The online catalog, commercial discovery layers, the open Web, and books available for browsing in libraries all aid in the process of discovery of resources. An absence of books means one fewer discovery method available. It is important, therefore, that libraries retain physical books in open stacks to offer communities a hands-on opportunity to…

Many observers find it baffling that faculty in higher education have been slow to adopt open educational resources (OER). The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, a private foundation that makes grants to expand access to learning materials, defines OER as: Teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been…

Colleges and universities have been among the leaders nationwide in adopting green initiatives, partly due to their demographics, but also because they are facing their own budget pressures. Virtualization has become the poster child of many schools' efforts, because it provides significant bang for the buck. However, more and more higher…

This survey of Arizona library services includes an examination of the current library situation in the state, a forecast of future needs and the resources required to meet them, and a comprehensive plan for statewide library services. Procedures for the study involved questionnaires sent to all types of libraries in the state and each school…

A study of the reserve materials collection at the Main Library from a usage and cost analysis perspective revealed that 93.7% of all items that circulated could have been circulated an equal number of times through the standard circulation procedure which allows material to be used for seven days. The remaining 6.3% of the material which…

Jennifer Duvernay, a science reference librarian at Arizona State University (ASU), feels it is very important to make sure that the information shopping experience is completely satisfying. "I'd like our students to choose to come to us because they have good experiences with us, trust us, and like us, despite [the availability of] plenty of…

This article discusses the response of at-risk students to their initial library orientation. By presenting an entertaining yet informative session, students will be quickly put at ease. The goal of this type of orientation is to promote the library's resources and services, address basic queries, and encourage students' return in a…

Northland Pioneer College (NPC) consists of five mini-centers located throughout Navajo County (Arizona), and extension classes offered in areas where no centers have been established. Because it was financially impossible to create separate libraries to service all these areas, a decentralized library system was needed. The Holbrook Center, which…

A survey was sent to 150 individuals (110 responded) employed as assistant or probationary librarians, or as assistant (tenure-tracked) professors with the departments of behavior or social sciences at the three Arizona universities: University of Arizona, Tucson; Arizona State University, Tempe; and Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff. The…