Doralyn Rossmann

E-book MARC records: do they make the mark?

The rapidly growing market in e-books and the options for library acquisition of these materials lead to questions regarding access. Because MARC records increase use of e-books, and some vendors provide MARC records along with e-book purchases, many libraries use their library catalogues as a conduit to e-books. This article explores the challenges associated with these records. Consider ation is given to the quality of information provided by vendors, user expectations and experiences, and cataloguing workload in todays libraries. The authors seek to educate librarians about the issues associated with e-book MARC records, to empower them with questions to ask of vendors regarding this data, and to encourage them to weigh the costs and benefits associated with using this free information.

From Acquisitions to Access: The Changing Nature of Library Budgeting

Column Editors Note This JLA column posits that academic libraries and their services are dominated by information technologies, and that the success of librarians and professional staff is contingent on their ability to thrive in this technology-rich environment. The column will appear in odd-numbered issues of the journal, and will delve into all aspects of library-related information technologies and knowledge management used to connect users to information resources, including data preparation, discovery, delivery and preservation. Prospective authors are invited to submit articles for this column to the editor at kenning.arlitsch@montana.edu. The cost of building library collections continues to increase, forcing librarians to think differently about their budget models. Increasing costs of IT infrastructure needed to connect to information resources also adds to budget concerns. The idea of changing the emphasis of collections budgets to one of broader access is not new, but formally acknowledging the need to support local technology infrastructure and other means of access may offer a new way of promoting the collections budget to university administrators. We propose a budget model that acknowledges these broader requirements and includes concepts of surfacing and discovery, provision, creation, and acquisition.

Demonstrating Library Value at Network Scale: Leveraging the Semantic Web With New Knowledge Work

Demonstrating Library Value at Network Scale: Leveraging the Semantic Web With New Knowledge Work Kenning Arlitsch, Patrick Obrien, Jason A. Clark, Scott W. H. Young & Doralyn Rossmann a Dean of the Library, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA b Semantic Web Research Director, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA c Head of Library Informatics and Computing, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA d Digital Initiatives Librarian, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA e Head of Collection Development, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA Published online: 30 Aug 2014.

The social media toll road: The promise and peril of Facebook advertising

In the world of Facebook, can money really buy popularity? At the Montana State University (MSU) Library, armed with a small advertising budget, we aimed to find out. After two years of using the library’s Facebook page as a free avenue to reach users, we decided to explore different paid routes available within Facebook. Our goals for implementing a Facebook advertising campaign were primarily to increase user awareness of library services and resources, and secondarily to understand the mechanisms of Facebook advertising. Our experiences allowed us to get a glimpse of life on the Facebook toll road. Most libraries with a Facebook presence will be familiar with the concept of organic growth. This type of growth represents social media interaction that does not result from the aid of paid promotions or advertising. Organic growth is driven by strong content, and it results mainly from a community engaging with social media posts in the form of likes, shares, and comments. Engagement is a key metric here. Not only does it indicate positive community reactions, but when a post receives high engagement, that post is more likely to appear in the News Feeds of friends, resulting in further engagement and the increased potential for new followers. The News Feed is the continuously updating list of status updates, likes, and other activities from people and pages that a user follows on Facebook. As the primary way users interact with content, the News Feed is an important element of the Facebook experience. In studying the News Feed and the engagement levels of different types of content, we noticed that two posting categories often result in high engagement and organic growth for the library’s Facebook page: “Library Events” (Fig. 1) and “Library Employee Highlights” (Fig. 2). We used these

The Open SESMO (Search Engine & Social Media Optimization) Project: Linked and Structured Data for Library Subscription Databases to Enable Web-scale Discovery in Search Engines

