Birmingham City University's Library and Learning Resources' strategic aim is to improve student satisfaction. A key element is the achievement of the Customer Excellence Standard. An important component of the standard is the mapping of services to improve quality. Library and Learning Resources has developed a methodology to map these…

The increasing availability and prominence of e-books has led to a perception in some quarters that the requirement for physical books is decreasing, as most, or all scholarly material is openly available in digital form. Some academic administrators and librarians have suggested that it may be possible or desirable to have a solely, or…

After a needs assessment exposed that even daily library users were unaware of the best resources, tools, and services, the Rider University Libraries switched gears from a focus on the creation of long step-by-step tutorials, to the creation of short promotional videos for all users, with attention on the needs of distance learners. This project…

This paper reports preliminary data from research that seeks to inform the readers about the way that human information behavior and the use of scholarly resources impacts on women in the STEM fields. By focusing on the information behavior and information needs of women in STEM, this could lead to an increased use of academic library resources…

Mentoring expectations, activities, and support in Canadian college and university libraries were investigated by surveying 332 recent MLIS graduates, practicing academic librarians, and library administrators. Findings indicate that the presence of a mentoring program will help attract new librarians, retain them, and aid in restructuring efforts…

The U.S. colleges and universities offering non-sectarian educational programs in Jewish Studies rely on the support of their academic libraries for research materials and library services. For college libraries which use Library of Congress Classification scheme, it is a common practice to integrate "studies" resources into their…

This article discusses a project undertaken to assess the journals in a Big Deal package by applying a weighted value algorithm measuring quality, utility, and value of individual titles. Carried out by a national library consortium in Canada, the project confirmed the value of the Big Deal package while providing a quantitative approach for…

Teaching research competencies and information literacy is an integral part of the academic librarian's role. There has long been debate among librarians over what are the most effective methods of instruction for college students. Library Faculty members at a large urban university system were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the…

Therapy dogs are trained and socialized to provide comfort to individuals who are ill or experiencing stress. The following article explores therapy dog outreach programs in academic libraries by describing a successful venture at McGill University Library. Background, planning advice, assessment results, and recommendations are presented with an…

Open Educational Resources (OER) have saved students millions of dollars in textbook costs and greatly expanded access to a wide variety of educational materials for countless numbers of students and life-long learners. OER have also saved teachers time and effort by allowing them to reuse, modify, and build on materials developed by other…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") focuses on current and emerging topics that are strategically important to research libraries. The articles explore issues, share information, pose critical questions, and provide examples. This issue includes the following articles: (1) Special Issue on Diversity (Mark A. Puente); (2)…

This study explores how time and experience affect an academic librarian's perception of tenure. Researchers surveyed 846 librarians at ARL institutions, reporting on institutions that offer both tenure and faculty status for their academic librarians or neither. The survey reported how librarians rated tenure's benefit to patrons, its effect in…

This article describes how Nancy Jo Lambert, a school librarian, implemented a flexible library schedule at elementary schools in which she worked collaboratively with classroom teachers. After observing students removing bookmarks from the middle of their books in order to turn the books in by the due date or because their fixed library schedule…

The University of Manchester Library (UML) is embarking on an ambitious new strategy that aims to align the library more closely to the work of the University--to contribute to the University's strategic success. This article describes elements of the strategy development and content, focusing on methods used; how the service has worked…

A makerspace is a place where makers can envision a project, find an expert, and create something. Libraries have always held programming during which patrons were able to come in and create. The makerspace at the Lamar Middle School in Flower Mound, Texas, is available for students every day, so that they can daily create and play with innovative…