Having a child come into the library--whether on his/her very first visit or one of many visits--means that school librarians have the incredible privilege--and responsibility--to make that child feel welcome and to support his/her learning process in every way they possibly can. Whether a child is officially labeled as being "differently able"…

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to examine the various features and components of web-based online public access catalogues (OPACs) of IIT libraries in India with the help of a specially designed evaluation checklist. Design/methodology/approach: The various features of the web-based OPACs in six IIT libraries (IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT…

We investigated whether American dissertations that were deposited in university libraries or disseminated on microfilm prior to 1978 were "published" for copyright purposes. This question has direct bearing on the copyright status of these works today. In the absence of a directly relevant legal decision to clarify the matter, the…

This article features Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons (IC) at Loyola University Chicago, an all-glass library building on the shore of Chicago's Lake Michigan that is not only a state-of-the-art digital research library and study space--it also runs on cutting-edge energy technology. The building has attracted attention and visitors from…

The purpose of this article is to explore location-based questions as a weakness of virtual reference consortia and discuss how to mitigate related issues. Content analysis of how both local and non-local academic librarians responded to location-based questions provides insight into considerations academic libraries must make when participating…

This study examines the availability of entry level positions in academic libraries to better illuminate the status of the job market for current students and recent graduates of Library & Information Science programs. Over a twelve month period from 2010-2011, 1385 job advertisements were collected, with content analysis methods used to evaluate…

Librarians frequently utilize product trials to assess the content and usability of a database prior to committing funds to a new subscription or purchase. At the 2012 Electronic Resources and Libraries Conference in Austin, Texas, three librarians presented a panel discussion on their institutions' policies and practices regarding database…

It is no secret that collegiality matters in academe regardless of the size and type of institution. When it comes to promotion, reappointment and tenure, the invocation of collegiality occurs. This paper aims to examine the perception and issues surrounding collegiality in the academic library setting. The data, based on the survey results of the…

Libraries deploying the LibQUAL+[TM] survey can offer a lottery incentive and many do so in the hope of increasing response rates. Other libraries may be prohibited from offering one because of Institutional Review Board restrictions, as is the case at Oregon State University. We wanted to discover why libraries offer lottery incentives, what…

The alarming statistic that just under half (46%) of adult Australians cannot read confidently was a stimulus for Australian libraries to found the National Year of Reading (NYR). The idea for this campaign was based on the success of the United Kingdom's National Year of Reading (National Literacy Trust 2008), a campaign that aimed to build a…

As schools across the country face increasing fiscal restraints, school library professional positions are being eliminated at an alarming rate. As a result, many school librarians are becoming the only certified library professional in a district, serving multiple schools and grade levels. Suddenly, each is a solo librarian. As a solo librarian…

The Editor of "ALJ" has invited me to comment on my 2001 article "Losing the quality battle in Australian education for librarianship" (Harvey 2001). The article was prompted by a period I spent as a visiting professor in the Department of Information Studies at UCLA (the University of California Los Angeles) and was written while I was there.…

In these difficult economic times, everyone is on the lookout for savings. This author, an adult services librarian at New City Library in New York, has spent the last two years implementing small-scale open source and freeware replacements where proprietary or paper solutions once ruled. While none of these projects is individually revolutionary,…

The growing trends of tiered reference, roving librarians, and virtual reference offer academic libraries several options for providing the most effective reference service. Increased enrollment at community colleges has prompted a reconsideration of how librarians can balance reference, teaching, and faculty responsibilities. This article…

Northern Michigan University (NMU) is a public 4-year undergraduate institution of higher education with an enrollment of approximately 9,500 students. The university's Division of Academic Information Services encompasses both the staff of the library, which includes authors Clumpner and Burgmeier, and the instructional technology areas, where…