Extending the hand of knowledge: promoting mobile technologies

The widespread use of handheld computers and other mobile devices in the healthcare environment and their potential for providing access to information has prompted health sciences librarians everywhere to learn more about this technology. Early in 2001, the Health Sciences Library (HSL) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill began exploring ways to support mobile computing. This paper describes the four basic approaches taken by the librarians that helped establish the HSL as a leader in the area of mobile technologies.     

Education on the appalachian trail: What 2,000 miles can teach us about learning

Rather than dwelling on why too many men don't succeed in college, trekker Karen Arnold examines the features of an experience in which many men do excel: the long hike from Georgia to Maine. Educators can learn why accomplishing this feat may be more rewarding than college.     

Planning for the Budget-ocalypse: The Evolution of a Serials/ER Cancellation Methodology

The University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries are funded almost entirely by undergraduate student use fees. As the undergraduate enrollment has plateaued in recent years, the libraries have not been able to keep up with rising costs, resulting in a series of cuts to the materials budget totaling around $3.25 million. While some of these cuts took the form of reductions in firm orders and dissolution of approval plans, for the past three years the bulk has come from cancellations of serials and electronic resources. With each year’s cuts, the UNT Collection Development department has been forced to modify and refine their deselection process. This article will show the development of UNT’s strategy for determining cancellations using a variety of methods (overlap analysis, usage statistics, faculty input) and tools (EBSCO Usage Consolidation, Serials Solutions 360).     

International students’ linguistic transitions into disciplinary studies: a rhizomatic perspective

Higher Education - This paper offers a reconceptualisation of international students’ transitions into and through UK higher education. We present two case studies of students which explore...