Two decades after the advent of electronic journals and databases, librarians are still grappling with ways to best manage e-resources. These times of economic austerity are also creating budgetary pressures at many institutions of higher education, with the result that librarians must continually justify their spending on collections and resource management. Techniques for Electronic Resource … Continue reading Coming to TERMS
Librarians in all types of libraries provide training and instruction. Whether it’s for staff or patrons, the timing of the training is usually critical. Teach first-year college students about a database when they have no assignment that requires them to use it and it will likely go in one ear and out the other. Teach … Continue reading Just-for-Me Training
In the many presentations we have given over the years, one of the most powerful and most common questions we receive deals with psychology. The topic came up most recently when we were preparing a presentation on how library staff can communicate more effectively with information technology staff members. We initially wanted to emphasize that … Continue reading Develop Your Emotional Intelligence
The fully electronic collection is pretty far from being a reality at most libraries. Given the current limitations of ebooks and the large print collections that libraries continue to manage and grow, most libraries exist in a hybrid space where much is digital, but also, much is still in print. For patrons, this can be … Continue reading E-Discovery with QR Codes
I’m a sucker for novels starring war correspondents, especially those set in tropical climes. You know what I’m talking about here—rumpled, sweat-stained seersucker suits; constant consumption of gin and tonics (ostensibly to fight off malaria); a few days’ growth of beard (before that look became hip); and, most important, a sense of constant innuendo hanging … Continue reading Hot Country
Where’s Johnny Depp? In 2013, you can find him in American Libraries, as part of our annual Year in Review. He started his own book imprint last year, with the inaugural title—about Bob Dylan—slated to appear in 2015. There’s a lot more to our 2012 retrospective than celebrity sightings, though. Check out surprising Pew Research … Continue reading Engaging Our Communities
Okay, now I’ve got this bright, shiny new column to play with. What will I do with it? Be provocative? Reassuring? Speak the uncomfortable truth? Turn to history for lessons? Look to the future for inspiration? More than likely. For now, let me ponder this month’s title question. It doesn’t take much to find numerous … Continue reading Why Do Publishers Hate Us?
Not everything you need to know about school librarianship is taught in graduate school. No matter how comprehensive the training for school library certification is, there are a few aspects of teaching that may still surprise you. What follows is a top 10 list of what to expect as a newbie school librarian—areas in … Continue reading Teacher Librarian Tips
Regardless of how large (or small) your library is, or whether you serve elementary school students, college professors, or retirees seeking the latest book by their favorite author, you are affected by issues that may change how we “do” librarianship. Here are a few recent titles that discuss these topics, sometimes raising more questions than … Continue reading Disaster Recovery, Going Green, Protecting Privacy: How We Do Librarianship
Over the past few months, the ALA Executive Board has been involved in a range of discussions that reflect some of the more urgent issues facing libraries, and the Association’s strategic priorities. Because the Association, like libraries, must change and evolve to best serve our communities, a series of brainstorming meetings this fall asked both … Continue reading Reenvisioning ALA
I wanted to share ideas about what you can do to help solve the problem of publishers who will not sell ebooks to libraries. Stay informed. The ALA Transforming Libraries website and the American Libraries E-Content blog provide breaking news, as well as information about various studies, and reports. These include recent ebook research, information … Continue reading What You Can Do about Ebooks and Libraries
Digital literacy is supposedly what will save the public library, and I don’t doubt that. While you hear stories about welfare recipients and street people carrying around the latest in iPhone technology, those of us who labor in the public library vineyard know that those kinds of tales are triumphs of distortion over reality. Supposedly, … Continue reading Digitized to Distraction
