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…

At Webster University, solo librarians manage libraries on six campuses in Africa, Europe, and Asia. On the home campus in St. Louis, ten librarians at a traditional library serve faculty, staff, and students at metro and military campuses across the U.S., at international campuses, and online. To ensure consistency for users, librarians have…

In the competitive Higher Education environment, it is no longer sufficient for special collections to rely on the "uniqueness" of a collection as its unique selling point--it must be supported by a service and strategic plan that is both proactive in anticipating the demands of future researchers and responsive to current researchers'…

"Special Libraries, Special Challenges" is a column dedicated to exploring the unique public services challenges that arise in libraries that specialize in a particular subject, such as law, medicine, business, and so forth. In each column, the author will discuss public service dilemmas and opportunities that arise in special libraries.…

Recently, The City College of New York (CCNY) libraries engaged in a collaborative project to transfer the bibliographic holdings for textbook course reserves to a new module when their integrated library systems, the Ex Libris Aleph Integrated Library System, underwent a system upgrade. In this article, the Chief of Circulation and the Chief of…

This article provides the framework for a set of standards and outcomes that would constitute information literacy with primary sources. Based on a working model used at Dartmouth College's Rauner Special Collections Library in Hanover, New Hampshire, these concepts create a framework for teaching with primary source materials intended to produce…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") focuses on current and emerging topics that are strategically important to research libraries. The articles explore issues, share information, pose critical questions, and provide examples. This issue includes: (1) Editor's Note (M. Sue Baughman); (2) Shooting at Florida State University…

Two material 3D printing is becoming increasingly popular, inexpensive and accessible. In this paper, freely available printable files and dual extrusion fused deposition modelling were combined to create a number of functional anatomical models. To represent muscle and bone FilaFlex[superscript 3D] flexible filament and polylactic acid (PLA)…

An increasing number of institutions are freeing up shelf space in their libraries and moving in student services as well as a coffee shop and other lures such as flexible seating arrangements. Librarians are taking down the silence signs in all but the quiet study room and urging members of the academic community to meet, talk, research and…

This article describes a project undertaken as part of a cross-campus strategic planning effort. The project documented current campus practices and systems in use for collecting, analyzing and reporting key research metrics. The project identified organizational issues around siloed data collection and lack of clarity on data stewards, data…

In this brief article, University of Dayton Discovery Services Librarian Christina Beis describes how she manages the life cycle of electronic resources which includes access, discovery, assessment and problem resolution. Adoption and development of new workflows is essential to the success of this newly created position. Beis describes how she…

This paper will outline the process and discussions undertaken at the University of Denver's University Libraries to implement a lending service providing video game consoles. Faculty and staff at the University Libraries decided to pursue the new lending service, though not a traditional library offering, to support the needs of a video game…

In the spring of 2015, the University of Minnesota Libraries formed the Content Services department, which is comprised of Interlibrary Loan, Publishing Services, and the Copyright Permissions Service. These three service points, as well as additional Library units, work together with campus partners to save students money on their course…

Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, have recently emerged as a disruptive pedagogy gaining rapid momentum in higher education. In some states, proposed legislations would accredit MOOCs to provide college-credit courses in the name of cost saving, efficiency and access. While debates rage regarding the place of MOOCs in higher education, some…

Kara J. Malenfant wrote in her 2010 article "Leading Change in the System of Scholarly Communication: A Case Study of Engaging Liaison Librarians for Outreach to Faculty" that it would be interesting to revisit the University of Minnesota (UMN) Libraries in three years and see how they are doing. Malenfant had documented a culture shift…