The Main Library Service Desk is a one-stop academic help center located between a newly renovated student-focused space called the Learning Commons and the library collections. Services began with the first day of classes, August 26, 2013, and assessment has been ongoing, in part due to the availability of data. Staffing levels, staffing hours,…

Kent State University has developed a centralized system that manages the communication and work related to the review and selection of commercially available electronic resources. It is an automated system that tracks the review process, provides selectors with price and trial information, and compiles reviewers' feedback about the resource. It…

Librarians are familiar with the single-line form, the consolidated index, which represents a very large portion of a library's print and online collection. Their end users are familiar with the idea of a single search across a comprehensive index that produces a large, relevancy-ranked results list. Even though most patrons would not recognize…

Libraries, as authoritative custodians and providers of information, are facing a number of challenges as they are trying to adjust to the new information environment. Some challenges arise from major paradigm shifts in recent decades relating to the understanding of the nature of information processes and conceptions of authority. Engagement…

Macquarie University Library's planning for a new library coincided with a major renewal of the university's curriculum and research activity. This provided a significant opportunity to re-think the presentation of the library collections in the new environment. This article describes how strategic alignment with university goals and the framework…

In 2011 the University of Wollongong Library undertook a significant review of its Resource Sharing services. This was prompted by constraints in the systems supporting this service, changes to the Library's key suppliers, Infotrieve Australia and the British Library Document Supply Service, and the need to deliver effective library services…

Software pricing is not a straightforward issue, since each procurement involves a special business arrangement between a library and its chosen vendor. The author thinks that it is reasonable to scale the cost of a product to such factors as the size of the library, the complexity of the installation, the number of simultaneous users, or the…

This 2015 fact book for the Florida College System is divided into the following categories: (1) Student Information, which includes fall, annual, FTE, and program enrollment statistics, as well as credit program completion statistics; (2) Employee Information, which includes statistics regarding employee headcount by occupational activity, and…

The high rate of technological change that libraries are experiencing makes it seem that the future is closer than it used to be. Rather than having some notion of the future, particularly in emerging technologies, librarians need to be kept well informed and up-to-date in the potential uses of these technologies, especially those that apply to…

Discusses ways a microcomputer system might enhance the mainframe library system at Vanderbilt University. Topics include: (1) types of microcomputers; (2) types of terminals; (3) characteristics of a dumb terminal; (4) characteristics of an intelligent terminal; (5) which terminals should be given additional features; and (6) designing an…

The third of three articles on the NOTIS interface to locally mounted database tapes looks at the experience of the Vanderbilt University library. Topics include the system control file, master functions, database functions, terminal functions that regulate access, database maintenance, impact on the local computer system, and report features.…

Discusses the retrospective conversion of the cataloging records of Texas A & M University Library into machine-readable format, noting choice of alternatives to complete project, choice of vendor, in-house preparation, problems and procedures in execution of the project, and benefits gained. (EJS)

Librarians are frequently consulted about proper citation formats and support the use of PC-based personal bibliographic citation management programs, such as EndNote, often used by faculty and graduate students. Recently, free or inexpensive Web-based tools have been developed that create citations and format bibliographies. An analysis of…

Three papers discuss: (1) development of the CONSER (Conservation of Serials) Editing Guide; (2) original input of serials into OCLC by the Iowa State University Library; and (3) description of the use of RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network) for serials cataloging with references to uses at the University of Iowa. (MES)

Discussion of recent developments in personal workstations and software that make it possible to extend the utility of library systems presents the advantages of workstations as well as technical problems and potential solutions. Development of a simple prototype workstation environment at the University of Western Ontario is described. (16…