Academic libraries continue to face funding pressures compounded by the need to provide students with access to electronic resources, both in journal and book formats. With space constraints and the need to repurpose library space to other uses, libraries must carefully examine the move to e-only formats for books to determine if the format makes…

In 2011 the University of Wollongong Library undertook a significant review of its Resource Sharing services. This was prompted by constraints in the systems supporting this service, changes to the Library's key suppliers, Infotrieve Australia and the British Library Document Supply Service, and the need to deliver effective library services…

Collection development librarians have long struggled to meet user demands for new titles. Too often, required resources are not purchased, whereas some purchased resources do not circulate. E-books selected through patron-driven plans are a solution but present new challenges for both selectors and catalogers. Radical changes to traditional…

Library staff members should ultimately base their purchasing choices on the mission statements of their employing institutions. Fortunately, library mission statements have much in common. Undoubtedly, for example, all libraries have a goal that includes "serve the information needs of the community," because on some level, all libraries are…

For those who tend to purchase many books for personal or professional use, the eBook reader would easily pay for itself within a year. The two leading brands of eBook readers today are the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Book Reader. Both are similar in size, weight, and purchase price. The Kindle includes a keyboard while the Reader provides access…

Libraries are an interesting instance of the radical transformations that higher education is experiencing. The neoliberal turn that has led to the commodification of what scholars do--teach and create knowledge--has had a profound effect on the academic library. But the political economy of the transformed library is invisible to many if not most…

With the pileup of responsibilities that range from programming to outreach to web management, more and more librarians are finding vendor-based book selection enticing. Most librarians see vendor-based selection as an option to relieve the pressure and still provide good collections to their patrons. However, using vendors to help facilitate…

Library book vendors are facing new realities in the 21st century. Changes in continuations, firm order placement, value-added services, approval plans, retrospective collection development, and database creation and maintenance are being effected in an effort to keep current customers and attract new ones. Those changes and the subsequent shift…

Twenty-three scholarly papers and twelve abstracts comprise the content of the eleventh annual Brick and Click Libraries Symposium, held at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The peer-reviewed proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at the symposium, portray the contemporary and future face of…

The previous head of the Central Library of Riverside City and County Public Library (RCCPL) (California) examines the economic failure of the system and the effects of the move to total outsourcing to a private commercial firm, Library Systems & Services (LSSI). Concludes that RCCPL had problems long before it was outsourced to LSSI. (AEF)

Examines implications of the Year 2000 Problem for libraries in the next millennium. Discusses planning ahead for on-time subscription service delivery; preventing a domino effect on cataloging service; vendor preparations; examples of librarians' perspectives; checking for compliance; and a bibliography of sources. (AEF)

Assesses the changes in interlibrary loan (ILL) practices, and points the way to an ideal future. Discusses patron-initiated document request systems; library-mediated ordering systems; document delivery suppliers; accessing electronic resources; ILL management software; paying ILL invoices; new electronic delivery options; and results of a…

This volume is the pilot issue of the "Transforming Libraries" series, a quarterly subseries of SPEC (the Systems and Procedures Exchange Center of the Association of Research Libraries). Each issue will focus on a different application or aspect of library technology. This issue discusses electronic reserves. It is divided into five…

This publication provides librarians with a broader understanding of outsourcing issues in academic libraries. The book investigates the literature, then presents a survey of more than 200 academic research libraries involved with outsourcing projects. This book synthesizes prevailing theories and practice, details pros and cons, an outlines steps…