Frances A. Devlin

Project Management and Institutional Collaboration in Libraries

Abstract As most libraries in the United States struggle with declining financial support, combined with the ever-increasing need to incorporate new technology into services and the profusion of resources that are available, inter-institutional cooperation is becoming more common. Planning and implementing new projects in libraries is better carried out if the project is formally managed from the beginning to ensure an orderly and efficient completion to the project. Two institutions have developed new services that they sought to expand to other institutions. Though neither project set out to use project-management techniques, the development of the new services illustrates their practical use.

Successful Approaches to Teaching Through Chat

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine whether librarians at the University of Kansas are providing instruction through chat in order to develop best practices for training purposes.Design/methodology/approach – The authors analyzed a sample of chat transcripts using the “ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education” to determine whether librarians were utilizing opportunities for instruction in the chat medium. Using this analysis, they selected the best examples of instructional techniques.Findings – Students were open to receiving instruction through chat. Librarians who were most successful in providing assistance to students demonstrated persistency and approachability in their interactions.Practical implications – The authors developed a list of top ten practices for instruction through chat which can be used for training purposes.Originality/value – Librarians need to continue to develop instructional techniques to create more opportunities for teaching moments i...

Getting Beyond Institutional Cultures: When Rivals Collaborate

Abstract As library service providers for distance learners, we are constantly searching for ways to improve communication, share our knowledge, and make distance learners aware of our resources. Virtual (real-time chat) reference is yet another tool to utilize in reaching these students. While virtual reference has been around for several years, and is offered by many libraries, the four institutions comprising this service have taken a variety of paths to reach the current stage-a collaboration among academic state university libraries of varying size. This paper discusses collaboration aspects such as differences in institutional cultures, negotiations, planning and implementation, developing policies and best practices, staff training, technology issues, and lessons learned that can be applied to any collaborative project.

HawkHelp: From Chat to a Student Services Portal

SUMMARY This article describes the factors that influenced the design of a chat reference service that meets the needs of distance learners as well as traditional students. Emphasis is placed in the importance of collaborative projects, evaluation of software, and planning the organizational structure. An innovative “peer and tier” staffing initiative may extend hours and free reference librarians to concentrate on research and in-depth questions. Finally, a planning effort by information services may lead to a one-stop shopping service that will include student services that often are problematic for the distant learner (counseling, enrollment, financial aid, etc.).

Grappling with Changing Realities

Imbued with the sense of mission to serve as cultural and intellectual bastions, research libraries have continued to build collections to meet both immediate and anticipated future scholarly needs across a broad range of disciplines. While this mission may still stand as a guiding precept today, the issues facing collection development librarians have changed immensely since the millennium. Some important questions remain: How do we continue to meet the mission of building research collections in an era marked by considerable budget constraints, technological innovation, new publishing models and changing expectations from users? How do we engage these changing realities? Over the last several years the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries have developed several methods to enhance traditional collection development practices in an effort to grapple with the continuing challenge of building research collections relevant to modern scholars and students. This presentation will provide an overview of these strategies, which have included improved ways both to develop and manage collections. Such methods have included improved ways to manage resource expenditures (spending deadlines, database steward program, approval plan review), engaging in collection building (e-book acquisitions, purchase on demand) and collection management practices (serial review, WorldCat Collection Analysis, significant analysis of recent monographic and database usage), among other approaches. In addition, we have guided our work with ideas gleaned from the perspective of institutional and library leadership about the future of research library collections and where such collections may be headed. The audience will be asked to share methods that we, as collection development professionals, can adopt to balance collection development practices within the institutional framework. Attendees can expect to learn how research libraries are adapting collection development strategies to meet the changing needs of users, ongoing budget constraints, and the vision of the future of collections as articulated by our library leadership.