Dinosaurs in a Jetson world: A dozen ways to revitalize your microforms collection

Microforms collections are at a crossroads and how effective libraries are in increasing the visibility and usability of these collections will determine whether they endure. In the last decade many libraries have made significant changes in how they process, catalog, and provide access to their traditional book and journal collections, even in how they view their library's physical spaces and the role of library services in providing support for their collections. This article will suggest changes libraries will need to make if they expect to mainstream the most useful and valuable parts of their microforms collections by applying some of the same innovative and change-oriented approaches they have used in other areas of their libraries.     

Carnegie Mellon University and University Microfilms International "Virtual Library Project"

Carnegie Mellon University and University Microforms International (UMI) are collaborating on a three and one-half year development project for a virtual library. More than 650 bitmapped journal titles from UMI will be available through the University's Library Information System to Carnegie Mellon University students and faculty over the campus fiber optic network. The paper provides an overview of the project and discusses how journal information is presented to users. An overview of the economics of full-text journals online is also provided.     

Making lemonade from lemons: a case study on loss of space at the Dolph Briscoe,Jr. Library,University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

The setting for this case study is the Dolph Briscoe, Jr. Library, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, a health sciences campus with medical, dental, nursing, health professions, and graduate schools. During 2008–2009, major renovations to the library building were completed including office space for a faculty development department, multipurpose classrooms, a 24/7 study area, study rooms, library staff office space, and an information commons. The impetus for changes to the library building was the decreasing need to house collections in an increasingly electronic environment, the need for office space for other departments, and growth of the student body. About 40% of the library building was remodeled or repurposed, with a loss of approximately 25% of the library''s original space. Campus administration proposed changes to the library building, and librarians worked with administration, architects, and construction managers to seek renovation solutions that meshed with the library''s educational mission.     

Learning Spaces in Public Libraries

This article focuses on the impact of learning spaces as well as collaborative technology, which affects library building and design. The article illustrates that learning spaces are an important component in the design of library buildings rather then a temporary trend. During each of our company's latest public library building projects, both librarians and architecture teams have recognized the need to support increases in learning activities. To bring more users to the public library, they recommended that the building needed increased seating to support training, education and in‐house cultural programming. The stories cited in this article suggest that there is a relationship between learning spaces and collaborative technology. Among librarians and library planners, learning spaces are seen as a unifying requirement for the expansion of library services. They recognize that the library's seating plan must include more learning spaces to support social networking, sharing and project base learning. Our qualitative findings suggest that public libraries need more learning spaces to support new types of digital work.     

CLIC! The Community Library Information Center:

The late '60s saw public libraries moving toward the establishment of information an a referral service through the creation of neighborhood information centers. The Prince George's County Memorial Library System, in Maryland, was one of those systems, establishing CLIC, the Community Library Information Center, in 1971. CLIC was housed in a neighborhood branch library, located within the Model Cities Area. Funded by the federal Model Cities (MNA) program, the service was designed to serve residents and human service providers in the Model Cities Area. Whcn the CLIC proposal was initially conceived, certain basic questions were generated: 1. Can an Information, Referral and Follow-Up (I. R & F.) service be established in a neighborhood branch library, dealing with a limited(geographically) clientele and a limited range of agency services? 2. Can the techniques of an I.R. & F. begun in a decentralized way (i.e. in a neighborhood branch library) be made applicable to and/or serve as a base for a subsequent centralization and dissemination throughout a large county? This article traces the history and discusses the various functions performed by the CLIC! service over the past IS years in an effort to provide answers to those questions.     

Applying serials & acquisitions skills on the “other side”

In June 1995, several librarians at the Fletcher Library of Arizona State University West resigned. The Library viewed this as an opportunity to examine the structure of the library and decided that the current contingent of librarians would assume the program responsibilities of the departing librarians on an interim basis. In addition to the author's regular responsibilities for serials acquisitions and serials management, she was given interim responsibility for management of the Journals/Microforms service programs and document delivery, as well as the supervision of the classified staff in that unit. She expected to draw upon her familiarity with serials and acquisitions, as well as previous supervisory experience, to maintain what is an important service point for the Library at ASU West. This paper will document the impact that decisions in serials acquisitions and control have on public service points and describe what impact this interim assignment in the public service sector will have on both the front-line and back-room operations at ASU West Library.     

