This article discusses the difficulties Kutztown University's Rohrbach Library- and many libraries- face when evaluating eBook collections, and the process used to overcome some of the obstacles to making meaningful comparisons. Two multidisciplinary eBook subscription packages, EBSCO and ProQuest, are the focus of this study. Data collected from…

After three years of collecting electronic resources of troubleshooting tickets in Springhare's LibAnswers at University of Houston Libraries, the author conducted an analysis of over 300 tickets. The type of problem was identified for each ticket and then categorized into a functional area using an existing categorization schema developed at…

As governments around the world are beginning to recognize the role of creativity in the promotion of innovation and competitive advantage in a Global Knowledge Economy (GKE), Creative Knowledge-based Industries are becoming the focus of attention. Nevertheless, and in spite of the rise of Big Data, the prevailing absence of systematic library…

Academic librarians have embraced tools such as e-mail or chat that allow them to deliver reference services virtually, but not many studies have advocated for using social networking sites (SNS) as a medium for answering user questions. Even as reference departments field fewer questions requiring in-depth resources or responses, librarians have…

Recently, a great deal of literature on patron-driven acquisition (PDA) has been published that addresses the implementation and results of PDA programs at academic libraries. However, despite widespread worries that PDA will lead to unbalanced collections, little attention has been paid to whether patrons' and librarians' purchasing differ…

The MLA's report "Language and Literature Research in Regional Comprehensive Institutions" identifies and documents the research support needs of faculty members in the disciplines of literature and language, cultural studies, and writing studies in the United States and its territories, focusing on institutions considered regional…

"University Futures, Library Futures: Aligning library strategies with institutional directions" establishes a new framework for understanding the fit between emerging library service paradigms and university types. It examined the impact of increased institutional differentiation in universities on the organization of academic libraries…

Introduction: Disciplinarity and other forms of differentiation in science have long been studied in the fields of science and technology studies, information science and scientometrics. However, it is not obvious whether these fields are building on each other's findings. Methods: An analysis is made of 609 articles on disciplinarity…

Critiques of hegemonic library classification structures and controlled vocabularies have a rich history in information studies. This project has pointed out the trouble with classification and cataloging decisions that are framed as objective and neutral but are always ideological and worked to correct bias in library structures. Viewing…

This article asks the question: How well versed are school librarians on issues related to labeling and rating systems? As school librarians continue to design and implement resource location schemes to assist patrons, they must recognize the difference between using labels to create interest in books or implementing labeling and rating systems…

There has been longstanding debate about whether the level of complexity of questions received at reference desks and via online chat services requires a librarian's expertise. Continued decreases in the number and complexity of reference questions have all but ended the debate; many academic libraries no longer staff service points with…

With some thought and direction, QR (quick response) codes are a great tool to use in school libraries to enhance access to information. From March through April 2013, Caitlin Ahearn interned at Sanborn Regional High School (SRHS) under the supervision of Pam Harland. As a result of Harland's un-Deweying of the nonfiction collection at SRHS,…

University rankings play an increasingly large role in shaping the goals of academic institutions and departments, while removing universities themselves from the evaluation process. This study compares the library-related results of two university ranking publications with scores on the LibQUAL+™ survey to identify if library service quality--as…

Holocaust denial literature has been treated inconsistently in library collections. At one time Holocaust denial literature was classed and subject headings assigned with Holocaust literature. After specific Library of Congress classification numbers and subject headings for Holocaust denial and Holocaust denial literature became available in the…

This study analyzed the relationships between variables of institutional expenses, library expenses, and library use and variables representing graduation and retention rates for colleges and universities. Using data drawn from the Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System and the Academic Library Survey, institutions were compared by their…