Best Practices of Library Mobile Website Design: A Literature Review

This article is intended to serve as a guide for librarians developing mobile Websites to be linked to their current library Website. Kroski (2008a) defines the mobile Web as “the World Wide Web accessed through a mobile device, ranging from a cellular phone to an iPod Touch. It includes the entirety of the Web and is not limited to Websites that are specifically designed for mobile viewing” (5). This literature review focuses on the mobile Web, mobile device usage, and best practices for designing mobile Websites for libraries.     

Out with the Old,In with the New: Best Practices for Replacing Library Signage

Abstract

Creating Web research guides is an effective way to distribute the research expertise and resource knowledge of reference librarians. Using a Web reference guide for Pittsburgh history resources, the author demonstrates that reference librarians can play an integral role not only in the promotion of community resources, but also in the teaching and research of local history. Examples of the Web pages are included, as well as the rationale for the arrangement and inclusion of particular resources and research tips.     

Collection Condition Assessment in a Midsized Academic Library

In 2014, Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks conducted its first collection condition survey. The institutionally significant Alaska Collection was chosen as a manageable project. Research design based on the literature review led the researcher to conduct two surveys: one examining the entire collection and one looking at only those books most recently circulated. The combined surveys revealed that the circulating books are much more badly damaged that the books in the collection that do not circulate, across a variety of attributes.     

The Aurora Public Library Business Resource Center:

The Business Resource Center represents the Aurora, Colorado Public Library's response to a tremendous growth within the business community over the past decade. This essay details what factors led to the decision that a separate service point was needed to meet this growth. Issues discussed include what statistical data proved helpful in developing a plan of action; collection development considerations; analysis of factors concerning library functions and service; and, initial reaction from patrons and staff. The study is also presented as a model for other medium-to-large suburban libraries intending to initiate a similar project.     

Assessment Within the Augustana Model of Undergraduate Discipline-Specific Information Literacy Credit Courses

SUMMARY

Augustana (located in Camrose, Alberta, Canada, and formerly known as Augustana University College) is an undergraduate liberal arts and sciences faculty of the University of Alberta with an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students. The fall of 2001 marked the inception of for-credit discipline-specific information literacy (IL) course offerings at Augustana. At that time, Augustana librarians began teaching two IL courses that were required for graduation for students in the relevant degrees (Bachelors of Music, Arts in Music, and Arts in English). Since that time, for-credit discipline-specific IL courses have been added in nineteen disciplines, bringing Augustana's total number of IL courses to twenty-one. This paper will give an overview of the development and implementation of these IL courses and will focus on the assessment practices to date. Specifically, data gathered from pretests and post-tests will be analyzed and results from a separate follow-up survey conducted of current students and graduates will be reviewed. In addition, an in-house Web-based assessment tool will be introduced and discussed.     

Evolution of a Culture of Assessment: Developing a Mixed-Methods Approach for Evaluating Library Instruction

Assessment has become more of a priority for libraries across the country in the last decade. Using the instruction program as a case study, the authors detail the history of assessment development during the past ten years at Mercer University. Along with the university's culture of assessment, institutional-, library-, and program-level assessment are discussed, including how information is communicated across these levels. The authors also share an evolving multifaceted assessment plan for a traditional library instruction program, including methods such as attitude surveys, peer observation, and authentic assessment. In addition to past assessment, future directions are considered.     

Assessment of Service Desk Quality at an Academic Health Sciences Library

ABSTRACT

Due to an identified need for formal assessment, a small team of librarians designed and administered a survey to gauge the quality of customer service at their academic health sciences library. Though results did not drive major changes to services, several important improvements were implemented and a process was established to serve as a foundation for future use. This article details the assessment process used and lessons learned during the project.     

Book Clubs: Best Practices in Promoting Critical Thinking in Business Classes

The curricular reform movement within education has called for the development of critical thinking skills within the academy. At the authors’ university, the outreach librarian has successfully facilitated several face-to-face book clubs with the goal of honing members’ analytical skills and fostering lifelong learning. As a means of expanding this effort to a formal academic learning objective, the outreach librarian was also virtually embedded into the course management system for several business classes. This article discusses a collaborative faculty/librarian use of online course-related book clubs as a tool for advancing higher level critical thinking skills such as evaluation and reflection.     

Uncovering the Evidence: Faculty Perceptions of Distance Library Services

Usage statistics are a regular part of assessment but the lack of context leaves librarians pondering the reasons for fluctuations in use. Through development of an online survey, we examined faculty perceptions, knowledge, and use of distance library services to support online courses. Responses provided much needed context and helped to determine priorities and direction for services. While this survey was a useful marketing tool, results emphasized that the greatest need was for ongoing communication with faculty to increase awareness of services provided.     