A Student-Focused Usability Study of the Western Michigan University Libraries Home Page

Abstract

Three sources indicated the need for designing a usability study of the Western Michigan University Libraries' Web site: the results of the 2004 LibQUAL+ survey; the completion of the library's new strategic planning document; and suggestions by library customers and library staff. LibQUAL+ findings and customer comments suggested customers desired more independent use of the library site; better and easier electronic access to library resources, allowing customers to search for and find content on their own; and improved online help. A usability analysis was conducted with graduate and undergraduate students. The results from a task-based questionnaire, observations by investigators, and follow-up discussion sessions are presented. Investigators found usability testing alone may not be adequate to gain the qualitative data necessary for ascertaining the site's ease of use and usefulness and that a multipronged approach might be needed when evaluating a library Web site.     

Causality dilemma: creating a twenty-first century university archive

For its fifteenth anniversary, the Jay Sexter Library at Touro University Nevada (TUN) sought ways to capture its institutional history by founding an archive. Among many challenges, the library struggled to convince the administration of the importance of an archive. To generate interest in TUN''s history, a task force comprising library, executive administration, and advancement staff hosted and recorded a panel event with some of the university''s original faculty, staff, and administration. By having this event, new TUN employees were able to experience the shared knowledge of TUN''s early days, and the library was able to create and preserve its own institutional history.     

The Third Place: The Library as Collaborative and Community Space in a Time of Fiscal Restraint

In a period of fiscal constraint, when assumptions about the library as place are being challenged, administrators question the contribution of every expense to student success. Libraries have been successful in migrating resources and services to a digital environment accessible beyond the library. What is the role of the library as place when users do not need to visit the building to utilize library services and resources? We argue that the college library building's core role is as a space for collaborative learning and community interaction that cannot be jettisoned in the new normal.     

Transitioning from Marketing-Oriented Design to User-Oriented Design: A Case Study

The transition to a new architecture and design for an academic library Web site does not always proceed smoothly. In this case study, a library at a large research university hired an outside Web development contractor to create a new architecture and design for the university's Web site using dotCMS, an open-source content management system. The library participated in the design and development process along with other campus units. Because the university-wide process focused on marketing the university to prospective students, parents, and donors, the contractor's fact-finding process focused on how the library's site design could incorporate Web 2.0 technologies. The resulting library Web site showcased Web 2.0 technology more than it provided users with access to library resources. The library's users quickly communicated their dissatisfaction and confusion, which led to some immediate changes and a commitment to redesign the site based on expressed and demonstrated user needs. The library then hired another contractor to conduct iterative usability testing on both the new site and prototypes for a redesigned version. The testing showed that Web 2.0 technology that does not meet existing user needs creates obstacles for both novice and experienced users. In collaboration with the university's information technology unit, the library developed and launched a revised Web site, which helped users connect to the resources they needed. In the upgrade, Google Search Appliance replaced the native dotCMS search functionality. The authors of this case study demonstrate that libraries may need to advocate for different Web design priorities than those used at the university-wide level and that working with outside contractors presents different challenges and opportunities depending on the contractor's hiring unit. These experiences also demonstrate that libraries can do a better job learning about their users when they lead the fact-finding process. Following these experiences, the library committed to conducting iterative usability testing on a regular basis.     

From Surgeon General's bookshelf to National Library of Medicine: a brief history.

The National Library of Medicine originated as a few books in the office of the army''s surgeon general, Joseph Lovell, between 1818 and 1836. It became the nation''s largest medical library after the Civil War under the direction of John Shaw Billings and began publishing the Index-Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon General''s Office and preparing the Index Medicus. After Billings retired in 1895, the library marked time as army medical officers were rotated through as directors until modernization began under Harold Wellington Jones during World War II. during the directorship of Frank B. Rogers (1949-1963), who introduced MEDLARS, guided the move to a new building in Bethesda, and revitalized other operations, the institution received statutory authority as the National Library of Medicine within the Public Health Service (1956). By 1965, which was marked by the passage of the Medical Library Assistance Act, the library had again regained a position of world leadership.     

