“That’s cool,” Ménard thought, though she couldn’t imagine the initiative taking hold at her academic library. But that summer, another Williams professor also learned about Human Libraries while in Europe, and he later approached Ménard about collaborating on a campus event. That’s how, in 2012, Williams College became one of the first institutions in the … Continue reading If These Books Could Talk
This column is one in a multipart American Libraries series that explores the library profession’s relationship to sustainability. Libraries can move toward providing a fact-based voice in fighting climate change in their communities. One way to do this is by more proactively collecting and disseminating information to stakeholders involved in local sustainability efforts. A recent study … Continue reading Strengthening the Voice for Sustainability
In “Where Do We Go From Here? The Role of Special Collections in Collecting Social Media Content,” Petrina Jackson, head of special collections and university archives at Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, described the challenges and rewards of becoming active collectors of social media content. “Just because the format is digital doesn’t mean it … Continue reading Learning to Lobby for Your Library
Big Data Digital scholarship Library services platforms (LSPs) Online identity Artificial intelligence The “internet of things” These trends will certainly shape the way students and librarians interact with library resources. How will they affect accessibility? Melissa Green, academic technologies instruction librarian at the University of Alabama, Rachel Thompson, director of emerging technology and accessibility at … Continue reading Implications for Accessibility in Academic Libraries
The panel discussion “Ready or Not: Trends, Challenges, and Tech in Academic and Research Libraries” marked the release of the New Media Consortium (NMC) Horizon Report, 2017 Library Edition. NMC has released 15 years of reports on technology that will affect higher learning, exploring academic and research libraries in a global context. According to Samantha … Continue reading Technology Trends, Open Access, and Roxane Gay
Incorporating social justice into the academic library What would it look like if academic libraries incorporated more equity, diversity, and inclusion into their everyday work? Members of the Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DISJ) task force of the MIT Libraries’ Collections Directorate have explored this question, looking at library activities—including archives, technical services, collection development, … Continue reading Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Dispatches from ACRL
Probably not, but at the Salt Lake City Public Library, that’s exactly what you’ll encounter. “Having any of these within a flagship library is a unique arrangement,” says Andrew Shaw, the library’s communications manager. In addition, a café, a coffee shop, a public radio station, a writing center, and a library store occupy the first … Continue reading A Balancing Act
Even if our undergraduates wanted to listen to a CD or watch a DVD, they probably couldn’t, as many of their tablets and laptops don’t include an optical disc drive. This is occurring at the same time that many faculty use the “flipped classroom” model, which requires students to engage with material, including videos, outside … Continue reading Streaming Video in Academic Libraries
Journal publisher Elsevier, which claimed it was losing hundreds to thousands of dollars for each of its articles pirated on the site, sued to have it shut down. For these reasons, Judge Robert W. Sweet of the Southern District of New York ordered Sci-Hub.org to cease operations in October 2015. But that’s not the end … Continue reading Sci-Hub: What It Is and Why It Matters
But with prices skyrocketing—the cost of textbooks has increased 73% since 2006, according to a 2016 report by the Student Public Interest Research Groups—some libraries and networks are using creative incentives to get OERs into the classroom. Texas A&M University Libraries, in partnership with the school’s student government, has established what it believes to be the … Continue reading Pushing for Open Textbooks
Libraries have much at stake in products that align well with their strategies, resonate with their patrons, and facilitate the work of their staff. Previously established products are evolving to gain long-overdue modernization. In an era of web-based and cloud computing, library technology has held fast to aspects of the previous age of client–server computing. … Continue reading Library Systems Report 2016
Gale goes 3D Gale and Cyber Science 3D have partnered to bring science to life for students. With both academic and high school students in mind, Gale—a division of Cengage Learning—has created three distinct interactive science programs that allow students to explore multiple science-based subjects. One program, used as a learning tool for high school and introductory … Continue reading Libraries Open Up
