The following paper is based on my master's degree thesis written as a graduate student at the University of Glasgow from 2014-2015 titled, "Preserving the Social Cohesiveness and Lifelong Educational Mission of Public Libraries in Times of Austerity: Assessing the Potential of the Scottish National Library Strategy through the Capabilities…

This article examines the tensions and risks inherent in implementing new technologies and collaborative spaces while maintaining the library's critical role as a "civic temple" and knowledge center that inspires and facilitates contemplation and deep thought. New technologies present "disruptive" challenges, having already…

This article is a reflection on the author's 2005 Chronicle of Higher Education article "Information Literacy Makes All the Wrong Assumptions." In it, the author argues that while library instruction is properly grounded in disciplinary norms, information literacy serves a vital institutional obligation as a means of assessing student…

Introduction: This paper applies the thought of Jacques Rancière to the concept of democracy as it is traditionally understood in library studies literature. Methods: The paper reviews a cross-section of instances of the link between democracy and the public library in library studies literature. It offers a close textual analysis of Michael…

The Carnegie Corporation of New York/"New York Times" I Love My Librar­ian Award publicizes librarians' abilities to improve their communities, and by highlighting the achievements of the winners, inspire other librarians to boost their own performance. Since the award's creation in 2008, it has helped the public to better understand…

Learning analytics has been defined as the measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs. The potential use of data and learning analytics in educational contexts has caught the attention of educators and…

The article investigated the nexus between academic libraries and accreditation in the higher institutions with special focus on the Nigerian experience. It showed that all accreditation agencies place a high premium on library provisions as a major component of requisite benchmarks in determining the status of the program or institutions being…

This essay notes the emergence of learning as a key factor in academic library planning. It argues for an improved, learning-oriented planning process by noting the dangers that arise from the priority usually given to fixing dysfunctional space and from the traps of mistaking the "things" of learning for learning itself and of thinking…

"Special Libraries, Special Challenges" is a column dedicated to exploring the unique public services challenges that arise in libraries that specialize in a particular subject, such as law, medicine, business, and so forth. In each column, the author will discuss public service dilemmas and opportunities that arise in special libraries.…

Modern digital scholarship requires faculty to navigate an increasingly complex research and publication world. Liaison librarians are uniquely suited to assist faculty with scholarly communication needs, yet faculty do not identify the library as a provider of these services. Proactive promotion of scholarly communication services by librarians…

This article summarizes the author's evolution as a writing instructor toward a career as a librarian teaching information literacy and finally as a scholar and researcher studying information literacy as an academic subject. Changes in writing pedagogy are explored as they relate to changes in the author's instructional practices and how they…

While many studies have been conducted under the auspices of calculating academic library value, there are no large-scale studies into the perceptions that college or university provosts have of library value, nor are there studies into how provosts prefer library value data to be communicated. This study addresses that gap through a national…

With more than 25 years of experience providing library-based out-of-school time (OST) programming to Philadelphia children and youth in grades preK-12, LEAP (Literacy Enrichment Afterschool Program) offers insights into the distinct operations and contributions of drop-in programs. A 2019 evaluation of LEAP, conducted by Policy Studies…

The article reports the results of a survey conducted among the Polish and Lithuanian academics concerning their information needs and expectations regarding academic library websites. The survey was realized using the technique of Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) on a group of scholars representing sciences and humanities or social…

This study used participatory and service design methods to identify emerging research needs and existing perceptions of library services among science and engineering faculty, post-graduate, and graduate student researchers based at a satellite campus at the University of Colorado Boulder. These methods, and the results of the study, allowed us…