Robert P. Holley

Social networking in academic libraries: the possibilities and the concerns

Purpose – The goal of this paper is to examine the use of the major social networking tools in academic libraries in the USA. As college students are heavy users of social networking, such efforts provide academic libraries with outreach possibilities to students who do not use the physical library. The paper also seeks to examine the concerns about their use both from students and within the academic library.Design/methodology/approach – The paper summarizes findings from articles published since 2006 found in the Library Literature and Information Full Text database. The first author also examined librarian blogs and library accounts in various social networking sites.Findings – Social networking can be an effective method of student outreach in academic libraries if libraries take care to respect student privacy and to provide equal coverage for all subject areas.Research limitations/implications – Most information about social networking is anecdotal with very little statistical analysis of its effect...

The Past, Present, and Possibilities of Commons in the Academic Library

Within the past 10 years, commons have become increasingly prominent in academic libraries. Commons evolved out of the “library as a place” movement and stem from the digital revolution, increased emphasis on collaborative learning, and changing student habits and needs. The three levels of commons are information commons, learning commons, and the emerging virtual commons. Libraries implementing commons must consider the impact on reference services and staffing and be prepared for higher than anticipated use. Libraries should use both quantitative and qualitative assessment methods. Commons can revitalize the library by giving it a key role in reaching university strategic goals.

The Information and Learning Commons: Some Reflections

The Information and Learning Commons mode of library organization has become more prevalent over the past few decades and allows academic libraries to provide wider-ranging and more cohesive services to their constituents. Several issues, including relying upon a single, mythical “Patron” in planning for services; poor organization; a lack of cohesion and centralized leadership; and the “digital divide” may hinder the effectiveness of the Commons and negatively impact both patrons and staff. If these problems can be surmounted, this model shows great promise for both current and future application in academic libraries.

History of the Ebook: The Changing Face of Books

The history of the ebook and e-readers began before World War II with Vannevar Bush, who conceived the memex as a way for individuals to store and read increasing amounts of available information. Project Gutenberg started digitizing texts in 1971. In this article the authors trace the history of ebooks and e-readers from these early beginnings to the current explosion of ebook use. While libraries started to experiment with ebooks relatively late, they have jumped upon the ebook bandwagon within the last few years. Problems have arisen with proprietary formats, licensing rather than ownership, and the mechanics of ebook circulation.

Hiring and Training Work-Study Students: A Case Study

This article describes the implementation of a comprehensive hiring and training program for library work-study students designed to reduce the time spent on individual training. After staff reductions, Marygrove College Library in Detroit, Michigan, turned to an underutilized resource—work-study students. Formerly, training these students took so much permanent staff time that the library questioned investing so much effort on a contingent work force. With the cuts, the library reconsidered the value of work-study employees and devised a hiring and training program to choose the best candidates for the position and to reduce the effort full-time staff spent training new workers.

Google Book Search and Metadata

This article summarizes published documents on metadata provided by Google for books scanned as part of the Google Book Search (GBS) project and provides suggestions for improvement. The faulty, misleading, and confusing metadata in current Google records can pose potentially serious problems for users of GBS. Google admits that it took data, which proved to be inaccurate, from many sources and is attempting to correct errors. Some argue that metadata is not needed with keyword searching; but optical character recognition (OCR) errors, synonym control, and materials in foreign languages make reliable metadata a requirement for academic researchers. The authors recommend that users should be able to submit error reports to Google to correct faulty metadata.

Rare material in academic libraries

Purpose – This paper aims to summarize the importance of rare materials for academic libraries, including developments since the arrival of the internet and the effects of declining library budgets.Design/methodology/approach – The authors reviewed the literature on the subject coupled with their experiences with collection development.Findings – Collecting rare materials remains important for scholarly research, though harder to justify during a period of budget stringency. Academic libraries should discover creative ways to discover and add rare materials to their collections. Rare materials require special expertise in their acquisition, processing, storage, and use. Digitization is making rare materials more accessible but cannot substitute for the use of the originals in all cases.Practical implications – The authors provide a summary of recent thought on the status of rare materials in academic libraries – for libraries that include such collections or for those interested in increasing their holdin...

The University Press: Trends, Initiatives, and Collaborations Over the Past Several Years

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine recent trends that have affected university presses (UPs). The increased reliance on digital resources and fiscal constraints within higher education has forced UPs to re-evaluate their position with the scholarly communication system. Responses include an increased focus on partnerships, new forms of publication, changing business models and better meeting customers’ needs. Design/methodology/approach – The authors have reviewed publications on UPs from the past five years and added their viewpoints on current and future trends. Findings – UPs must adapt to resource scarcity and current trends in scholarly communication to remain viable. Practical implications – Both UPs and academic libraries may gain insights on how to meet the needs of researchers and scholars within a changing environment. Originality/value – This paper summarizes and evaluates a broad spectrum of research on UPs.

Management versus repetitive tasks – avoiding “working for the weekend”

Purpose – In this paper the authors aim to examine ways to motivate staff whose job assignments include repetitive library tasks such as shelving, copy cataloguing, circulation, and other similar functions.Design/methodology/approach – The authors review the appropriate management literature and build upon the extensive management experience of the second author.Findings – Ways to increase employee motivation including enriching the work experience, effective communication, appropriate incentives, and treating each employee as an individual. Sharing tasks among staff and maintaining an ergonomic workspace are also important. Library automation and eliminating unneeded tasks can reduce repetitive tasks but can also lead to a reduction in staff.Practical implications – The paper provides practical steps for managers to take to keep staff motivated when faced with repetitive tasks.Originality/value – This paper summarizes the management literature on this topic to provide practical guidance for library managers.

Libraries as repositories of popular culture: is popular culture still forgotten?

Purpose – This paper seeks to replicate a study done in 1992 on the bibliographic availability of 55 popular culture periodicals sold by a Kroger supermarket in Royal Oak, Michigan. The earlier study asked the question whether time might be a relevant variable for the number of holding libraries.Design/methodology/approach – The authors searched WorldCat for the number of reported library holdings for the same 55 popular culture periodicals and analyzed the results.Findings – During both periods, 34 periodicals with holdings had a median increase of 58.4 percent; but, when the 83.5 percent increase in OCLC governing members during the same period was taken into account, holdings had a median decrease of 13.7 percent. For the 19 cases with no library holdings in 1992, eight (42.1 percent) now had library holdings, including several high circulation periodicals such as Star and Soap Opera Weekly.Practical implications – Popular culture materials read by many Americans are still not widely available in libra...