad periodisation around UNESCO’s historical role in relation to these issues. The analysis gives particular attention to political and economic matters, the safety of journalists and internet governance. Each of these dimensions entails existential threats to journalism, but some opportunities are also noted. Four paradoxes are also identified, with tensions that may lead to change in one direction or another.     

LibGuides and Web-Based Library Guides in Comparison: Is There a Pedagogical Advantage?

This study investigates whether the platform used to deliver a tutorial matters in online information literacy instruction and assesses the overall quality of an information literacy tutorial assignment given to an undergraduate survey class. The study asks whether there is any pedagogical advantage between information literacy tutorials created in the LibGuides library guide creation software and tutorials created as Web pages. This research question is relevant to current studies of online information literacy tutorials, particularly given the increasingly dominant but under-researched position of LibGuides in the academic library world for delivering guides and tutorials. Two separate groups of students completed LibGuides and Web page versions of the same information literacy tutorial assignment in a university undergraduate communication course. Survey results of these 89 students indicated that both the LibGuides and Web page platforms deliver online instruction content effectively and achieve learning objectives almost equally well. Results also indicated content areas within the assignment that could be strengthened.     

The Archival and Library Viewpoints of a Collection in a Digital Environment: Is There Any Room for Compromise?

ABSTRACT

This article explores the archivists' and librarians' definition of a collection, and how they respectively arrange their collections in the context of collection development and collection management issues in a digital library. It centers on possible cooperative solutions and highlights, as a case study, the efforts of the Auburn University Digital Projects Committee to meet these challenging collection issues.     

Is There a Core Literature in Museology?

Abstract While critics have often asserted that museology is underdeveloped as a discipline and lacks a “core literature,” no empirical evidence has been introduced to support this claim. A citation analysis of journal articles and books published over the past several years shows clear evidence that a core literature is in fact evolving in the field. Highly‐productive and influential authors are easily identifiable, as are seminal works that have received large numbers of citations by other authors. The majority of those highly‐cited works belong to the discipline of museology itself, and sizable numbers of influential publications cluster around key unifying themes.     

The Future of the Library: What Is a Public Library For?

The author suggests that libraries have been transformed a third time. Originally, libraries were the only place that valuable, handwritten, rare books could be found. As mass production kicked in post-Gutenberg, the library became an efficient way for the community to access knowledge. Today, though, in a post-paper world, the library must adopt a new role, a place where the community finds ideas, inspiration and others on a similar journey. The librarian is no longer a guardian of valuable books, but a curator of curiosity, passion and interest.     

Is There a New Bibliography?

Describes the position claiming that the contemporary technological, sociopolitical, and socioeconomic environment gives us pause to consider the core theory and practices of bibliography, combining bibliography of the work (in library and information science), bibliography of the text (in textual studies and scholarly editing), and bibliography of the artifact (in book history and now digital forensics), and calls for collaborative multidisciplinary research at the intersection of these fields to ask, is there a new bibliography?     

Is RFID Right for Your Library?

ABSTRACT

RFID technology is taking off in libraries at an increasingly rapid pace. Though there are few libraries employing this technology today, the benefits are great. The cost is still prohibitive however. This article discusses some of the benefits and drawbacks to RFID to provide information for librarians that will be useful when deciding if the technology should be employed.     

Is There a Mentoring Culture Within the LIS Profession?

In library and information science (LIS), mentoring is often viewed as a significant influence on student choices and professional career directions. Most mentoring programs are built around the idea of a ‘seasoned’ or experienced professional working with an individual who is new to the profession. There is a common assumption of the mentoring process being a primarily one-way relationship – with the mentor sharing knowledge with a mentee. However, in our recent research, it is clear that mentoring is often seen as a much more reciprocal relationship. What does this mean for how we, as a profession, should try to create mentoring opportunities?     

A Library for Libraries: Is the Joint Library Facility becoming an Interlibrary Loan Hub for Libraries?

ABSTRACT

What happens when libraries begin to use ILL to request items that they already own in their home collection? The goal of this multiyear study involving 9565 ILL requests to the Joint Library Facility in Bryan, Texas, is to examine whether or not the shared storage facility was becoming an ILL hub for some libraries. This paper reports the results of the study and how individual requesting and lending interlibrary loan policies and procedures might be altered to address these developing issues.     

How Do I Get a Campus ID? The Other Role of the Academic Library in Student Retention and Success

Academic libraries have long gathered data at the reference desk to facilitate informed development of services and collections, and have long known that regardless of whether questions are related to doing research, the library is a safe place a student may go to find answers. This article highlights the role of the library and information commons service desks as valuable windows into the student experience. The authors suggest that librarians share with campus stakeholders information about students’ non-research-related questions to aid in the development of programs and services designed to help students adjust to campus life and, ultimately, succeed.     

Is Management the “Tower of Babel” for Library and Information Science Programs?

Given the explosive growth of digital collections and the digital transformation of services in libraries, the need for management education in library and information science programs has grown. However, I contend in this article that confusion abounds like the “Tower of Babel” for LIS programs to accomplish this goal. A one size fits all approach does not work. Instead, management theory and principles need to be LIS-centric in accord with present day needs and conceptions. Management education also needs to be linked with scientific rigor to practice to meet the needs and expectations of LIS students. Rather than delivering management education that speaks the language of business, the content needs to resonate with the conditions for managing in the LIS context and to be supportive of the values of the LIS field. The article provides examples from research on management and innovation in libraries and other information-rich contexts. It also illustrates the types of issues that management education in LIS programs should address to deepen our understanding of the essential principles needed to manage information and knowledge.     

Can the Library Contribute Value to the Campus Culture for Learning?

What value can academic and research libraries contribute to the campus culture for learning? How can these value contributions be measured? This paper offers the campus culture for learning as a new frame of reference for measuring the library's contribution to learning. It examines various means of assessing the role a library plays in a campus learning culture. It identifies related outcome assessment goals, and the means of measuring performance are suggested.     

What is a “MIVER” and How Does the Library Prepare for It?

ABSTRACT

The Military Installation Voluntary Education Review (MIVER) assesses the quality of selected on-base higher education programs and assists in the improvement of such programs through recommendations to the institutions and the military services. This poster relates the experience of one librarian's participation in such a review of the master's degree program in adult education offered by Kansas State University at Ft. Leavenworth. Topics covered include: the librarian's role in preparing the self-study document; steps taken to gather information; collaboration with responsible administrators/faculty members; pre-visit telephone interview with a site inspector; attending the actual site visit; and recommendations from the site team. Shared highlights and benefits specific to this librarian's experience include: developing a better working relationship with the teaching faculty; implementing a new method of reaching the students; gaining new knowledge of library services needed by this particular group of distance students; exploring opportunities for further activities; and reviewing outcomes and commendations received from the MIVER team.     

What does the British Library do for medical librarians?

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