As the need for digital content increases almost daily, preserving this content for university libraries, especially in the least developed and developing nations, becomes a challenge, resulting in the loss of this data. Even though most of these libraries are automated and adopt one digital preservation strategy or the other, library users need…

The author, a digital access architect in the information systems department of the Orange County Library System in Florida, was given the challenge of creating a library mobile app around the 2009 holiday season. At that time, Sheri Chambers, digital content manager in the information systems department, and Debbie Moss, assistant director of the…

Academic, government, and corporate librarians organize and leverage internal resources and content through institutional repositories and library catalogs. Getting more value and usage from the content they license is a key goal. However, the ever-growing amount of content and shifting user demands for new materials or features has made the…

Changes presented by cloud computing--shared computing services, applications, and storage available to end users via the Internet--have the potential to seriously alter how libraries provide services, not only remotely, but also within the physical library, specifically concerning challenges facing the typical desktop computing experience.…

In this case study the authors describe Pepperdine University Libraries' migration to OCLC's WorldShare Management Services. They elaborate on the rationale for the decision, review some of the challenges and lessons encountered along the way, and briefly discuss some effects of the new system on our libraries. The focus is on technical services…

The purpose of this report is twofold: first, to introduce the field of digital forensics to professionals in the cultural heritage sector; and second, to explore some particular points of convergence between the interests of those charged with collecting and maintaining born-digital cultural heritage materials and those charged with collecting…

When improving a web presence, today's libraries have a choice: using a free Web 2.0 application, opting for open source, buying a product, or building a web application. This article discusses how to make an informed decision for one's library. The authors stress that deciding whether to use a free Web 2.0 application, to choose open source, to…

This paper takes a look at how one academic health sciences librarian brought mediated literature searching to the distance RN to BSN nursing students. It takes a look at why Adobe Connect was the webinar software that was selected to deliver online instruction to the students. The article explains how students participated in a pre-class survey…

In the last issue, this journal asked a question on many librarians' minds, and it was pleased with the depth and variety of responses. As suggested by this journal editorial board member Oliver Pesch, readers were asked, "Many libraries have gone to federated searching to win users back from Google. Is it working?" Respondents approached the…

The Contra Costa County Library is located within the greater San Francisco Bay Area. With 26 physical locations and a virtual branch, it has more than 400,000 cardholders and serves a population of almost 1 million. As part of developing a strategic plan to meet the needs of the public in the 21st century, the library hired a consultant to gather…

This article details the development of the Library Instruction Wiki (http://instructionwiki.org): an effort to develop a web-based, knowledge-sharing resource. Though some library instruction is specific to a given institution or class, much of what instruction librarians teach is similar. Library instructors have repeatedly expressed the desire…

As head of information technology at the Prior Health Sciences Library, Eric Schnell likes to improve products that don't fully meet his library's purposes. His first major software product, the award-winning Prospero Electronic Delivery Project, is a web-based document delivery system designed to complement Ariel[R] by converting documents to a…

There has been a move afoot in libraries of all kinds to incorporate open source software and applications to better support their rapidly evolving information access and delivery services. There has been particular interest in a specific configuration of open source components?known by the acronym LAMP?that can be used to build fairly complex Web…

Sixteen papers from a workshop on computer applications sponsored by the University of Cape Town (South Africa) School of Librarianship are presented in this volume: (1) "Introduction to the Use of Information Technology" (Sue Bleimschein); (2) "Searching Remote Databases" (Steve Rossouw); (3) "SABINET [South African Bibliographic and Information…

This paper examines podcasting as a library support for distance learning and information systems and services. The manuscript provides perspective on the knowledge base in the growing area of podcasting in libraries and academia. A walkthrough of the podcast creation and distribution process using basic computing skills and open source tools is…