Academic libraries are experiencing drastic changes due to unprecedented advancements in technology. This advancement has caused changes in users' information-seeking behavior, increased information competitors, and easy access and availability to free information on the internet. It is unfortunate that all this is happening amidst the dwindling…

A previous study of creative writers' self-reports revealed important differences between research as it is carried out in the context of creative writing and the more scholarly types of research academic librarians often focus on. However, that study left many questions open. For this follow-up study, the author interviewed published creative…

This paper describes efforts at the University of Arizona Libraries (UAL) in Tucson to improve access to the Internet and technology during the COVID-19 pandemic and as the libraries continue to adapt to hybrid instructional modalities. The authors highlight how their institution leveraged campus data and new partnerships to better meet students'…

For decades, declines in library reference use have been inextricably tied to technological improvements. This article asserts that reference staffing models may be a significant predictor of a decline in reference questions. Using two years of data, collected from a large public university, the researchers determined user preferences among five…

This study reports faculty experiences regarding the discovery of scholarly content, highlighting similarities and differences across a range of academic disciplines. The authors interviewed twenty-five faculty members at a public, high-research university in the Midwest to explore the intersections of discovery, browsing, and format from diverse…

This study surveyed librarians and staff at Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions to determine who assembles social justice guides (that is, LibGuides), what motivated the creation of such guides, and how these guides are deployed. Additionally, the survey gauged employee perceptions of library and institutional responses to…

Using the 2011 and 2015 survey by the Reference and User Services Association Sharing and Transforming Access to Resources Section (RUSA STARS) of international interlibrary loans (ILL), the authors explore barriers to this method of meeting patrons' information needs. They evaluate international ILL in the context of developments in the…

Library public services staff have primarily focused on providing services through interactions with their users. Although service quality and customer satisfaction are important in the delivery of these services, the emphasis and nature of the work have often been influenced by a library-centric philosophy rather than a user-centric philosophy.…

As libraries respond to new teaching and research practices in the twenty-first century, it is important to consider how to advertise library services. Users are often surprised to learn about the varied expertise of library staff and the many services the staff provides. To investigate this issue, the author designed a study to identify a more…

The intent of this case study was to gain insight into the information needs and research behaviors of upper-division performing arts students, and how to best address those needs. This article presents findings from focus group interviews of thirty music, dance, and theater majors at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The data revealed several…

This study examines the information-seeking behavior of undergraduate students within a research context. Student searches were recorded while the participants used Google and a library (federated) search tool to find sources (one book, two articles, and one other source of their choosing) for a selected topic. The undergraduates in this study…

In the last two decades, fundamental changes in information distribution, in the general economy, and in the behaviors of faculty, students, and library staff have problematized the question of an academic library's value and how it can be measured. This article reviews those changes and, drawing on research linked to the Collegiate Learning…

The Mississippi State University Libraries' Virtual Reference Service collected statistics about virtual reference usage. Analysis of the data collected by an entry survey from chat and e-mail transactions provided librarians with concrete information about what patron groups were the highest and lowest users of virtual reference services. These…

Looking at 2003-2009 LibQUAL+ responses at research-oriented universities in the United States, faculty library users report a significant and consistent rise in desires and expectations for library-provided online tools and websites, even as student user groups show declining or leveling expectations. While faculty, like students, also report…

Academic librarians provide information literacy instruction and research services to graduate students. To develop evidence-based library instruction and research services for incoming graduate students, the authors interviewed fifteen incoming graduate students in the social sciences and analyzed the interviews using the Association of College &…