Keeping Your Eye on the Prize

ABSTRACT

Digital library services have become integral components of 21st century educational institutions. Librarians have been quick to adopt new technologies to serve their new remotely located patrons. This eagerness to adopt new technology, along with a willingness to adapt to new working environments and a continuing emphasis on the end users of our services have enabled success with regards to serving the distance education patron. This paper will review and discuss the evolution of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University's (ERAU) Extended Campus Library Services (ECLS), and how a conscious effort to focus on the end users of Embry-Riddle's ECLS has helped Embry-Rid-dle manage and respond to the explosive growth of its distance learning population over the last 30 years.     

The communications revolution and world affairs

This is the condensed text of the keynote address of Boston University's Conference on Enlightened Public Opinion, April 11, 1958. Original title of Dr. Gyorgy's speech was “Public Opinion and World Affairs.”;     

Technology Help 2.0: Solutions for the Information Commons

ABSTRACT

Access services librarians at Southeastern Louisiana University's Sims Memorial Library observed patrons' technology help needs and created an interactive training manual that empowers library faculty and staff to provide public service technology help in the Information Commons. The new training manual takes technology help in the academic library to the next level, “Technology Help 2.0,” because it allows librarians to learn about technology by directly observing the needs of patrons, develop new skills at their own pace, and adapt to the constantly evolving technology demands of the Information Commons.     

Supporting Student Work: Some Thoughts About Special Collections Instruction

ABSTRACT

During the past decade we have noted a marked increase in the use of special collections materials in the university classroom. This presents the library with an opportunity to assert its role as a unique and irreplaceable contributor to the University's core mission. Asserting this is predicated on the assumption that an instructor's goals will be met, that students will become successful researchers, and that library staff will survive the encounter. This is not easy to accomplish and this article is an attempt to describe those elements that we have found to be central to a successful instructional outcome.     

Cooperative Reference Desk Scheduling and Its Effects on Professional Collegiality

SUMMARY

Since 1995, reference staff at Oregon State University's Valley Library have engaged in a process of cooperative reference desk scheduling. The system was originally adopted to allow staff to have more influence in tailoring desk hours to their individual work schedules, but the department discovered that it also encourages and reinforces a climate of cooperation and collegiality among the reference staff. This paper describes the creation of the system and examines the reasoning behind it, the steps taken to implement it, and how it continues to evolve in an ever-changing library environment. Also examined is how this system has influenced other work done in the Reference and Instruction Department beyond the reference desk, and how it might be adapted and applied for use in other tasks in the future.     

Researching Researchers: Meeting Changing Researcher Needs in a Special Collections Environment

ABSTRACT

In the competitive Higher Education environment, it is no longer sufficient for special collections to rely on the “uniqueness” of a collection as its unique selling point—it must be supported by a service and strategic plan that is both proactive in anticipating the demands of future researchers and responsive to current researchers’ changing needs. Edinburgh University's Centre for Research Collections (CRC) is addressing this challenge for the first time in a coordinated manner, employing a suite of research methods that allow staff to take an evidence based approach to service development and strategic planning. These include ethnographic observation, structured surveys, object-based learning initiatives, comprehensive data interrogation, and active engagement with the University's academic schools. This article examines how these approaches have been utilized in the development of CRC services, and its benefit to long-term planning.     

It Takes a Village to Manage the 21st Century Reference Department

Abstract

Reference services at Oregon State University's Valley Library have undergone several reorganizations in response to institutional changes, shifting service needs and patron demands. Part of this history includes training for and functioning in team-based management. We have now evolved to a management model that utilizes workgroups and an advisory and coordinating council to assist in running the department. We find this model provides flexibility, sharing of the workload and professional development opportunities, all of which are essential in today's tumultuous reference environment. We will describe the functioning, potential hazards and multiple advantages of this model.     

Merger,Reorganization and Technology Meet Technical Services

Abstract

For a variety of reasons, academic institutions across the country have had to reorganize their campuses. A number of universities have done so by merging several smaller departments with the library and consolidating similar functions. The resulting changes have had a significant impact on those who work, in these departments and generate much interest in the wider library community. This workshop detailed the process and effect on Technical Services staff of merging Lehigh University's libraries with computing, media services, and telecommunications to form one organization called Information Resources.     

Live Instruction for Distance Students: Development of Synchronous Online Workshops

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the Regent University Library's effort to reach online students by incorporating online library workshops using the Live Classroom software from Horizon Wimba. The paper explains the need for synchronous online library instruction which arose from the university's changing clientele and curriculum. It also analyzes participant feedback regarding strengths and weaknesses of the online workshops. The paper concludes by considering the future for this type of instruction in light of Regent University's increasing emphasis on online education.     

