According to the American Library Association (ALA), organizational sustainability requires social equity, and serving diverse populations is mandated in the ALA Library Bill of Rights and its Policy Manual on Diversity. Preparation to serve diverse and marginalized populations is a key ingredient in creating the type of resilient leaders needed…

This review offers a critical analysis of the library and information science (LIS) literature on first-generation students (FGS) from the last 40 years. This literature demonstrates an interest in understanding the needs of FGS to serve them better, but it is often grounded in a deficit model of education that focuses on what first-generation…

As the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) celebrates sixty-five years in 2016 as a division of the American Library Association (ALA), it is wholly appropriate to examine the life of the organization contemplating what the future holds for school librarians. It is important to understand the past and abiding certainty and steadfast…

In the case of libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs), the concept of convergence has become commonplace in recent time. Convergence addresses both physical spaces and the services provided. What is currently known as convergence within these institutions, should perhaps more accurately be described as reconvergence, as "in the late 1800s…

This work explores the ways in which academic librarians specializing in areas related to user services consider the courses they took as part of obtaining their library and information science (LIS) degree prepared them to deal with issues of customer service in their current work. Effective customer service is a central aspect of accomplishing…

This article is an exploration of ways in which LIS educators can consider culture, heritage, and identity as a framework for becoming participatory agents of their teaching practices in the LIS classroom. To support this framework, this discussion introduces the research methodology, practitioner inquiry, as a meaningful approach to studying…

Animated maps of the library stacks were integrated into the catalog interface at Pratt Institute and into the EBSCO Discovery Service interface at Illinois State University. The mapping feature was developed for optimal automation of the update process to enable a range of library personnel to update maps and call-number ranges. The development…

The development of patron-driven acquisition (PDA) as a viable collections practice is encouraging many academic libraries to be proactive about sharing significant collection development responsibilities with their patrons. The adoption of PDA represents a challenge to some long-held understandings about libraries and collections, however, and…

Literature on library service models is scarce and exists mainly in non-traditional formats such as blog entries and webpages. Nonetheless, the subject evokes heated debate among librarians with many supporting the model they are using, sometimes without understanding that there are other options which perhaps could be better for their…

Librarians have long recognized the importance of privacy to intellectual freedom. As digital technology and its applications advance, however, efforts to protect privacy may become increasingly difficult. With some users behaving in ways that suggest they do not care about privacy and with powerful voices claiming that privacy is dead, librarians…

Librarians can--and should--be on the lookout for new and unique ways to improve their instructional skill sets and service. One out-of-the-box opportunity to consider is to study--by reading, watching, or participating in--improvisational theater. Improv games and theater are like life: performers who may or may not know each other are given…

The job of the contemporary reference librarian has a virtual component unimaginable a generation ago. Today's library professional can obtain an MLS (or equivalent) online with a minimal residency requirement. Not only the degree, but also library sources, and indeed patrons, have become virtual. Both books and periodicals can be consulted by…

In spring semester 2009, two of the authors taught LIB 5020--Information Sources & Services to graduate library science students at Appalachian State University. The course covers information seeking patterns and provides an overview of reference services. The course is also designed to examine and evaluate library reference materials and…

Reviews the history of United States librarianship. Suggests that the profession has failed to analyze the meaning of library service and its significance to users. Argues that this has limited the ability to understand the present role of the U.S. library and thus affects efforts to plan for the future. Contains 131 references. (Author/LRW)

In this article, the author shares her experience during her practicum for her master's in library science wherein she had the opportunity to work in a school library that was moving toward combining with a local branch of a public library. Combining the public and school libraries meant integrating these two related yet distinct missions, or at…