Stagnant perceptions continue to persist in the general public regarding the services libraries offer. LIS research suggests an increased need for marketing, yet LIS programs and students may not view marketing as core to the degree. The Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC), a global competition for online marketing, was incorporated into two…

English teachers continually seek ways to offer students quality texts to support the development of individual voices within the context of a dynamic, democratic culture. This article discusses how blog use, promoting choices, and presenting students with literature that changed a nation show them how to find their voices in a democratic…

The gap between the reading and writing skills of high school graduates and the demands of freshman college coursework and employers was one of the greatest concerns when the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers were developing the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS-ELA). A…

Designers-by-assignment, or subject matter experts (SMEs) who are pressed into training service, have become common in the workplace. A review of more than 24 studies on expert and novice instructional designers, however, revealed that little is known about how designers-by-assignment think about design and make design decisions in the field. A…

This study surveyed current education majors (n=70) in two Kansas universities to gain a perspective on their understanding of Information Literacy (IL) concepts and skills, and to learn whether they anticipated teaching such concepts to their future K-12 students. School media specialists in the state were also surveyed (n=85) and asked to share…

With the introduction of more standardized multimedia file formats, the text has more potential than ever to provide a really robust experience, with the best products moving from discrete narrative literature to something altogether new and well beyond the page. A work is no longer confined to a single definitive version, as the reader can follow…

Living inside built environments--infrastructure--it is easy to take for granted the things that we do not need to engage, but are at work behind the scenes nonetheless. Well-designed systems become invisible, but to engage them, how do we know which perspectives, objects, and relationships are useful? I examine the University of Michigan Digital…

International students constitute a significant proportion of the Australian university population, and thus of the university library-using population. Drawing on qualitative research findings, this paper discusses the library-related experiences and perceptions of international students at two Australian universities. While the students'…

In order to best serve the needs of students with disabilities, school librarians must be aware of best practice in special education. They must communicate and collaborate with general education teachers and special education professionals to provide targeted curricular, instructional supports as well as appropriate resources and technology. This…

During spring quarter 2008, the Western Washington University (WWU) Libraries established an interactive bloglike environment called "14 Days to Have Your Say" with the intention of gathering new ideas and feedback about the libraries from the university community. The environment was developed as a fairly simple Drupal site. The project…

This article presents the findings of an exploratory study that investigated how users of archival material deal with the copyright-like restrictions that archives place on reuse of their holdings. In interviews with seventeen historians and genealogists, the author explored their awareness of copyright when reproducing archival holdings, their…

Many concepts of information have been proposed and discussed in library and information science. These concepts of information can be broadly categorized as empirical and situational information. Unlike nomenclatures in many sciences, however, the concept of information in library and information science does not bear a generally accepted…

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that may or may not contribute to the adoption of the innovation of virtual worlds by librarians. Using Everett Rogers' Diffusion Theory as a framework, the study sought to identify librarians with avatars (computer simulated representations of themselves) in the virtual world of Second Life,…

Academic librarianship is a profession in the midst of change. Embedded within multiple social spheres, academic librarians are adapting to changes in higher education, the sociotechnical environment of information, and the system of professions. This research investigates the ways in which academic librarians publicly present the ways in which…

The complexity and scale of any large library, education, or technology conference can sometimes be overwhelming. Therefore, spending time reviewing the conference program and perusing the workshop offerings in advance can help you stay organized and make the most of your time at the event. Planning in advance will help you manage potential time…