The rise of game development and game studies on university campuses prompts academic libraries to consider how to support teaching and research in this area. This article examines current issues and challenges in the development of game collections at academic libraries. The gaming ecosystem has become more complex and libraries may need to move…

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…

Decoding disciplinary expertise for novices is increasingly part of the undergraduate curriculum. But how might area studies and other interdisciplinary programs, which require integration of courses from multiple disciplines, decode expertise in a similar fashion? Additionally, as a part of decoding area studies and interdisciplines, how might a…

This study investigates the perceived impact of future e-book collections on student research and recreational reading habits at our institution through three questions: how students currently use library print collections, how students use e-books, and how these factors impact student perception of the effects of future library e-books on their…

This study presents and analyzes the findings of a 2012 survey of member libraries belonging to the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) about publishers' large journal bundles and compares the results to earlier surveys. The data illuminate five research questions: market penetration, journal bundle construction, collection format shifts,…

This article puts forward an "assessment/action research/publication" cycle that integrates aspects of the assessment, research, and Institutional Review Board (IRB) processes to provide academic librarians with a systematic approach for balancing competing workplace demands and give library managers a roadmap for creating a…

This article describes a collaborative project designed to use action research to assess and advocate for innovative design changes in a school library. The high school library was in its fifth year of service, and yet the layout of the library was not meeting the learning and technological needs of 21st-century high school students. The purpose…

Lecturers and postgraduates are among the users of the university libraries and their perception of the libraries has influence on utilization of the information resources, hence the need for this study. Survey method was adopted for the study and simple random sampling method was used to select sample size of 38 lecturers and 233 postgraduates.…

A seminal dialogue on evidence based practice (EBP) at the International Association of School Librarianship in 2001 encouraged a worldwide paradigm shift in school librarianship from rhetorical and advocacy defenses to evidential documentation. Ross Todd described EBP as evidence for practice, evidence in practice, and evidence of practice (Todd…

Distance librarians often do not have the opportunity to engage face-to-face with users of library services. Without this personal interaction, it can be difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of library services in meeting the needs of the distance learners. Distance librarians may not realize it, but most have a wealth of information at their…

Interest in supporting undergraduate research programs continues to grow within academic librarianship. This article presents how undergraduate research program coordinators perceive and value library support of their programs. Undergraduate research coordinators from a variety of institutions were surveyed on which elements of libraries and…

This study measures the return on investment (ROI) of the Syracuse University library. Faculty and students at Syracuse University were surveyed using contingent valuation methodology to measure their willingness to pay in time and money for the services of the academic library. Their travel time and use of the online library was measured to…

This study looks at undergraduate Hispanic students' interpretations and current perceptions of the academic library's purpose, usefulness and value. What are the reasons to use the library? What are the barriers to use? This study will examine academic libraries' move toward electronic library materials and what it means for Hispanic students.…

Distance librarians continually develop information literacy instruction in a variety of formats. Assessment, when it occurs, tends to be of the traditional multiple-choice variety and does not measure more complex skills. Authentic assessments offer the instruction librarian a way to re-think their instruction strategies and assessment of student…

This case study explores student and lecturer views of reading lists at Loughborough University. Taking the qualitative data from two surveys previously undertaken at the institution, it uses the grounded theory approach to identify key issues regarding the purpose, importance, visibility, content, currency, and length of reading lists, as well as…