Despite the clear negative impact of high textbook costs on students, limits--including space, funding, and policies--prevent many academic libraries from fully supporting textbook collections. Partnering with other campus units on textbook lending requires creative thinking but can provide students access to other services in addition to the…

This report describes an extensive set of actions and resources that can be leveraged by libraries establishing basic research data management programs. Part 1, "Laying the Foundation," is intended to help institutions establish the underpinning for the next steps suggested in Part 2, "Building Up and Out." The order in which…

This article uses the case study of developing a collaborative "out-of-hours" virtual enquiry service by members of the Northern Collaboration Group of academic libraries in the north of England to explore the importance of communication and collaboration between academic library services in enhancing student learning. Set within the…

When most people think about 4-H, they remember county fairs, livestock programs, and agricultural education. While these programs are still prominent, 4-H has grown in order to meet the growing demands of today's youth. The organization has expanded services and programs to serve rural, suburban, and urban youth in every state in the U.S. 4-H is…

The long-term future of the scholarly record in its fullest expression cannot be effectively secured with stewardship strategies designed for print materials. The features of the evolving scholarly record suggest that traditional stewardship strategies, built on an "invisible hand" approach that relies on the uncoordinated,…

At most colleges and universities, there are a number of small, nonlibrary collections across campus, such as those found in student centers or academic departments. Historically, at American University, partnership with these collections was done through absorbing them into the main library collection. Recently, however, the Library has seen…

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…

A small, private academic library took the risk of moving from a traditional integrated library system to adopting a system "in the cloud." This case study presents the setting, history, and local needs of the library, including staffing challenges, and explains the decision-making rationale and process. A description of the library's transition…

This article presents and discusses a 3-D online environment known as Teen Second Life. TSL is a virtual environment geared just for youth, ages 13-17. Its social appeal is huge, especially for teens who are developmentally inclined to seek out the company of their peers. In TSL one can meet friends or make new ones, hang out, listen to music and…

In fall 2008, a collaborative partnership was formed between the libraries of two Indiana universities--Marian College's (now Marian University) Mother Theresa Hackelmeier Memorial Library, and the University Library at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). The authors discuss the digital nature of this collaboration, which…

At least since the early 1990s, academic libraries have been merging Circulation and various other related functions into a single department typically labeled "Access Services." In many cases, however, that merger has proven to be administrative rather than functional, with minimal integration of common workflows. This article describes…

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…

Describes four library resource sharing projects in (1) New Zealand, (2) Papua New Guinea, (3) Australia, and (4) Fiji. Numerous shared services are discussed, including national bibliographies, publications exchanges, staff exchanges, clearing centers for duplicates, library planning, and national collections. (LLS)

This article describes the development of the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA). The VIVA statistics-processing system remains a work in progress. Member libraries will benefit from the ability to obtain the actual data from the VIVA site, rather than just the summaries, so a project to make these data available is currently being planned. The…

This paper discusses the current operations and future activities of the Minnesota Interlibrary Telecommunications Exchange (MINITEX) and the Illinois Library and Information Network (ILLINET), two state networks established in the 1960s with the common goal of cooperation to provide library resources to their citizens, but with independent…