National library for Bangladesh

This paper gives a comprehensive account of the development of library and information science education in Africa. Ghana was first to start any kind of library education in 1944 but the formal education started at Ibadan, Nigeria in 1959. By 1970 there were six library schools; four new schools started during 1970s and another six during 1980s. Two Regional Schools with Master's programme in Information Science started in 1990. Two new schools are likely to start soon. Nigeria alone has eight schools providing professional education at all levels including PhD (which is only available in Nigeria) and an exclusive programme of Master in Information Science at ARCIS, Ibadan. Several schools, realizing the importance of new developments in information science and technology, are planning to incorporate this component into their curriculae. The existing programmes need to be assessed in context of information needs of Africa.     

Mobile Library Service in Key Chinese Academic Libraries

Mobile Internet applications and service innovations are changing people's way of life. At the same time, they are also changing the way that people communicate and access information. People who visited libraries to find specific information in the past are now able to find the same information online. As the spectrum of human need grows, the opportunities for librarians to meet these needs are also growing. Libraries will need to be designed to accommodate the changing needs of their users. Mobile library services can meet users' information needs in a fast-paced society. In this investigation we identified 39 university libraries supported by the Ministry of Education's “Project 985” and evaluated their status as mobile library service providers.     

Development of Library and Information Science Education in Africa

This paper gives a comprehensive account of the development of library and information science education in Africa. Ghana was first to start any kind of library education in 1944 but the formal education started at Ibadan, Nigeria in 1959. By 1970 there were six library schools; four new schools started during 1970s and another six during 1980s. Two Regional Schools with Master's programme in Information Science started in 1990. Two new schools are likely to start soon. Nigeria alone has eight schools providing professional education at all levels including PhD (which is only available in Nigeria) and an exclusive programme of Master in Information Science at ARCIS, Ibadan. Several schools, realizing the importance of new developments in information science and technology, are planning to incorporate this component into their curriculae. The existing programmes need to be assessed in context of information needs of Africa.     

Integrating with users is one thing,but living with them? a case study on loss of space from the Medical Center Library,University of California,San Diego

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center is the primary hospital for the UCSD School of Medicine. The UCSD Medical Center Library (MCL), a branch of the campus''s biomedical library, is located on the medical center campus. In 2007, the medical center administration made a request to MCL for space in its facility to relocate pharmacy administration from the hospital tower. The university librarian brought together a team of library managers to deliberate and develop a proposal, which ultimately accommodated the medical center''s request and enhanced some of MCL''s public services.     

Moving the New York University Abu Dhabi Library

Using Steven Carl Fortriede's method in Moving Your Library: Getting the Collection From Here to There as a framework, we successfully moved the New York University Abu Dhabi Library from a library and off-site storage facility to one new library. While we generally followed Fortriede's advice, we deviated from his plan in three important ways: We created a color-coding system for the boxes, which eliminated the need to keep the boxes in strict order; we integrated two collections during the move (rather than before); and we created phantom books to create space for lengthy multivolume sets in the smaller collection.     

博物馆:我们共有文化精神的前沿实验室

当代公共博物馆在经历了250余年的发展演变之后,其发展的社会、文化、专业甚至经济环境,都在发生着重要变化。新的趋势无疑为博物馆带来新机遇、新可能,同时也伴随新挑战。在今天博物馆需要回答的诸多问题中,有一个始终处于核心位置:我们的博物馆机构是否对社会很重要？无论是眼下还是长远的未来。围绕于此的相关讨论,让当代博物馆新的文化观逐渐清晰起来,让博物馆为适应新形势而进行的战略选择有了新的坐标,并最终引导出关于博物馆价值体系可能的重构以及新的运行规则。