To help school librarians develop learners' abilities to contribute to teams that can capitalize on a diversity of thinking and perspective, AASL tasked a 2024 ALA Emerging Leaders team with creating a guide for school librarians based on the Collaborate Shared Foundation in the "National School Library Standards." Working effectively in…

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…

Demonstrating how learning theories are applicable to a variety of real-world contexts, this book will help library workers better understand how people learn so that they can improve support for instruction on their campuses and in their communities. From makerspaces to book clubs, from media facilities to group study spaces, from special events…

Libraries are learning hubs that connect families to free resources, activities, and services to cultivate children's learning about topics that excite them. Despite recent technological developments which have revolutionized how we read and access information, libraries continue to evolve in order to serve their communities, especially families…

Keeping pace with the rapid advance of library technology and electronic services can be both exciting and daunting, especially for libraries with a small (but mighty!) staff. Out of necessity, small staffs often undertake many disparate tasks to keep electronic resources running smoothly for users. Because of these constraints, it is useful for…

Introducing accessibility initiatives is increasing across academic libraries and effective library staff training is one of the factors for the successful implementation and continuity of any accessibility endeavours. This case study outlines the development of a training program to teach student library assistances to format scanned PDFs to be…

Public media stations play a powerful part in connecting families with broadcast and digital resources, local activities, and events that inspire children to learn about the topics that excite them most. The Families Learning Across Boundaries (FamLAB) Project surveyed more than 400 library professionals, 1,550 parents, and 600 pre-K through grade…

The first section of this article reviews the literature on the changing face of reference, beginning with a discussion of the national decline in reference transactions, its causes, and the likelihood that online reference services might one day halt or reverse the decline. It then analyzes definitions of the term "reference," pointing…

The article examines some of the non-routine challenges that an academic library director can expect to deal with during his or her career. Each challenge is discussed in a paragraph or two, beginning by characterizing the challenge as an animal that serves as a metaphor for unusual but nonetheless important conditions that can, sooner or later,…

This timely special report from ALA Editions provides a succinct but comprehensive overview of the "privatization" of public libraries. It provides a history of the trend of local and state governments privatizing public services and assets, and then examines the history of public library privatization right up to the California…

When school librarians are hired, most of them will find positions as the only librarian in the school. Their training, their ideals, and what was once a clear vision of the profession can become murky when removed from their classrooms, their professors, and their peers. New school librarians can look for help in the district policies and…

The author's first school librarian position was in her hometown elementary school where she had been a library aide in the fifth grade. The principal spelled out the problems with the situation she would be entering--the school library was the least favorite of the resources, many policies and procedures were antiquated, and the collection needed…

Reactionary stances against pending budget cuts should be considered to be less favorable positioning for library leaders versus more proactive and anticipatory strategies. By changing the attitudinal and service posturing of library staff and services, libraries can show themselves as a more essential function to their colleges. Budget cuts…

An online survey of institutional repository (IR) managers identified copyright clearance trends in staffing and workflows. The majority of respondents followed a mediated deposit model, and reported that library personnel, instead of authors, engaged in copyright clearance activities for IRs. The most common "information gaps" pertained to the…

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…