Donald G. Frank

Information consulting: the key to success in academic libraries

Information consulting is essential to the success, lasting impact, and viability of academic libraries. Traditional liaison programs, while helpful, are too passive and lack impact. Topics such as the driving forces behind the need for information consulting, the implications of implementing a consulting program, and the elements of successful consulting are explored.

Cross-Cultural Communication: Implications for Effective Information Services In Academic Libraries

International students and scholars on campuses in the United States constitute a complex, diverse, and rapidly growing population that must be served effectively by academic libraries. This article examines cultural differences with a focus on communication processes and styles, and recommends ways to accommodate cross-cultural differences in information services. The article includes a survey of relevant literature and draws on the results of a series of focus groups conducted at Harvard University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Portland State University, and one of the annual conferences of the American Library Association.

The Politics Of Survival In The Postmodern Library

The vitality and relevance of academic libraries are at stake as a result of dramatic budget reductions and ongoing changes in the use of libraries. Academic librarians who are more aware of the realities and uncertainties of the political context in which their libraries exist are more likely to succeed. This article explores the ambiguities, realities, and implications of the academic librarys political environment and suggests strategies to be politically effective.

Effective Leadership in Postmodern Science/Technology Libraries

SUMMARY Postmodern ideas, practices, and perspectives are being integrated into the organizational cultures of science/technology libraries. Librarians are increasingly likely to be working with other librarians as well as faculty who are more comfortable with ambiguity, integration, collaboration, deconstruction, uncertainty, chaos, and fluid systems. These postmodern professionals are integrators and synthesizers, focused on learning, and uncomfortable with control and rigid or inflexible boundaries. Leadership in science/technology libraries needs this infusion of postmodern influences to be responsive to the dynamic information needs of all customers. This article focuses on the importance and implications of these postmodern influences.