Lynda M. Kellam

Hacking Blackboard: Customizing Access to Library Resources Through the Blackboard Course Management System

Academic libraries have long been trying to gain access to users through their favorite online spaces, such as social networking sites. In this article a project of the University of North Carolina at Greensboros University Libraries, which integrated library resources with the campus course management system, Blackboard, is detailed. The main objective was to push the best resources to students based on their actual needs. For years, static HTML Web pages were created, but the proliferation of these pages required tremendous maintenance. In addition it is not certain that students are able to access the most relevant resources buried deep in the Web site. Because of these challenges, the Course Resources Tool and the Library Resources Portal were created to provide high levels of customization based on information that was gathered from users as they log into Blackboard. The tools have been customized so that subject specialist liaisons can integrate library resources at the major, department, course, and course section levels. Despite some difficulties in launching and promoting these projects, there has been positive feedback. There was also an increase in usage statistics that rivals the use of the librarys main Web site. This article describes the tools, documents the difficulties with each phase of the project, and discusses the lessons learned. Also, a brief overview of possible expansions of the Blackboard Course Resources Tool and the Library Resources Portal is provided.

Intellectual Property: Everything the Digital-Age Librarian Needs to Know by Timothy Lee Wherry

Wherry is assuredly authorized to provide this overview. An author of four books on intellectual property, he has provided assistance with patent questions since 1983 when he began managing the Patent and Trademark Depository Library at Arizona State University. He now serves as the library director at Penn State Altoona Colleges Eiche Library. This new work updates information found in Wherrys 2002 book on intellectual property for librarians entitled The Librarians Guide to Intellectual Property in the Digital Age: Copyrights, Patents, and Trademarks. In the 2002 work, the historical sections for each area of intellectual property are slightly longer and could supplement parallel sections in this 2008 update.