"Library Spaces for 21st-Century Learners: A Planning Guide for Creating New School Library Concepts" focuses on planning contemporary school library spaces with user-based design strategies. The book walks school librarians and administrators through the process of gathering information from students and other stakeholders involved in…

Librarians might remember that day, whether it was a month ago or over ten years ago. They may have asked themselves what they needed to know, how they should do it, how they could improve it, and, if change was needed, whether they could effect change with ease or would be met with opposition? Did they go in like lambs and become lions, or learn…

Researchers were the first adopters of digital resources available through the library. Online journals and databases make finding research articles much easier than when this author started as a librarian more than 20 years ago. Speedier interlibrary loan due to digital delivery means research materials are never far away. Making it easier for…

In this article, the author presents the results of "Library Journal's" 2010 budget survey. The overall trend in FY10 indicated that 72 percent of survey respondents said their budget had been cut, and 43 percent had staff cuts. Among libraries serving populations above one million, these figures were even more acute, with 86 percent reporting…

2007 data from LibQUAL+[TM] and the ACRL Library Trends and Statistics database were analyzed to determine if there is a statistically significant correlation between library expenditures and usage statistics and library patron satisfaction across 73 universities. The results show that users of larger, better funded libraries have higher…

School libraries are crucial to learning, but need resources to close the digital and print divide that widens as school budgets shrink. In this article, the author shares her perspective on stretching the library dollar. As budgets tighten and the use of library resources increases, school librarian's ingenuity, skill, and planning can ensure…

Aligning with current difficult economic times, this book helps libraries assist users entering or already involved in the small business community. Authors Weiss, Serlis-McPhillips, and Malafi are public librarians who have incorporated small business services within their library. In their book they point the way to addressing the needs of job…

Purpose: The "advanced loans" module of the relatively new library software, ABCD, is an addition to the normal loans module and it offers a "generic transaction decision-making engine" functionality. The module requires extra installation effort and parameterisation, so this article aims to explain to the many potentially interested libraries,…

This paper introduces a model of experiential learning to support teaching, research, and practice in library and information science (LIS). The concept we call "Community Informatics (CI) Studio" uses studio-based learning (SBL) to support enculturation into the field of CI. The SBL approach, closely related to John Dewey's…

This paper explores the theoretical framework of threshold concepts and its potential for LIS education. Threshold concepts are key ideas, often troublesome and counterintuitive, that are critical to profound understanding of a domain. Once understood, they allow mastery of significant aspects of the domain, opening up new, previously inaccessible…

When Louise Schaper opened the new Fayetteville Public Library (FPL) in Arkansas in 2004, she brought the state's second LEED Silver-certified building to completion. The green building fulfilled a community expectation for sustainable innovation established through complex public dialog, and the library went on to become the "2005 LJ/Gale Library…

Beyond the sprawling Denver International Airport, there's little to put Adams County, Colorado, on the map. The region's light rail only stretches south, so Adams County, a mostly working-class zone to the northeast, has come late to growth. There's no central city; the community is dominated by strip malls, big-box stores, and new developments.…

In the 21st century, school libraries are under pressure to innovate. Library budgets are frequently slashed as districts struggle with limited fiscal resources, while library personnel are increasingly expected to provide students with resources they need to help them pass high stakes tests. In an effort to meet student needs with limited…

We conduct a randomized evaluation of a school library program on children's language skills. We find that the program had little impact on students' scores on a language test administered 16 months after implementation. The estimates are sufficiently precise to rule out effects larger than 0.13 and 0.11 standard deviations based on the 95 and 90…

Academic and library administrators are increasingly required to demonstrate efficiency in programs, services, and operations as well as effectiveness. An important component of efficiency measurement is identification of a relevant peer group against which to compare the administrative unit to determine relative efficiency. The two-fold purpose…