At the time of writing the original paper my viewpoint was a personal one, one that focussed on the status within the profession of equally qualified librarians based purely on the perceived status conferred by the type of libraries in which they worked. However, it must now be observed that the world in which public librarians operated then was…

This article describes a library renovation project in a community college that involved using existing space and reorganizing it to support the way students learn both individually and collaboratively. The article also looks at the importance of the academic library as place.

Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) was an efficiency expert whose concerns were less about avoiding worker fatigue and more about increasing profit margins by any means necessary. Taylor was devoted to finding the One Best Way to carry out a task and then training workers to do that task unvaryingly; attempts by employees to improve their own…

This dissertation analyzes the legal, social, technological, and cultural environment that gave rise to Google's library partnership program in order to propose an institutional corrective to Google's project to digitize cultural heritage. Interview research done with those actively involved with Google's project revealed the need for a history of…

The decision by public libraries in New Zealand to implement Facebook has been uneven. Using Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations theory, a survey of nine public libraries investigated the process of its adoption or non-adoption. The motivating factors for the adoption of Facebook were identified. The surveyed libraries all met the four prior…

This research provides the first review of publicly available assessment information found on Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members' websites. After providing an overarching review of benchmarking assessment data, and of professionally recommended assessment models, this paper examines if libraries contextualized their assessment…

This study focuses on usage of electronic books (e-books) among advanced researchers, including graduate students and faculty, at a four-year academic institution. The researchers aimed to highlight differences in behavior, perception, and attitude between users and non-users of e-books. The survey findings suggest that, while a majority of these…

This study presents findings from one-on-one interviews with 21 undergraduate students at a large public research university in the southeastern United States. While the preliminary focus of the study was to be students' opinions about and use of Wikipedia as a resource for course-related research, many of the interviews evolved into discussion…

Emphasis on collaboration is a significant thrust in both current school reform and school librarianship. Planning for instruction is generally included in various definitions and models of collaboration. Some research exists about individual planning done in isolation (Warren 2000), but little is known about teachers' planning with other…

2012, the National Year of Reading (NYR), was celebrated in libraries, schools and community centres throughout Australia. At the University of Adelaide, we celebrated our academic culture of literary teaching and research with a range of programmes and initiatives based in the humanities faculty. The Barr Smith Library played an integral part in…

Building a social media profile itself is a rewarding experience for digital librarians, but there is another aspect to social media immersion, and it is a powerful tool for the profession. As librarians establish expert status in the use of popular tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and WordPress, they can add training and even product…

Scholarly journals provide a record of the research, issues, and concerns of a field. Authors have their names associated with their individual articles, while editors are connected with a publication. However, there is another group of individuals who are often left out of the record, although their contributions are just as critical in the…

Enlightened administrators realize that school librarians still play a pivotal role for students, guiding them through search processes and helping them find appropriate, reliable, vetted resources in print and digital format for research and other classroom projects. This article describes how important the role of information navigator is…

While virtual reference services (VRS) are becoming more and more common in academic libraries, implementing and maintaining well-used and effective VRS can be a challenge in the face of competing demands on time, staffing, and funding. Between 2011 and 2012, librarians at Washington State University, Pullman (WSU) have overhauled and reorganized…

Perhaps due to a commitment to lifelong learning, librarians are often willing participants in trying new technologies or service models that may benefit their patrons. Such an opportunity presents itself with massively open online courses, or MOOCs. This educational model, which has been gaining popularity in higher education since the first MOOC…