Beyond These Walls

Abstract

To enhance the learning experiences of all students, today's academic librarians must engage in outreach efforts that move beyond the walls of the library. In the past year, Oakland University's Kresge Library has made significant inroads in developing outreach initiatives that provide needed services to previously underserved student populations, such as transfer students, multicultural groups, and on-cam-pus residents. These programs have increased the library's visibility, enhanced its image among the university's students, faculty, and staff alike, and positioned it at the heart of teaching and learning on campus. This article describes some of these outreach efforts.     

Marketing Electronic Reserves at a University Library

SUMMARY

Jacksonville State University's Cole Library implemented electronic course reserves in 2002. As with any new service, a marketing plan was prepared to ensure success. This article details the methods used to market the new service to the faculty and students at JSU. Included is a discussion of some unexpected benefits of the marketing effort and how to address resistance to the change from a traditional print service to an electronic service. This article will help fill a gap in the literature by describing one library's attempt at marketing electronic reserves to ensure a smooth transition from traditional reserves to electronic.     

Chapter VI: Costs of Journal Subscriptions to Libraries and Patrons

ABSTRACT

OCLC's ILL PRISM Transfer (IPT) is a method for transferring the data from an electronic interlibrary loan form to OCLC's ILL Review File. This article explains the IPT process and Olivet Nazarene University's IPT program development using HTML forms, C programming, and OCLC formatting. The authors provide their IPT development as freeware to the Internet and library communities.     

Planning for Distance Learning

Abstract

The article examines the role that student support services plays in planning a distance learning program, especially the services offered by a university library. The content of the paper is based on the experience the author acquired as a member of Texas Tech University's Distance Learning Council. The Council's efforts to plan a program that will include strong support from the Library are discussed.     

Comparison of Summit Union Catalog Borrowing and Interlibrary Loan Returnables at Eastern Washington University

ABSTRACT

In 2000, Eastern Washington University became part of the Cascade Consortium and participated in consortial borrowing through the Cascade Union Catalog. In 2003, the Orbis and Cascade consortia merged into the Orbis Cascade Alliance, which manages the Summit Union Catalog. In fall 2004, the Pickup Anywhere option of Innovative Interfaces' INN-Reach module was implemented, allowing patrons to pick up consortial materials at many of the member libraries, not just their own institution's library. Since 2000, Cascade or Summit consortial borrowing has increased while other interlibrary loans of borrowed returnables has decreased. It is too early to tell if Pickup Anywhere will have an effect on Eastern Washington University's Interlibrary Loan department. The problems library staff reported regarding Pickup Anywhere are also examined.     

Complex Questions,Evolving Answers

SUMMARY

Since 2001, librarians at Oregon State University's Valley Library have been working to build a “teaching library” supported by a clearly articulated instruction program. From the start, we believed that we needed to assess the teaching library's impact, not only to determine the success or failure of our efforts but also to demonstrate the need for intentional, proactive information literacy instruction on our campus. No single assessment tool or method proved adequate to effectively measure student learning happening both inside and outside the library. We describe our evolving, multi-pronged approach to measuring the impact of the library on student learning in the context of current assessment practices in academic libraries and higher education.     

Raise Your Profile: Build Your Program

ABSTRACT

To raise the library's profile within the campus community, it is critical to create a strategic plan and align library goals with those of the university. At George Washington University's Gelman Library, the instruction librarians gained internal and external support to hire two new instruction librarians to better support collaboration with the new university writing program. The library then used assessment data to successfully advocate for an additional two positions.     

E-Mail Reference

Summary

This article begins by summarizing national findings of e-mail reference services in academic and public libraries. It next describes types of e-mail reference services as well as commonalities, differences, appearance of the question form, audience, and turnaround time for selected Colorado libraries. The article then focuses on giving a detailed overview and analysis of two years of Colorado State University's e-mail reference experiences. The number, type of question, who/where the questions come from, and to whom the questions are sent are examined. The unexpected uses of the service are identified. Lastly, broader issues to do with e-mail reference services are discussed. This article is based on a presentation given at the Internet Librarian2000 conference.     

The University Library's Role in Planning a Successful Distance Learning Program

Summary

This article examines the role a university library plays in planning the student support services that are so crucial to a successful distance learning program. The content of the paper is based on the experience the author acquired as a member of Texas Tech University's Distance Learning Council. The Council's efforts to plan, prioritize, and develop a distance learning program that will include strong support from the Library are emphasized. The work of the Distance Learning Council and its committees is discussed when it relates to the TTU Library's contribution to the program.