ABSTRACT Todays learners operate in digital environments which can be largely navigated with no human intervention. At the same time, libraries spend millions and millions of dollars to provide access to content which our users may never know is available to them. Through the Open SESMO (Search Engine & Social Media Optimization) database project, Montana State University (MSU) Library applied search engine optimization and structured data with the Schema.org vocabulary, linked data models and practices, and social media optimization techniques to all the librarys subscribed databases. Our research shows that Open SESMO creates significant return-on-investment with substantial increased traffic to our paid resources by our users as evidenced through analytics and metrics. In the core research of the article, we take a quantitative look at the pre/post results to assess the Open SESMO method and its impact on organic search referrals and use of the collection analyzing data from three distinct fall semesters. Returns include demonstrated library value through database recommendations, connecting researchers to subject librarians, and increased visitation to our librarys paid databases with growth in organic search referrals, impressions, and click-through rates. This project offers a standard and innovative practice for other libraries to employ in surfacing their paid databases to users through the open web by applying structured and linked data methods.

On the ethics of social network research in libraries

Purpose In this paper, faculty librarians at an academic institution explore the ethical dimensions of conducting research with user-generated social networking service (SNS) data. In an effort to guide librarian-researchers, this paper first offers a background discussion of privacy ethics across disciplines and then proposes a library-specific ethical framework for conducting SNS research. Design/methodology/approach By surveying the literature in other disciplines, three key considerations are identified that can inform ethical practice in the field of library science: context, expectation, and value analysis. For each of these considerations, the framework is tailored to consider ethical issues, as they relate to libraries and our practice as librarian-researchers. Findings The unique role of the librarian-researcher demands an ethical framework specific to that practice. The findings of this paper propose such a framework. Practical implications Librarian-researchers are at a unique point in our history. In exploring SNSs as a source of data to conduct research and improve services, we become challenged by conflicting and equally cherished values of patron privacy and information access. By evaluating research according to context, expectations, and value, this framework provides an ethical path forward for research using SNS data. Originality/value As of this paper’s publication, there is no existing ethical framework for conducting SNS research in libraries. The proposed framework is informed both by library values and by broader research values, and therefore provides unique guidelines for the librarian-researcher.

An Assessment of the Relationships between Resource Development Decisions, Library Collection Usage, and User Perceptions

Todays managers of library journal collection budgets experience pressures from shrinking resource allocations and rising costs. Consequently, they seek ways to assess the value of their collections in relation to user needs. This study at Montana State University seeks to understand what resources users (both faculty and graduate students) are citing in their research, the breadth of the information cited that is provided by the Library, how the Librarys proactive and reactive efforts might influence user satisfaction with the information resources provided, and how user perceptions align and differ from information realities. It takes a unique approach by comparing LibQual+® survey results and faculty and graduate student citation behaviors.

Social media optimization: making library content shareable and engaging

Purpose – Social Media Optimization (SMO) offers guidelines by which libraries can design content for social shareability through social networking services (SNSs). The purpose of this paper is to introduce SMO and discuss its effects and benefits for libraries. Design/methodology/approach – Researchers identified and applied five principles of SMO. Web analytics software provides data on web site traffic and user engagement before and after the application of SMO. Findings – By intentionally applying a program of SMO, the library increased content shareability, increased user engagement, and built community. Research limitations/implications – Increasing use of SNSs may influence the study results, independent of SMO application. Limitations inherent to web analytics software may affect results. Further study could expand analysis beyond web analytics to include comments on SNS posts, SNS shares from library pages, and a qualitative analysis of user behaviors and attitudes regarding library web content a...

There's Work to be Done: Exploring Library–Vendor Relations

Academic library and vendor professionals were surveyed to determine strengths and weaknesses of these relationships—revealing, in some cases, conflicting priorities. The two groups offered perspectives on communication preferences, organizational strategies, priorities, and local challenges. Trends emerging from the survey results highlight a need to explore the library–vendor relationship further. This article will be of interest to academic librarians and staff working regularly with vendors in acquisitions or collection management.

Library-Vendor Relations: Data from a Survey of Libraries and of Vendors [dataset]

The dataset includes the results of two surveys created to evaluate the library-vendor relationship. One survey includes results from academic library professionals and the other from vendor professionals.