Change management in extremis: A case study

After 40 years under one manager, the Circulation Department at the Richard J. Daley Library was long past due for a change. The challenge of reorganizing included interesting and interrelated aspects: changes to workflows and assignments, moving staff and functions inside the department and across departments, and a deep dive into the culture to which staff had become habituated. Managers eliminated redundancies and increased services, effectiveness, productivity, and joy. This case study is a testament to how successful change happens with patience, respect, and a willingness to be flexible.     

A Question and Answer Forum on the Origin,Evolution and Future of Access Services in Libraries

Abstract

Access services in libraries has a brief, but dynamic history and will have a vibrant future. It is time to assess accomplishments, but also to look ahead. Ten questions on general topics related to the origin, evolution and future of access services were posed to five members of the editorial board of the Journal of Access Services. Among them are represented a variety of perspectives, experiences, and expertise. They are, in the order of their responses as listed in the text: Mary Anne Hansen (MAH), Jakob Harnest (JH), Virginia Steel (VS), Joan Ellen Stein (JES), and Pat Weaver-Myers (PWM).     

X marks the spot: Creating and managing a single service point to improve customer service and maximize resources

ABSTRACT

This article will describe how merging service points in an academic library is an opportunity to improve customer service and utilize staffing resources more efficiently. Combining service points provides libraries with the ability to create a more positive library experience for patrons by minimizing the ping-pong effect for assistance. The Access Services Department at the University of North Texas Libraries was charged with management of the circulation and reference services offered at the service desk. Streamlined planning and modernized management of the desk and its impact on customer service in a changing library environment will be discussed.     

Bookselling research: An overview of the past and priorities for the future

In 1988, the American Booksellers Association mandated the creation of an in-house research department. This article reviews the ABA’s research agenda, its progress to date, its relationship to research conducted by other publishing organizations, and its future priorities. Carol Miles became director of research for the American Booksellers Association in 1988, after twenty years of research in the academic, nonprofit, not-for-profit, and private sectors.     

Supporting Academic Health Centers with Knowledge Management: Learning from the Web

In a 2003 publication, the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) made explicit the many ways in which a library might contribute to an academic health center's success through knowledge management (KM). Building on Success: Charting the Future of Knowledge Management within the Academic Health Center elucidated the ways in which a library can serve as the center of an organization's KM initiatives. The study and application of knowledge management tools is formidable; unlike information management (IM), the field of knowledge management has roots in a seemingly infinite and wide-ranging number of professional and academic disciplines. The planning of institutional KM initiatives is not commonly discussed, and history shows knowledge management projects often fail to thrive. This column introduces the topic of knowledge management and includes suggested Web-based resources for further understanding and project planning.     

对我国图书馆行业协会建设的研究述评

对我国图书馆界近20年来有关图书馆行业协会建设的代表性观点进行总结评述,认为加强行业管理,建立一个全国性的图书馆行业协会是大势所趋。建设中国图书馆协会,应该借鉴一些地方、企业以及国外的成功经验。     

Let's Circulate: A Report on the 1st Annual New Jersey Access Services Meeting

In 2014, access services librarians and professional staff from various institutions all over New Jersey came together at The College of New Jersey, in Ewing Township, to discuss regional trends and issues in access services. Library staff at these institutions face many of the same issues from managing student assistants, to dealing with stacks management, and handling building security. The goal of the daylong meeting was to build bonds between access services staff at the different institutions, and to learn from one another's experiences during a series of roundtable discussions, and informal conversations over coffee and lunch. It was the first meeting of its kind in New Jersey and the organizers plan to make it an annual occurrence under the name Let's Circulate. This article is a summary of the first meeting.     

Environmental conditions for the safeguarding of collections: Future trends

This paper sets out the role of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) in facilitating the current international debate on the selection of appropriate environmental conditions for collections to optimise their future condition while minimising energy consumption. It looks back 35 years to when Garry Thomson first published The Museum Environment and forward 35 years to demonstrate how IIC can care for the future as well as care for the past. It asks whether we are posing the right questions in this debate, draws attention to leadership in the cultural sector, and suggests that more conservation professionals should aspire to leadership positions directing museums and heritage organisations.     

Reference as an Access Service: Collaboration Between Reference and Interlibrary Loan Departments

ABSTRACT

Academic libraries increasingly rely on Interlibrary Loan (ILL) departments to obtain research materials. This adds to the workload of ILL at a time when many libraries are experiencing budget cuts and dwindling staff. Collaboration between ILL and Reference can assist ILL by providing searching expertise. Collaboration is facilitated by the paperless environment provided by ILL management software. Patrons benefit from increased fill-rates and reduced turnaround time for ILL requests. Reference benefits by exercising creative searching for difficult-to-find materials and gaining exposure to new reference sources and online catalogs. These benefits are explored through analysis of fill-rates, sources from which materials were ultimately obtained, sources used by the Reference Department, and interviews with staff.     

