To create more direct and equal collaborations with faculty, the University of Minnesota Libraries in the Twin Cities adapted a new model of engagement: the "Research Sprints." Research Sprints place librarians in direct proximity with faculty to rapidly and collaboratively work on a component of a research project in less than a week.…

Some of the most enduring, and engaging, questions within academic librarianship are those about students and research skills. The vocabulary employed for discussion has evolved, but essential questions--what skills do students need to be taught, who should teach them, and how?--have persisted from the nineteenth century into the twenty-first.…

Effective leadership and increasing diversity are central concerns in the library profession. Using qualitative interviewing and research methods, this study identifies the attributes, knowledge, and skills that African American women need in order to be successful leaders in today's Association of Research Libraries (ARL). These findings indicate…

Library/information science professionals need a clearly articulated definition of usability/Web usability to implement intuitive websites. In this study, the authors analyzed usability definitions provided by the ARL library professionals and those found in the library/information science and computer science-information systems literature.…