Taking Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery to New Frontiers Using Relais ILL

Abstract

Relais International Inc. would like to take this opportunity to introduce our latest product, Relais ILL. Instructional technology stands out amongst the array of products we have to offer as this product has been designed with the smaller library and interlibrary loan department in mind. Relais interlibrary loan combines the sophistication and automation of Relais Enterprise with ease of installation and implementation. Relais interlibrary loan is ideal for a wide range of libraries that are looking to streamline and automate their interlibrary loan operations.

For a cost-effective and integrated solution to your request management needs, use Relais ILL.

Use Relais ILL: to automatically search a range of catalogs via Z39.50 and use the results to automatically build a routing list; requests are sent out automatically, as ISO interlibrary loan transactions to libraries in the order you specify; stay in touch with patrons using predefined messages or create your own message on the fly.

The task of delivering documents between sites has always been a staff intensive undertaking for libraries due to physical distance, searching for locations for the requested document, availability of the requested document, as well as many other potential obstacles. Relais International Inc. is striving to overcome these barriers by offering swift and efficient Document Delivery and Interlibrary Loan. Relais ILL's features include high levels of automation, tracking of requests, patron communication, and a plethora of possibilities to help simplify the interlibrary loan process.     

Infusing Knowledge of Indigenous Lifeways Into Graduate Collection Management Education

ABSTRACT

In 2013, we conducted a survey of faculty and recent graduates from graduate schools of library and information science (LIS). The purpose of this study was to assess student (as represented by recent graduates) and faculty awareness and opinions about incorporating content about Indigenous ways into their curricula. In short, we found that recent graduates and their faculty were both aware of Indigenous ways but sought varying ways to inform themselves. Faculty believed that they covered this topic in the classes they taught, while graduates reported that they did not hear of Indigenous ways in their course work. Of the courses that LIS students take in their programs, a class on collection management provides a useful platform through which to explore Indigenous identity and access and care of Indigenous cultural knowledge.     

The Role of an Indigenous Nations Library Program and the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledge

ABSTRACT

The Indigenous Nations Library Program (INLP) at the University of New Mexico is entering its twelfth year of program history and developing a unique venture into Indigenous librarianship. Rather than taking a passive role of information literacy and content support, INLP is participating as an active cognitive participant in Indigenous knowledge contextualization. INLP has done this in various ways including designating culturally sensitive learning spaces, collection development, and Indigenous knowledge promotion.     

A New Tool for Collection Assessment: One Library's Response to the Calls to Action Issued by Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission

ABSTRACT

The University of Manitoba's Neil John Maclean Health Sciences Library is a recognized leader in Indigenous and circumpolar health for establishing the Aboriginal Health Collection in 1997, the first discrete collection of materials on the health of Indigenous peoples located in an academic health sciences library in Canada. This article describes the history, development, and scope of what is now known as the Indigenous Health Collection. In June 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) issued the calls to action as part of its mandate to gather information and document the history of Indian Residential Schools and their legacy for all Canadians. The ninety-four calls to action provide clear guidance to governments, institutions, and people to initiate changes to address the legacy in a spirit of true reconciliation. The Neil John Maclean Health Sciences Library was uniquely positioned to respond to the TRC calls to action. The enduring legacy of the residential schools and other discriminatory government policies is one that continues to impact the health status of many people in Canada who identify as Indigenous, First Nations, Metis, Inuit, or Aboriginal. The Indigenous Health Collection includes materials on the health, wellness, and lived experience of Indigenous peoples, the determinants that impact health, and publications documenting community-based and academic research and knowledge. This article provides an example of how an academic health sciences library used the seven TRC calls to action related to health as a framework to assess the resources and collections relied on by educators and students in the health professions.     

Diversity,inclusion & respect: Embedding Indigenous priorities in public library services

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the importance of diversity and inclusion in the design of public library services. Drawing on a case study from the State Library of New South Wales in Australia, the article will outline the focused action of developing an Indigenous Services Business Plan. The Plan promotes inclusion and diversity across the organization to progress Indigenous priorities as core business of the Library. By sharing information on the research and engagement process undertaken, the authors hope to provide a framework that could be utilized by other public libraries to build the inclusion of disadvantaged and diverse communities into the design of library services.     

Russian National Electronic Children's Library

ABSTRACT

The Russian State Children's Library (RGDB) is the largest children's library in the world and has been serving as a cultural and educational center for more than 45 years. Important aspects of RGDB's activities are the development of electronic resources and setting up the library site for distant users. The National Electronic Children's Library in Russia is a specialized digital collection of publications about children and for children. This article focuses on these aspects and the future steps of the project.     

Stocking the Virtual Ready Reference Collection

Summary

Libraries have begun to add chat reference as a method to deliver reference service to remote user populations. To deliver quality service in a timely fashion, libraries need to construct a Virtual Ready Reference Collection (VRRC) of elite ready reference Web sites most often used during the chat reference interaction. This article explores the collection development steps needed to create a VRRC that is most beneficial on the local level. The value in creating this collection lies not just in the end product, but also in the process, which serves as a valuable training exercise. Selecting and maintaining the virtual ready reference collection will enhance the chat reference librarians' ability to deliver service in the chat reference environment.     

