“Every academic librarian worth her salt is embedded.” “3D printers are so hot right now.” “Are you telling me you don’t have QR code scavenger hunts at your library?” “Your library doesn’t tweet?” “But surely you have a Pinterest site!” Although I’ve been in the profession only a decade, I’ve seen plenty of hyped-up ideas … Continue reading Spare Me the Hype Cycle
Dreaming of a National Park vacation? If so, there just might be a special library for you to visit between hiking and geyser viewing. Author and California State University Stanislaus librarian Maryann Hight volunteers at LeConte Memorial Lodge Library in Yosemite. She researched several unique libraries in national parks and found it was interesting and … Continue reading Exploring National Parks, Leveraging Social Media
“The National Park libraries,” says Nancy Hori, supervisory librarian at the National Park Service (NPS) Pacific West Regional Library in Seattle, “are in some of the most beautiful and sacred areas of the United States. The remote locations, often in historical buildings without climate control, present many challenges for keeping materials safe and secure.” As … Continue reading Greetings from America’s National Park Libraries
Librotraficante has had a rollercoaster year. Led by Houston-based author and activist Tony Diaz, the organization (whose name means “book smuggler” in Spanish) formed last year in response to Arizona House Bill 2281 (PDF file), which outlaws teaching courses in Arizona public schools that promote the overthrow of the United States government, foster racial and … Continue reading A Year in the Life of Librotraficante
Libraries of all types are currently undergoing changes that most agree are transformative in nature. But what do we mean when we talk about “transforming” libraries? We mean that we are not just dealing with quantitative change—doing more, for instance—but with qualitative change. This means fundamental change in the very nature of what we do … Continue reading Defining “Transformation”
The increasingly digital context brings challenges and opportunities for librarians, library staff, archivists, and museum professionals. New roles and the competencies required to perform them are evolving. One overriding role for all of us is that of the leader. The complexity of the changes we experience leads to many unfamiliar situations in which deep learning … Continue reading Leadership in a Digital Age
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
