To stay robust and relevant, academic libraries may need to abandon hands-on collection development and big deal subscription packages in favor of patron-driven acquisitions (PDA), open access, and curation of campus specialties. College & Research Libraries released a pre-print of From Stacks to the Web: the Transformation of Academic Library Collecting by David W. Lewis, [...]
Managing Libraries
Article Argues Academic Libraries Should Give Up Book-by-Book Collecting
February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Age of Participation | Office Hours
February 17, 2012 By 1 Comment
IT’S THE MUSEUM DIRECTOR’S conundrum. She has six brief seconds to grab the visitor’s attention as they walk past each exhibit. Once they pass the exhibit, they’re gone for good. That thought went through my mind as I stood talking with a museum administrator at a stammtisch [“regular get-together”] in Berlin in March 2010. Could this brief window of opportunity be maximized by adding a social, participatory component to museum exhibitions?
Appeals Court Finds Library Sex Offender Ban Unconstitutional
February 16, 2012 By 3 Comments
By Michelle Lee Libraries that ban all sex offenders from using their facilities should take note: it could be overturned in court. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver last month affirmed an earlier ruling by New Mexico federal district court that found the city of Albuquerque’s 2008 law, which banned all sex offenders [...]
Harvard Library Releases Org Chart, Offers Buyouts
February 14, 2012 By 3 Comments
Harvard Library revealed its new organizational structure on February 10th. The restructuring focuses on eliminating redundancy across the university’s 73 libraries through the creation of shared services departments. As part of the restructuring, the university has offered 275 voluntary buyouts to library staff.
Bloomberg Proposes Cutting NYC Library Funding by Nearly $100 Million
February 8, 2012 By 3 Comments
Lessons from Small Libraries: They’re Not Intimidated by the Present, or the Future | Editorial
February 7, 2012 By 1 Comment
“An american library horror story with a Happy Ending”: that’s the tagline on the winning application submitted for LJ’s 2012 Best Small Library in America Award. In today’s library world, with shrinking budgets, staff, and hours, we all understand the horror story. It’s the happy ending that’s difficult to envision.
Consider the Checkout Slip | The User Experience
February 7, 2012 By 10 Comments
However small, our checkout slips are touchpoints—ways that people interact with us—and collectively we’re pumping out thousands of these things daily. In some small way, we’re representing ourselves through these little scraps of paper.
Therapy Dogs’ Presence Steadily Grows in Libraries
February 6, 2012 By 18 Comments
When it comes to learning, libraries around the country are steadily discovering that a dog can teach patrons, young and old, a few tricks.
Best Small Library in America 2012: The Independence Public Library, KS
January 31, 2012 By 6 Comments
How the small staff of eight pulled off the miraculous resurrection of the Independence Public Library exemplifies what makes good libraries and good librarians. Their effort combined innovative thinking with a participatory management style. They collaborated with other Kansas libraries and built partnerships with the community, its leaders, and the agencies, institutions, and enterprises that operate in the library district. For all this and more, the Independence Public Library is the winner of the 2012 Best Small Library in America Award, cosponsored by LJ and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Mission Matters | Backtalk
January 30, 2012 By 1 Comment
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