Strategic CRM: Improving the Business of Academic Libraries

An argument can be made that libraries are businesses, with users as their customers. Given the increasing scarcity of funding and pressure for proving value, academic libraries could benefit from leveraging certain business practices to increase user satisfaction. Creating a comprehensive strategy for building long-term user relationships can solidify support for libraries by engaging with all stakeholders to improve their library experiences. The Customer Relationship Management philosophy described here provides an opportunity for institutions to show their total value to all users and stakeholders and in doing so, improve the business of academic libraries.     

A Library Compliance Strategy for Regional Accreditation Standards: Using ACRL Higher Education Standards with NEASC Standards

The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) standards places less emphasis on quantifiable and arbitrary inputs and more emphasis on institutional effectiveness and assessment of student learning. NEASC includes the library throughout the standards and also has a long section specifically for the library. The authors advocate use of the ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) Standards for Libraries in Higher Education alongside the NEASC standards to ensure a focus on outcomes and assessment of libraries in the context of other areas of the institution. An effective strategy for streamlining the assessment of library resources and services is provided.     

Representation in the Collection: Assessing Coverage of LGBTQ Content in an Academic Library Collection

Abstract

Academic library collections have been built and shaped by a focus on dominant voices and perspectives. In order for collections to reflect the value librarianship places on diversity as well as represent multiple perspectives and serve users of diverse backgrounds and identities, collections need to be assessed for coverage of content related to diversity. This article discusses the challenges inherent in engaging in such an assessment, discusses collection assessment methods, and describes an analysis performed on the Penn State University Libraries collections focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer content.     

Library Space Assessment: User Learning Behaviors in the Library

As an essential department at a higher education institution and an informal learning space, little is known about how academic libraries contribute to student learning on campus. The Olin Library sought to learn the role of library space in our users' learning. We surveyed users about their learning behaviors in a specific space prior to a scheduled renovation and then in the same space after. We wanted to determine how the renovation changed users' perceptions of their learning behaviors in that space.     

A Brief History of Reference Assessment: No Easy Solutions

The author discusses the different methods of reference assessment that have been tried in libraries over the years to help improve service, justify the existence of the service itself, train new staff, and counter declining statistics.     

Bibilometrics Services and the Academic Library: Meeting the Emerging Needs of the Campus Community

The increasing importance of research assessment is but one factor within the ever-changing scholarly communication landscape that is challenging libraries to develop new services to serve the needs of their academic communities. Institutional budget allocations, grant funding, and faculty tenure and promotion increasingly depend on performance indicators, including bibliometrics such as citation counts, impact factors, the h-index, and other quantitative measurements of research output. With their longstanding expertise in collecting, categorizing, and analyzing data, not to mention their familiarity with scholarly databases and indexes tracking cited references, librarians are well qualified to meet the emerging demand for bibliometrics services.     

高品质论文被引数据及其对学术评价的启示

针对学术品质与学术影响的关系,以20世纪Nature上发表的内容获得过诺贝尔奖的13篇代表性论文作为高品质论文小样本,用IsI-ESI中有关学科最高被引论文数据作为定量参照,发现高品质论文不是最高被引论文,但都高于学科平均被引;而最高被引论文的品质不能肯定最优,但一般具有广泛影响.建议以双向匿名同行评议判断学术品质,以计量分析判断学术影响,综合学术品质和学术影响合成学术评价.表2.参考文献6.     

Moving from Analysis to Assessment: Strategic Assessment of Library Collections

ABSTRACT

Collections are one of the core resources provided by libraries and are often seen as what defines a library. Collection policies and priorities are put into place to guide the growth of libraries’ collections. However as time passes, are the collections created best suited to the current patron population? Collection assessment can be used to evaluate how well the developing collection follows the guidelines that have been put into place. Collection assessment can also be beneficial in the library strategic planning process by identifying strengths and weaknesses in the collection, particularly in new areas of interest. It can also help identify areas that may need additional funding to continue the level of support previously maintained for an area.     

Tools of Academic Library Assessment: the User Survey

ABSTRACT

Academic libraries are taking a closer look at how well they are serving the needs of their users. As a result assessment activities become more important. In this column, the authors will focus on and describe one major tool of assessment—the user survey.     

Community Success: Rethinking Public Services in Academic Libraries

The members of our communities interact with library services, resources, and spaces through a number of touchpoints. In academic libraries, those touchpoints often come through curricular and co-curricular activities. A critical goal of connecting our community to our library via the curriculum is to enhance student learning, which we address through internal activities, such as developing instruction plans and external activities, such as exhibits and workshops. We, then, design rigorous assessments and a multitude of program evaluation projects to measure howwell libraries contribute to student learning so that we can communicate the degree to which we meet that goal. This article is a reframing of that progression—defining our community, what we do for that community, why, and how well—as an invitation to challenge our assumptions about public services and community success.