“Let's talk about sex”: visitor comments in Contraception: Uncovering the collection of Dame Margaret Sparrow

Contraception: Uncovering the collection of Dame Margaret Sparrow was an exhibition at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa which featured a participatory activity titled “Let's talk about sex” where visitors could answer the question: “If you could give your younger self one piece of advice about contraception, what would it be?” Over 2200 comments were written, inspiring an evaluation project. The resulting analysis provides insights into visitors’ attitudes, values, behaviours, experiences and concerns about contraception, sex, sexuality and sexual health in the early 21st century. The results also demonstrate the value and usefulness of visitor comments both as an exhibition experience and as data to complement formal evaluation methods. The paper also acknowledges the less successful aspects of the project.     

Implementing the Brian Deer Classification Scheme for Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute

ABSTRACT

The library at Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute has a collection of more than 4,000 books, periodicals, and audiovisual materials focused on the culture, history, and language of the Cree Nation. Both Dewey Decimal Classification and Library of Congress Classification use non-Indigenous perspectives that result in unwieldy call numbers for our items, while nevertheless losing the specificity of subjects in our collection. We therefore chose to implement the Brian Deer Classification (BDC) scheme. BDC is a nontraditional system developed specifically for Indigenous libraries in which the collections inform the classification plan. Catalogers with specialized knowledge of the community represented in the collection is essential to success.     

Museums and Indigenous People in Australia: A Review of Previous Possessions,New Obligations: Policies for Museums in Australia and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Previous Possessions, New Obligations was launched by Museums Australia Inc. in 1993, the International Year for the World's Indigenous People, as a policy framework to guide the development of relationships between museums in Australia and Indigenous Australians. The policy was based on consultation with Indigenous people to develop protocols, policies and procedures for more sensitive collection management and for including Indigenous people in research and public programs; and to address issues of governance. It expressed the values that would underpin new relationships between museums in Australia and Indigenous Australians. An evaluation of the policy was conducted in 2000 in a collaboration between the Australian Museum Audience Research Centre, Sydney, and Museums Australia Inc., Canberra. The evaluation found that the policy had substantially met its goals, particularly in establishing the primary rights of Indigenous people to control their cultural material in museum collections. However, a range of substantially new issues emerged which require new policy responses and initiatives.     

Mind the Generation Gap: Millennials and Boomers in the Library Workplace

As editor of On My Mind, I wanted to introduce myself and let you, the reader, know a little bit about what I intend this column to be. Primarily, I want it to be a venue for you to write about anything that has been bugging you or that you think needs to be said. This is an opinion column so please share your opinion. Maybe you want to talk about what you wished you had learned in library school. Or, perhaps you have a bone to pick with people who rely too much on using statistics in their weeding of books from the library's shelves. Whether the majority of librarians hold your opinion or not, I will try to give you a venue to express your thoughts. Also, this column is intended to be informal; feel free to use the first person. That does not mean that you cannot or should not back up statements you make with research. Please do. It does mean that personal anecdotes and stories are encouraged and make for a more interesting read. Finally, inquiries into writing for this column should be directed to me via e-mail. You will get a timely response. –Eric Jennings     

Evolving Concepts and Business Models for Acquiring Electronic Resources

ABSTRACT

Libraries, publishers, and agents all face unique challenges related to the acquisition of electronic resources. Among the many variables that figure into the acquisition of an e-resource are access rights, pricing models, and packaging options. This article looks at several of these variables from both the publisher's and the agent's view, evaluating the current state of affairs and addressing forthcoming developments.     

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.     

Citation Wars

Summary

During the 1990s a sometimes bitter controversy in legal circles has raged concerning what has become known as “citation reform.” Major proponents of reform include small legal publishers, the American Bar Association, and the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). Major opponents include the West Group and a number of federal judges and court clerks. Proponents argue for a universal, public domain, vendor neutral, medium neutral citation system (short title: universal citation) based on two premises: (1) a change is necessary to break the West Group's virtual monopoly on its own citation system, which the courts have up to now declared worthy of copyright protection; and (2) the proposed system is objectively superior to West's version. Because West's citation system is used extensively by the courts, its monopoly status keeps the cost of legal research artificially high at a time when inexpensive technologies like the Internet and CD-ROMs are increasingly making it possible to lower the cost of access to case law. In addition, compared to the West system, a public domain, vendor neutral system is simpler, is permanent when the case is first issued, is uniform for all jurisdictions, covers all formats, print and electronic, and is easier to understand. This article explores the issues surrounding the controversy, discusses the pros and cons of both systems, and analyzes current copyright cases that are likely to determine the outcome of the argument.     

What makes a good title?

The chances are the first thing you when you set out to write an article is the title. But what factors transform a mediocre title into a good title? Firstly, it should be both informative and specific, using words or phrases likely to be used when searching for information, for example ‘nurse education’ rather than simply ‘nurse’. Secondly, it should be concise yet convey the main ideas clearly; articles with short titles reporting study findings have been found to attract higher numbers of viewing and citations. Thirdly, provide details of the study design to assist the reader in making an informed choice about the type of project your article is reporting. In taking these small steps when developing your title, your title can present a more concise, retrievable and clear articulation of your article.     

Aboriginal Students in Canada

Summary

This study involved the use of personal interviews of six Aboriginal students at the University of Alberta in the fall of 1999. This article includes a brief literature review of other articles that consider adult Aboriginal people as library patrons and a section on Indigenous knowledge and values. Findings include three main concerns: a lack of Indigenous resources in the library system; a lack of resource or research development concerning Indigenous issues; and a lack of services recognizing the Indigenous values of “being in relationship” and reciprocity.