In the summer of 2013, staff in the Access Services unit of an academic library began a cross-training and collaboration project in an effort to provide continued library service to the campus community. The cross-training was established in an attempt to address a shortage of staff as a result of budget cuts. The cross-training resulted in the…

This article describes the planning process and implementation of a single service point at Yale University's Sterling Memorial Library. While much recent scholarship on single service points (SSPs) has focused on the virtues or hazards of eliminating reference desks in libraries nationwide, this essay explores the ways in which single service…

Studies about diversity initiatives in academic libraries have primarily focused on large research libraries. But what kinds of diversity work occur at smaller libraries? This study examines the status of diversity initiatives, especially those aimed at students, at national liberal arts college libraries. Results from a survey of library…

In January 2012, a group of four school library professors attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting were having lunch and discussing various issues related to the school library field. These school library professors agreed that one challenge facing the profession is preparing future leaders. As current school library leaders retire, it is difficult to…

Implementing a library advisory committee (LAC) is one of those fundamentals taught in the Master of Library Science program: gather shareholders, create consensus, and build a community. But the day-to-day reality of K-12 schools often is not conducive to vision building, and if there is no administrator support for such a committee, faculty and…

The University of Manchester Library (UML) is embarking on an ambitious new strategy that aims to align the library more closely to the work of the University--to contribute to the University's strategic success. This article describes elements of the strategy development and content, focusing on methods used; how the service has worked…

Birmingham City University's Library and Learning Resources' strategic aim is to improve student satisfaction. A key element is the achievement of the Customer Excellence Standard. An important component of the standard is the mapping of services to improve quality. Library and Learning Resources has developed a methodology to map these…

One of the toughest challenges in an academic library systems office is how to manage and present the extensive selection of electronic resources from a variety of vendors. At York College of Pennsylvania, the authors participated in an admissions-driven web revision cycle and used a campus-provided CMS for 8 years. During this time, they tried…

During a six month contract with the Royal University of Bhutan, the author was required to develop the initial stages of a first library qualification to be offered in Bhutan. Questions raised by this project included: is a first qualification in librarianship needed in Bhutan? What are the potential student numbers in such a programme? What…

Purposeful assessment of space for the understanding and improvement of the academic library is a relatively new area of inquiry. This essay offers a framework to consider different factors affecting such an assessment and insights for undertaking a meaningful inquiry about the relationship of space to an academic library's evolving purpose as…

Do we add that edgy urban novel to our teen collection? Should we initiate social networking? What about abandoning Dewey for a bookstore arrangement? Change is risky business, but librarians must be prepared to initiate change to best serve teens. YA (young adult) service innovators Linda W. Braun, Hillias J. Martin, and Connie Urquhart explain…

On June 15-16, 2010, California State Librarian Stacey A. Aldrich, initiated a strategic planning summit in Sacramento, California. The purpose of the summit was to build the future pathways for the California State Library (CSL)--one of California's oldest cultural institutions. This was accomplished by developing a CSL strategic plan (values,…

This publication provides an overview of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), including programs, initiatives, research projects, publications, and strategic partnerships. It also provides tips for developing competitive grant applications and staff contacts for each program for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2008. Once grant…

This book, written by a number of library professionals, familiarizes the reader with the motives for and purposes of evaluation and the major contexts and models for evaluation and provides explicit examples how evaluation projects have been and can be carried out in a variety of library contexts. The strategies in this book grew from the S:OLE…

Designed to assist with the management of e-resources, electronic resource management (ERM) systems are time- and fund-consuming to purchase and maintain. Questions of system compatibility, data population, and workflow design/redesign can be difficult to answer; sometimes those answers are not what we'd prefer to hear. The two primary functions…