Technologists may find themselves alone on the bleachers trying to find supporters for the next "it" technology. Despite their enthusiasm, many times "it" ends up unused because a thorough evaluation was not performed prior to purchase. Before technologists lobby for approval or support of a new project, the author presents five questions for them…

Building a personal learning network (PLN) for intellectual freedom has long been an important role of a school librarian; however, in the steadily increasing onslaught of digital information that librarians face today, and in the future, the task has become mission-critical. Personal learning, it stands to reason, requires an appropriate dialogue…

Fewer employees, shorter hours, diminished collection budgets, reduced programs and services--all at a time of record library usage. In this book, library expert Carol Smallwood demonstrates that despite the obvious downsides, the necessity of doing business differently can be positive, leading to partnering, sharing, and innovating. This…

With information technologies' pervasive use within all departments and by all staff, libraries and library staff get their fair share of mandated projects. Knowing how to successfully operate in this kind of environment is important to the overall success of the library as a whole. What is meant by mandated project? A mandated project is a…

Do we add that edgy urban novel to our teen collection? Should we initiate social networking? What about abandoning Dewey for a bookstore arrangement? Change is risky business, but librarians must be prepared to initiate change to best serve teens. YA (young adult) service innovators Linda W. Braun, Hillias J. Martin, and Connie Urquhart explain…

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an integral tool in enhancing library services worldwide. This article looks at ways technology is utilized at Massey University to bridge the gap between distance students and traditional library services. There are a variety of software providers, formats and implementation practices…

Librarianship has experienced a few growing pains over the past several years as its relationship with technology matures into a productive partnership. Being overzealous to adopt new technology can sometimes lead to more setbacks than advances in the profession. However, a recent wave of research has been discussing the benefits of integrating…

Libraries throughout the world are increasingly involved in the production of scholarly publications. Much of this has been thanks to the growth of open access (OA) publishing in all its forms, from peer-reviewed "gold" journals to "green" self-archiving, and electronic theses and dissertation (ETD) repositories. As a result, more and more of the…

This will be my first time authoring this column, and I'm delighted to have the opportunity it presents to explore the intersection of library technology and public services. As the recent title of the 2008 Internet Librarian conference indicates, "Beyond Library 2.0: User-Focused Tools and Technologies," the tide of what for several years has…

Libraries are constantly evolving and changing expectations for the user and the information environment. More than just being an authoritative source for research, expertise, and quality content in the form of books and journals, the information center is evolving into a more expansive role. With the growth of information technology awareness and…

Focusing on successful management of the school library media center (SLMC) as a system, this latest edition of an authoritative work addresses and integrates the many trends and developments of the past decade while maintaining the vision of the SLMC as the nerve center of the media system--a network of services oriented to the educational…

This comprehensive handbook offers detailed instructions for accessing the current performance of--and setting objectives for--school library media programs. Useful for both practicing school library media teachers and those in training, this manual shows how to identify problems and potentials, set goals and objectives, structure evaluation…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe some of the problems and issues faced by online library catalogues. It aims to establish how libraries have undertaken the mission of developing the next generation catalogues and how they compare to new tools such as Amazon. Design/methodology/approach: An expert study was carried out in January…

Taking an international approach to reflect the growing number of one-person libraries (OPLs) worldwide, this handbook and directory for OPLs covers organizational culture, customer service, time management and planning, budgeting, accounting, technology, collection development, education, downsizing, outsourcing, and many other key management…

The purpose of this book is to introduce innovative educational concepts and techniques to help librarians and other information professionals create technology learning courses, sessions, workshops, and modules. The book applies the concepts of instructional systems design (ISD) to designing courses, or parts of courses, for instruction on…