Academic librarian hiring processes are designed to allow hiring institutions to learn about candidates through a multiple-round process, but often these processes are not designed with the candidates in mind. This paper uses a qualitative approach to interpret and understand how the attitudes of search committee members shape on-campus interview…

This paper reports the results of a pilot project conducted Spring 2021 in which Milner Library licensed seventy-five assigned texts to fifty-two courses at Illinois State University. The authors used the pilot as a springboard to explore faculty perspectives on textbook selection, textbook affordability, and the role of the academic library in…

This study was designed to inform the renaming of a credit-bearing information literacy course. Researchers surveyed librarians to gather existing information literacy course titles. They also surveyed and held focus groups with students to learn what students consider when choosing electives, to understand how well the researchers' current…

Academic libraries have long employed students in roles vital to running a library, such as checking books in and out, shelving, and answering basic patron questions. More recently, libraries have also sought ways to demonstrate value and align with campus priorities, such as student engagement. This study uses interviews with library employers…

This study documents the experience of, and identifies professional barriers for, academic librarians and archivists with invisible illnesses and/or disabilities. Results from a survey of MLIS-holding individuals in academic positions indicate that invisible illness or disability often impacts the ability to succeed at work, but many are reluctant…

This study is the first of its kind to analyze and compare demand-driven acquisition (DDA) ebook programs on a large scale by using eight academic libraries. The purpose is to understand which factors contribute to successful collection management practices and sustainability. Study findings also offer insight into weeding practices and suggest…

This article presents the results of a study of academic e-books that compared the metadata and search results from major academic e-book platforms. The authors collected data and performed a series of test searches designed to produce the same result regardless of platform. Testing, however, revealed metadata-related errors and significant…

Citation management programs are tools used to organize references and to create citations and bibliographies. Libraries are often the central point for providing training and support in using these tools. To determine how we could improve our support and training services, we surveyed users to determine what software in being used, why they chose…

In this study, researchers surveyed academic librarians about their open access publishing practices. This analysis explores approaches to journal selection, awareness of open access options, and self-archiving practices. Fifty percent of the librarians in this study considered free open access when selecting a potential journal for publication,…

This SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit reports results of a survey of ARL (Association of Research Libraries) that examined the nature and structure of the interview process at large research and academic libraries in the United States and Canada. By determining the nature and structure of the interview, it is hoped that candidates…

This report on the process by which a university librarian is selected is based on interviews with key participants in searches for library directors at five medium to large universities, each of which had selected a new university librarian within the two years prior to the survey. It was found that the five universities--one private, one…

This SPEC Kit, published six times per year, examines how Association of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries have structured themselves to identify networked information resources in the market, to evaluate them for purchase, to make purchasing decisions, to publicize them, and to assess their continued utility. In the summer of 1999, the survey…

A survey of 29 medium-sized academic libraries gathered data on collection development methods in foreign literatures including the language and academic background of the bibliographer; bases of selection decisions; acquisition rates for French, German, and Spanish literature as compared to English/American literature; acquisition practices; and…

The purpose of this project was to determine if publishers, by numbering a monographic series, facilitate the acquisition or retrieval of individual monographs. Treatment of monographic series has been erratic for several reasons: (1) changing cataloging codes; (2) inconsistency by the library of Congress in regard to series added entries and…

Based on responses to a survey from 79 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries, this Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit explores how these libraries are currently addressing management issues associated with materials budgets. The survey addressed the following broad areas: how libraries define their materials…