Library Services

Fail4Lib: Problematic Projects Generate Constructive Conversation

By Matt Enis on March 26, 2013 1 Comment

Train wreck at Montparnasse 1895, via Wikipedia

Library conferences can be great places to pick up new ideas, with roundtables, seminars, and sessions filled with stories of successful projects from peers, vendors, and professionals from other fields. Information from these sessions can help other libraries get started on new initiatives without having to reinvent the wheel.

But all projects involve some degree of risk, and some projects can fall apart as the result of preventable problems. At the recent Code4Lib 2013 event held at the UIC Forum at University of Illinois at Chicago, a group of librarians found during their Fail4Lib pre-conference workshop that discussing failed or problematic projects can be as constructive as discussing success.

Filed Under: Featured, Library Services, Managing Libraries, Technology Tagged With: code4lib, failure, project management, TDS-LJ

Why You Should Care About the Campus Bookstore | Peer to Peer Review

By Courtney L. Young on March 25, 2013 2 Comments

how should libraries participate in assisting students with identifying and acquiring cheaper course materials, especially those that come from a source other than the campus library? Does the creation of a research guide or flyer for textbooks that points to commercial sources other than the campus bookstore fit into the library’s mission and role on campus? More generally, what is the library’s responsibility when it comes to textbooks?

Filed Under: Academic Libraries, Library Services, Peer to Peer Review Tagged With: bookstore, textbooks

At COSUGI, SirsiDynix Touts New Cloud-Based System

By Michael Kelley on March 18, 2013 2 Comments

SIrsiDynix, one of the largest ILS companies, is poised to roll out a new system later this year that the company says will integrate its product lines in a cloud architecture.

Various aspects of the BLUEcloud Suite (BCS) have been discussed previously, and some products that it comprises–such as Enterprise, BookMyne, and Social Library–are already on the market. But, at the Cosugi conference held in Salt Lake City March 14-16, BCS was announced as a re-engineered technology stack and holistic brand that company officials say will become the architecture upon which the company will build its products in the future.

Filed Under: Industry News, Library Services, Shows & Events, Technology Tagged With: cosugi, ILS, library services platform, SirsiDynix, TDS-LJ

OverDrive & Big (Private) Data | Editorial

By Michael Kelley on March 11, 2013 1 Comment

Who owns library and patron user data? Libraries think they do but will that matter in an increasingly competitive landscape where data is very valuable?

Filed Under: Editorial, Library Services, LJ in Print, Publishing Tagged With: amazon, commentary, editorial, overdrive, privacy, Steve Potash

Advocacy is a Must for Public Library Trustees | Advocate’s Corner

By Jeffrey Smith on March 1, 2013 Leave a Comment

Libraries need more vocal advocates than ever. It seems clear that trustees, as some of a library system’s more visible volunteers, need to make their voices heard with regard to advocacy as well.

Filed Under: Advocacy, Advocate's Corner, Budgets & Funding, Library Services, Opinion, Youth Services Tagged With: Baltimore County Public Library, BCPL, lobbying

NYPL, Brooklyn Merge Technical Services

By Meredith Schwartz on February 22, 2013 Leave a Comment

The New York Public Library (NYPL) and Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) will integrate their tech services departments, the libraries announced last week, saving BPL $2 million per year and NYPL about $1.5 million.

Filed Under: Architecture and Buildings, Library Services, Managing Libraries Tagged With: BPL, nypl, technical services

Library as Filmmaker: Documenting the Creation of a California Town’s Gay Prom

By Michelle Lee on February 20, 2013 Leave a Comment

Local history projects are a popular activity in many public libraries. The Hayward Public Library in the San Francisco Bay area took their creativity to the next level and spent nearly two years making their own historical film highlighting a long-standing event for gay teens.

Filed Under: Library Services Tagged With: documentary, gay prom

“I Plan To Be in the Library. A Lot.” | Peer to Peer Review

By Courtney L. Young on February 12, 2013 1 Comment

The spring semester always has a unique kind of newness to it, different than the fall semester. Returning students who participated in various orientation events and the campus convocation have a sense of what they are doing and clearer expectations. But there are a handful of students for whom the spring semester is their first semester. Their orientation experience is limited at best and often lacks an opportunity for contact with the library.

We talk a lot about outreach in academic libraries, but this semester these students have been on my mind, and in thinking about them I realize I’ve been the fortunate beneficiary of an illuminating kind of “reverse outreach.”

Filed Under: Academic Libraries, Library Services, Peer to Peer Review Tagged With: new students, orientation

Library Books: Ask Your Doctor for Details

By Meredith Schwartz on February 12, 2013 Leave a Comment

In the U.K., patients who consult their doctor about mental health issues may be prescribed a book from the library instead of, or in addition to, medication or counseling. The plan, called Books on Prescription, will start in May. Doctor’s prescriptions will give patients immediate membership at the local library, and include recommended titles from a list of 30 compiled by nonprofit The Reading Agency. They include both medical nonfiction and feel-good fiction, according to The Independent.

Filed Under: Library Services, Marketing, Organizations & Consortia Tagged With: health, UK

Prison and Libraries: Public Service Inside and Out

By Stephen M. Lilienthal on February 4, 2013 4 Comments

ABLE MINDS In facilities (l.– r.) from Rikers Island in New York City to the Garner Correctional Institution in Connecticut to Hennepin County, MN, librarians are helping inmates prepare. Top photo by Stephn M. Lilienthal; bottom left photos by Darren Wagner Photography

Nearly 1.6 million people were in federal or state prisons in 2011, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. City and county jails are also full of people. Though there are increasingly vocal calls to reevaluate stiff sentencing for less serious crimes, this is unlikely to cause a dramatic decline in prisoners anytime soon. Meanwhile, each day, thousands return to their communities from some form of incarceration.

What is changing is a growing realization that more public, prison, and jail libraries can better identify and serve the often significant needs of inmates or those prisoners who are returning to their communities. Not only are some libraries providing books, they are providing innovative programs and services, helping inmates and returnees to learn about work and employment opportunities, the arts, and to develop job-seeking skills.

Filed Under: Featured, Library Services, LJ in Print Tagged With: incarceration, jail, prison, recidivism, rehabilitation