America's founding documents--the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights--are icons of human liberty. But the ideals enshrined in those documents did not initially apply to all Americans. They were, in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., "a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir."…

This article reports on a pilot study to examine undergraduate students' help-seeking behavior when undertaking library research in online courses. A novel methodology incorporating elements of ethnographic research resulted in a small, but rich and detailed, collection of qualitative data. The data suggest that the methodology has promise for…

The focus of this research mainly centers on a quantitative descriptive overview of corporal punishment practices in the state of Mississippi, but this study also includes a legal document analysis component. This study forms the Mississippi portion of a comprehensive analysis of the demographics of corporal punishment in the public schools of the…

Do we add that edgy urban novel to our teen collection? Should we initiate social networking? What about abandoning Dewey for a bookstore arrangement? Change is risky business, but librarians must be prepared to initiate change to best serve teens. YA (young adult) service innovators Linda W. Braun, Hillias J. Martin, and Connie Urquhart explain…

Libraries have limited budgets and Collection Development Librarians can be faced with difficult decisions in the spending of their allocated funds. This paper discusses how the Tasmanian Polytechnic Launceston Campus Library discovered a gap in their collection and addressed this situation without funding. The Library wished to purchase fiction…

At least since the early 1990s, academic libraries have been merging Circulation and various other related functions into a single department typically labeled "Access Services." In many cases, however, that merger has proven to be administrative rather than functional, with minimal integration of common workflows. This article describes…

In the context of future of academic librarianship terms such as "blended" and "embedded" librarian have been used to describe emerging greater levels of involvement within the universities enterprise. Simultaneously new pedagogical approaches are being developed towards more authentic and engaging learning experiences. This…

This study measures job satisfaction, personal fulfillment, work/life balance, and stress levels of male and female librarians. Researchers surveyed 719 librarians at ARL institutions that either offer faculty status and tenure or offer neither. Females at libraries offering faculty status indicated poor work/life balance and high levels of stress…

While experiential learning is recognized as an important pedagogical approach in Library and Information Science education, logistical hurdles can make implementing meaningful experiential projects challenging, especially in online courses. This paper will describe a project in which Library Science instructors were able to overcome common…

To complete any academic tasks using information from the Internet, undergraduate students first have to select the appropriate sources. However, the types of justifications that undergraduates provide for source selection and how these justifications may be impacted by task characteristics have been underexamined. This study explored…

Library and Media Teacher (LMT) readiness of accepting and using technology innovation earlier than their colleagues could expedite the technology innovation process into the school education system. The aim of this paper is to report on a study that explored the impact of experience in using computer and the level of ICT knowledge towards…

Librarians have collaborated with academic departments within their institutions for decades now, working with professors and administrators to bring information literacy skills to students. The librarians at National American University decided to extend this collaboration to a non-academic unit, the admissions department of the university. The…

The U.S. PIAAC Survey of Incarcerated Adults was designed to provide policymakers, administrators, educators, and researchers with information to improve educational and training opportunities for incarcerated adults and foster skills they need in order to return to, and work successfully in, society upon release from prison. This report…

State library agencies (StLAs) provide key leadership for library services planning and development in each state. Their structure and governance varies widely across states; StLAs are located in various departments in state government and they report to different authorities. This research brief gives an overview of the revenues, expenditures,…

An organized collection of budget saving methods, materials, and strategies, these tips are all tried-and-true examples of ways to stretch the media specialist's budget and time, and change even the drabbest library into an inviting oasis of learning. Makeovers are mesmerizing. Whether it is the 400-pound man who turns into a hunk or a hovel that…