An e-portfolio is an organized collection of professional work (artifacts), selected and reflected upon by the author, that represents a person's best efforts. Over time, an e-portfolio will reflect professional changes and growth. This article discusses some of the reasons for a school librarian to create an e-portfolio. Before creating an…

At present, about 20% of the scientific publications worldwide are freely (open-access) available (Bjork, Welling, Laakso, Majlender, Hedlund, & Guonason, 2010) and this percentage is constantly on the rise. In the Netherlands, a similar trend is visible (see Fig. 1). Why is open-access (OA) publishing important, and why will it become even…

This article considers Open Access (OA) training and the supports and structures in place in academic libraries in the United States from the perspective of a new librarian. OA programming is contextualized by the larger project of Scholarly Communication in academic libraries, and the two share a historical focus on journal literature and a…

Beginning in 2004, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) requires institutions seeking accreditation to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) to improve student learning. QEP topics may be focused on a single educational initiative or may combine several efforts in order to enhance and assess student learning. While some plans…

Since their origin in 1925, standards for elementary school library programs have outlined role expectations for the school librarian. As the passage of time introduced new technologies into the world of education, these standards were reviewed and revised. After each revision, the standards, which were later referred to as guidelines, reflected…

Ten years after the publication of its first edition of "Library Media Standards," the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) embarked on the preparation of its second edition. During the 2009-2010 academic year, a Development Committee selected by NPBTS from nominees from across the nation worked with NBPTS staff to…

Students in Chemistry 254: Organic Chemistry for Majors were required to write a paper about an organic name reaction. Before turning in this assignment, students had the option of attending a one-hour library instruction session covering SciFinder, sources for spectra, ACS Style, and print resources about organic name reactions. Twenty-five…

Motivational design theory complements instructional design theory and, when used together, both principles can affect learning, knowledge acquisition, and knowledge retention. In information literacy instruction, motivational design exists throughout the appropriate standards documents. However, there is limited current research on the best…

More and more modern academic libraries are turning to student engagement activities designed to welcome students into Academia, join a community of scholars, and avail themselves of the full range of resources and services that a university library can provide. One unusual, but inexpensive and highly effective method of engaging students is…

Academic libraries are well lauded for offering supportive spaces for students' self-directed study, and significant resources are dedicated to librarian instruction in the classroom. What many academic libraries lack, however, is a middle ground, a routine way for students to help one another using best practices in peer-to-peer learning theory.…

Nursing is a relatively new discipline in research with a small number of registered nurses holding a research higher degree (RHD). Entry into RHD study for nurses is often via a less direct route than the traditional bachelor's degree through honours to PhD pathway. The supervisor-candidate relationship is an important factor in RHD completions…

Robbins Carter's portrait of the librarian workforce is still true. According to the latest American Library Association (ALA) demographics, the profile of today's librarian is that of a white (87.1 percent) woman (80.7 percent) of middle age (57.1 percent, age 45 or older) (ALA, 2013). Despite these data, support for increased diversity is…

In a year when a difficult economy presented fewer opportunities for immediate gains, the major industry players have defined their business strategies with fundamentally different concepts of library automation. This is no longer an industry where companies compete on the basis of the best or the most features in similar products but one where…

Books are traditionally set aside at the request of teachers from the main, normal loan collection to be put on reserve temporarily for checking out for a much shorter loan period to ensure that, at the expense of convenient, long-term loans for other users, all the students enrolled in a course have an opportunity to use them. Many studies have…

Campus librarians play a central role in conversations revolving around copyright compliance. The sheer volume of information provided within library physical and virtual spaces affirms the role libraries play in current copyright debates. Regardless of the function of librarians on any particular campus, it is important to confront the myriad of…