This latest volume contains approaches from researchers around the world. The chapters explore such issues as skills-building and other professional development activities, changing demographic profiles of staff, changing modes of resource provision, succession planning, remote work, and planning for Linked Data.
In the midst of a decade of extraordinary change in academic libraries--change driven by information technology, new approaches to teaching and learning, new models for scholarly communication, and new expectations for the ways we will discover, share, and make use of information--there is nothing so important to the future of the library and its continued place at the heart of the academic enterprise than its people and the expertise that they bring to the design, development, and delivery of library services. What will those services be, and who will provide them? The Expert Library provides an overview of the changing dynamics entailed in recruiting and retaining academic library professionals for the 21st century and contains fresh thinking and insights into what will be required to ensure continued library relevance and success through its people. --Publisher's description.
"A collection designed by instruction librarians to promote critical thinking and engaged learning, this volume provides teaching librarians detailed, ready-to-use, and easily adaptable lesson ideas to help students understand and be transformed by information literacy threshold concepts. The lessons in this book, created by teaching librarians across the country, are categorized according to the six information literacy frames identified in the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education (2015) and offer concrete and specific ways of teaching the threshold concepts that are central to this Framework"--
The latest and most comprehensive assessment of public librarians' education and career paths to date, this important volume reports on a large-scale research project performed by authors Jose-Marie Griffiths and Donald W. King.
Develop a library staff training program that really works! To stay on top of the lightning-fast changes in the library field and provide your patrons with the best service possible, you need to establish and sustain an effective program for training your staff. The Practical Library Trainer examines the concept of the library as a learning place for patrons and staff, offering a comprehensive view of training from an administrator’s perspective. Bruce E. Massis, author of The Practical Library Manager (Haworth), addresses the essential issues of how to develop a strong program of continuous instruction, including customer service, reporting, recruitment, and retention of staff. The book focuses on the integration of staff training as a blended activity instead of an intervention, quelling the notion of training as an “add-on” to existing staff duties. The current information-rich environment provides your patrons with an abundance of resources to choose from for their research needs. But they can’t do it alone-they need direction from a knowledgeable librarian who can recognize the pedigree, currency, and validity of licensed resources, particularly those available through electronic means. The Practical Library Trainer uses the goal of long-range customer service as a starting point, emphasizing the return on investment possibilities from blended training methods as a key to meeting your patrons’ high expectations of service. The book also provides examples from outside the library community to demonstrate the importance of training on a non-library setting and looks at future training issues. The Practical Library Trainer examines: types of staff training (formal, informal, employer-provided, qualifying, skill improvement) strategies for recruiting and retaining a staff blended learning e-training in-house training how to use professional conferences as continuing education opportunities how to evaluate your training program a sample of an “anywhere, anytime” education and training program and much more! The Practical Library Trainer is an important resource for making sure your patrons get the most from your library—and your staff.
In a world of users that routinely click “I Agree” buttons, librarians may be the lone voice raising an alert to the privacy, use, and ownership issues arising in connection with the design and implementation of digital rights management (DRM) technologies. DRM reflects the efforts of copyright owners to prevent the illegal distribution of copyrighted material – an admirable goal on its face. A common misunderstanding is that DRM is copyright law. It is not. Rather it is a method of preventing copyright infringement; however, if unchecked, DRM has the potential to violate privacy, limit ownership rights, and undermine the delicate balance of rights and policies established by our current system of copyright. All three of these arenas are critical for both librarians and their users. Reflecting the shift from ownership to access, libraries are increasingly providing access to rights-protected digital content. Libraries strive to provide access to rights-protected content in a manner that protects both the content creator and the privacy of the user. DRM encompasses a variety of technologies and strategies utilized by content owners and managers to limit access to and the use of rights-protected content. Librarians need to understand DRM to effectively enable users to access and use rights-protected digital content while at the same time protecting the privacy of the user. Designed to address the practical operational and planning issues related to DRM, this guide explores the critical issues and challenges faced by librarians. After reading it, librarians will better understand: the digital content rights protection scheme; the various DRM technologies and how they are used; how to use authentication and authorization standards, strategies, and technologies; and, the privacy and security issues related to DRM. Edited by two librarians who also hold law degrees, this is a best practices guide for front-line librarians on how to best respond to the impact of DRM schemes on collection development, staffing, budget, service, and other library concerns.
Offering a broad overview of consequential changes in the landscape of reference services, this guide also provides practical guidance on how to meet the new challenges they present. For the past decade, librarians have been lamenting the demise of reference services. Encouraging recent research shows that reference librarians are actually in more demand than ever; however, nearly everything about reference has changed—from technologies, tools, and techniques to models of service. What are these changes, and how can the profession respond to and prepare for shifting priorities and user needs? In this volume, business librarians Diane Zabel and Lauren Reiter bring together a host of experts to answer these timely questions. Topics range from the education and training of professionals to meeting the needs and wants of employers. Covered are trends in chat reference, research consultations, do-it-yourself reference, tracking trends with user populations, assessment, and data-driven decisions about reference services. Grounded in the principle that, regardless of the evolutions in service, the user remains at the center of reference, this guide offers readers an exciting look at the future of this important public service.
This volume of Advances in Library Administration and Organization attempts to put project management into the toolboxes of library administrators through overviews of concepts, analyses of experiences, and forecasts for the use of project management within the profession.
The End of Wisdom? The Future of Libraries in a Digital Age assembles opinion pieces, forecasts, strategy options, and case studies from leading worldwide politicians, academics, educators, authors, publishers, captains of industry, senior public sector workers, library directors, IT gurus and other key players in the field of information provision who discuss their views on the hypothesis surrounding the "end of libraries" and the "death of books." The contributions – ranging in length from 500 to 2000 words are analyzed and summarized to create a rich picture of current trends and likely futures for libraries of all types, with digital options discussed in detail. - Focuses on the key issue facing library and information services for the foreseeable future - Takes a much broader view by asking a wide range of key people and representative stakeholders and user groups for their view of the future of libraries of all kinds - Presents a comprehensive analysis of likely directions and options for libraries, library managers, and users - Includes a route map for the future - Builds on the successful approaches adopted in A Handbook of Digital Library Economics and Libraries and Society
Information in today’s modernized world has become much more attainable with the use of technology. A resource that has fallen victim to this are library services. What was once a staple of knowledge and communication has failed to keep pace with recent advancements in information service providers. Library practitioners need to learn how to manage change, build influence, and adapt their services to remain relevant within local communities. Libraries can continue to play a key role in future aspects of information provision, but proper research is a necessity. Managing and Adapting Library Information Services for Future Users is a collection of innovative research that encapsulates practices, concepts, ideas, and proposals that would chart pathways for libraries of all types to envision and understand how to thrive and remain relevant in the competitive information provision environment. It is expected to motivate librarians and information scientists to probe further into how libraries would better serve user communities of the 21st century who have options of accessing information from sources other than from libraries. While highlighting topics including artificial intelligence, human design thinking, and alternative finance, this book is ideally designed for librarians, information specialists, architects, data scientists, researchers, community development practitioners, policymakers, faculty members, and students seeking current research on emerging advancements in library optimization.