Doing research on mobile devices: An undergraduate case study

To investigate how undergraduates use library and scholarly resources through their mobile devices, the authors surveyed 138 undergraduate students at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in the spring 2014 semester. The results confirmed that they want to search databases and journals on their mobile devices. By examining the functionalities of mobile-friendly databases, we identified the challenges and barriers to using mobile devices to search electronic databases and find articles. The results of this study were used in generating recommendations for the design, capabilities, and resources of future mobile websites.     

高校图书馆科研工作现状分析与对策研究

随着高校图书馆事业的迅速发展,图书馆的科研活动和科研能力成为衡量图书馆综合实力的重要指标之一.文章对高校图书馆科研工作的现状进行了分析,指出存在的问题,从更新科研理念、培养科研团队、规范科研管理、加强成果推广等方面提出解决问题的对策.     

影响我国文献信息服务现代化的因素分析

影响我国文献信息服务现代化的因素分析杨帆ＡＢＳＴＲＡＣＴＣｏｍｐｕｔｅｒｔｅｃｈｎｏｌｇｙａｎｄｄａｔａｂａｓｅｄｅｖｅｌｏｐｍｅｎｔｉｎＣｈｉｎａａｒｅａｂｏｕｔ２０－３０ｙｅａｒｓｂｅｈｉｎｄｔｈｏｓｅｏｆａｄｖａｎｃｅｄｃｏｕｎｔｒｉｅｓ．Ｔｈ...     

珠三角地区档案服务行业监管现状问题及对策分析

通过梳理珠三角地区档案服务行业的监管现状,分析该行业存在的监管局限、监管效力较低等问题及其内在原因,针对问题,从完善国家政策法规、构建行业自治组织、落实档案服务全流程监管、协同合作建立档案服务行业动态评价体系等方面提出了珠三角地区档案服务行业完善监管的对策。     

从专业教育视野看参考咨询与信息服务过程模型

二十多年来,参考咨询与信息服务日益介入电子世界,而逐渐远离图书馆的参考咨询台和纸质馆藏.本文介绍一项基于不断变化的环境针对参考咨询与信息服务进行的研究,旨在分析两个研究问题:①从用户和馆员行为及其所利用信息源的角度来看,当前参考咨询与信息服务活动有哪些趋势?②当前参考咨询过程的基本模型是什么?作者通过焦点访谈法搜集承担参考咨询与信息服务专业课程教师的意见,并通过自由讨论的形式征集其他专业课程教师和博士研究生有关虚拟参考咨询教育的看法.研究结果表明,参考咨询模型具有明显的互动性和合作性,其中参考馆员和用户均扮演信息获取、信息接收和信息生成的角色.论文提出参考咨询过程的模型,并分析这一模型对参考咨询与信息服务活动产生的影响.图1.参考文献63.     

开放存取论文质量和影响力的评价研究

为了探讨开放存取模式下论文的质量和影响力,本文随机抽取2004年生物学领域影响因子相近的完全OA期刊与非OA期刊各5种,排除评论性和综述性的文章,从论文的影响力、论文间质量的差异性、作者合作度3个方面,采用平均被引频次、被引频次的极差、平均作者数、论文合著率4个指标进行了统计分析,进而研究开放存取模式下论文的学术水平和影响力。本文的研究结果显示,OA论文已经达到甚至超过非OA论文的质量和影响力。     

OA in the Library Collection: The Challenges of Identifying and Maintaining Open Access Resources

While librarians, researchers, and the general public have embraced the concept of Open Access (OA), librarians still have a difficult time managing OA resources. To find out why, Bulock and Hosburgh surveyed librarians about their experiences managing OA resources and the strengths and weaknesses of management systems. At this session, they shared survey results, reflected on OA workflows at their own libraries, and updated audience members on relevant standards and initiatives. Survey respondents reported challenges related to hybrid OA, inaccurate metadata, and inconsistent communication along the serials supply chain. Recommended solutions included the creation of consistent, centralized article-level metadata and the development of OA collection development principles for libraries.     

关于现行文件利用服务工作的思考

现行文件是指目前正在执行的国家及本地区的政策、法律、法规等相关文件.昌平区档案馆经区政府批准成立了现行文件阅览室,收集了21大类近4000份文件,为公众提供利用服务.如何认识这一新生事物,谈点个人看法.     

Now you see it; now you don't: the elusive nature of electronic information

As more and more information is made available in electronic formats, ensuring reliable access to that information over time is becoming a concern for acquisitions and collection management personnel in all types of libraries. This paper looks at the current situation regarding the availability of monographs, serials, government publications, and web-based information. Possible resolutions must be viewed from a library-wide basis since the situation impacts all of us.