The number of books published by authors using fee-based publication services, such as Lulu and AuthorHouse, is overtaking the number of books published by mainstream publishers, according to Bowker's 2009 annual data. Little empirical research exists on self-published books. This article presents the results of an investigation of a random sample…

No matter how many car washes or bake sales schools host to raise money, adding funds to their coffers is a recurring problem. This perpetual financial difficulty makes expansive technology purchases or changes seem like a pipe dream for school CIOs and has education technologists searching for ways to stretch money. In 2005, state K-12 school…

School library professionals are, by nature, the nurturing sort. They thrive on systems and strategies to scaffold student success. They create templates, lists, and signage to make life easier for their patrons. They model quality research strategies; they demonstrate technology applications; and they provide exemplars of final products. Since…

Since its widespread public adoption in the 1990s, the internet has inextricably woven itself into every facet of human existence, influencing and in some ways reshaping every aspect of modern life--people's communication patterns, the way people seek information, the way people think, and, in some instances, the way people act. It is highly…

Social tagging enables librarians to partner with users to provide enhanced subject access. This paper quantifies and compares LC subject headings from each of 31 different subject divisions with user tags from Amazon.com and LibraryThing assigned to the same titles. The intersection and integration of these schemas is described and evaluated.…

This study assessed the content of 72 academic library Information Commons (IC) Web sites using content analysis, quantitative assessment and qualitative surveys of site administrators to analyze current implementation by the academic library community. Results show that IC Web sites vary widely in content, design and functionality, with few…

The school field trip, once a supporting player in a well-rounded education, is slowly becoming endangered. Widespread budget cuts have made happily anticipated class trips to museums, zoos, and other cultural destinations increasingly scarce. A librarian may be able to rescue the field trip from extinction by transforming the school building into…

For the past half dozen years or so, BookExpo America (BEA) has biennially touched down in New York City, hopping to Chicago, DC, and Los Angeles in between. No more. For the next four years--at least--the annual book bonanza will call Manhattan's Jacob Javits Convention Center home. Times are hard, and publishers are hurting, so anchoring in the…

This is the author's third time writing a column on Internet-focused sessions and exhibit resources at the NCSS annual meeting, which, this past November, met in Houston. One of the features that most impresses teachers who participate at the NCSS annual meeting is the exhibit hall, with hundreds of booths representing textbook and trade book…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a personalised information support system to help faculty members to search various portals and e-resources without typing the search terms in different interfaces and to obtain results re-ordered without human intervention. Design/methodology/approach: After a careful survey of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into the use of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 technologies so that librarians can combine open source software with user-generated content to create a richer discovery experience for their users. Design/methodology/approach: Following a description of the current state of integrated library…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a number of examples of how Web 2.0 technologies and approaches (Library 2.0) are being used within the library sector. The paper acknowledges that there are a variety of risks associated with such approaches. The paper describes the different types of risks and outlines a risk assessment and risk…

Using data collected via a Web survey instrument, this study examines the leadership engagement of new professionals in Canadian libraries and explores their interest in and willingness to take up leadership roles as well as the barriers and opportunities to leadership that they perceive to exist within the workplace. (Contains 7 tables.)

Your next usability project could be waiting for you in the college library, registration office, or online admissions process that your college or university utilizes in their daily transactions. As an added bonus, these exercises supplement the IS2002 curriculum model, benefit the instructor's institution, build inter-departmental collaboration,…

In a scant three years at ProQuest, Marty Kahn, CEO, has moved a company coming out of a financial morass back onto solid ground. He came on board after the purchase of ProQuest Information and Learning by the (mostly) privately owned Cambridge Information Group in late 2006 and the merger of ProQuest and CSA to form ProQuest CSA. (It's now just…