Tied to the economy of libraries, the vendors that make up the library technology industry support a stable but highly constrained economic sector, with global opportunities. Library budgets may never recover to pre-recession levels, fueling interest in technology to improve their efficiency and the impact of collection resources. Products able to deliver efficiency, innovation, and … Continue reading Library Systems Report
This and other library trends of the past year are detailed in ALA’s State of America’s Libraries Report 2015, made available during National Library Week, April 12–18, both as an American Libraries digital supplement, as well as on the ALA website at ala.org/americas-libraries and as a PDF file. As society continues to change the way … Continue reading The State of America’s Libraries 2015
Lessig spoke on three themes: the impact of a few big givers to political campaigns and how that corrupts the political process, net neutrality, and open access. He called all of these themes an “equality fight” that librarians should embrace as part of their profession. Lessig compared the current political campaign fundraising and process to … Continue reading Lawrence Lessig Wraps Up ACRL 2015 in Portland
Safiya Umoja Noble, assistant professor in the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, talked about how search-engine bias affects women and girls negatively in her presentation, “Searching for Girls: Identity for Sale in the Age of Google.” “What I’m asking us to think about today is: What does it cost us more broadly … Continue reading ACRL 2015 in Portland: Sunny Skies, Serious Conversation
G. Willow Wilson, creator of the Ms. Marvel comic series starring a Muslim superhero named Kamala Khan, headlined the opening session. A prize-winning fantasy author and journalist, Wilson is an American convert to Islam who has lived in both the US and Egypt. Wilson said she initially figured the Ms. Marvel series would run no … Continue reading ACRL 2015 Conference Record Opening
The second-wave feminism movement from the mid-20th century opened doors for women in educational and career advancement, particularly in academia, thanks in large part to Title IX legislation that prohibited discrimination at higher educational institutions. In 1972, the year Title IX was implemented, women held only 4.6% of high-level administrative positions at research libraries. By … Continue reading A Career of Our Own
Admittedly, that last event may not be a traditional academic library service. But at Briggs, we’ve supplemented those traditional services by staying open until late in the evening one Friday every month to offer students the chance to unwind at Game Night @ Briggs Library. During Game Night, students can set aside their papers and … Continue reading Rolling the Dice in an Academic Library
Still, the books keep coming: Even with increasing numbers of e-journals and ebooks, US college and university libraries collect more than 25 million print volumes every year, on top of the more than 1.1 billion print items already held, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics’ Academic Libraries 2004. Where are these books getting shelved? … Continue reading Winning the Space Race
The series has helped position the library as a center for creative cultural exchange within the UCLA and Los Angeles–area communities and has provided a pedagogical opportunity for faculty to perform with their students. “I’m rewarded by seeing the concentration and enjoyment on audience members’ faces, and the relief and excitement from the faculty and … Continue reading Bookend: The Right Notes
Pruett is speaking of her library’s experience with the Edge Initiative, a management and leadership tool library staff can use to evaluate and strengthen public access technology services to achieve community goals. The Edge Initiative, often referred to simply as the Edge, will begin a nationwide rollout in January. Pruett’s library was one of the … Continue reading How to Get the Edge on Technology Access
Due to loss of funding over the years, many libraries opted to hire less expensive staff members who were not certified librarians. Now, even though people with the title “librarian” make up one-third of library staff, only half of all libraries reported having a credentialed librarian on staff in 2010, according to the Public Libraries … Continue reading LIS on the Job
There are many benefits to spending one’s life on a college campus: beautiful settings, the rhythm of the academic year, and of course continually being surrounded by bright, energetic students. Each summer they come for orientation, eager, excited, and younger by the year. You too can play the “where were you the year they were … Continue reading Common Ground
