The benefits of resource discovery for publishers: a librarian's view

A core goal of librarians is to maximize usage of the content to which their libraries subscribe. Webscale or resource discovery systems offer a single search box for library users to access subscribed content. This article examines usage data at the University of Huddersfield to show how resource discovery has helped to increase the usage of publisher content that has been made available to discovery vendors, and considers the implications for publishers who are yet to do this. The article concludes that resource discovery systems have effectively levelled the playing field, allowing small to medium‐sized publishers to make content discoverable to users, and encourages publishers who do not have their content indexed in resource discovery systems to speak to discovery service vendors in order to do so at the earliest opportunity.     

Giving credit where credit is due: Evaluating experiential learning in the liberal arts

Portfolio assessment has become a standard mechanism for the evaluation of prior learning for experienced students. The assessment of such learning in terms of the traditional liberal arts disciplines raises basic questions about the relationship of liberal learning to lived experience and about liberal learning outcomes. An informal survey of portfolio narratives receiving faculty approval for credit at various post-secondary institutions indicates a wide range of declarative, analytical, and interpretive assertions recognized as learning in these disciplines.I wish to thank the following institutions: Sinclair Community College, Clark University, the University of Alabama, and Indiana University who were kind enough to share materials on record while preserving the confidentiality through the removal of names, dates, etc.