Stephanie Davis-Kahl

A Survey of Library Support for Formal Undergraduate Research Programs

Undergraduate research is defined by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) as “an inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline.” This study serves as a snapshot of current library practices in relation to formal undergraduate research programs and identifies common elements of library support among different types of institutions. The results of this research fill a gap in both the library and education literature, provide critical background data for libraries wishing to build support for undergraduate research programs, and suggest a foundation for further research into an underexplored area.

The case for chick lit in academic libraries

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to prove that chick lit is a legitimate and important area of collection for academic libraries.Design/methodology/approach – This article presents a definition of chick lit with an overview of the origin and significance of the term itself, discusses chick lits impact on publishing, and its relationship to academia and womens writing.Findings – Chick lit is an important area for libraries to collect in because it is representative of womens writing in the twentieth‐twenty‐first century, and because it is a cultural and economic force in the publishing and entertainment worlds.Practical implications – This article presents guidelines on building a chick lit collection.Originality/value – This article provides a perspective on chick lit lacking in the literature aimed at academic libraries. A search of Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA), Library Literature and Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA) reflects the dearth of article...

A survey of campus coordinators of undergraduate research programs

Interest in supporting undergraduate research programs continues to grow within academic librarianship. This article presents how undergraduate research program coordinators perceive and value library support of their programs. Undergraduate research coordinators from a variety of institutions were surveyed on which elements of libraries and library services they valued, and where libraries could improve and develop services for undergraduate researchers and their faculty mentors. This article seeks to present a critical perspective on library support for undergraduate research programs from an important external constituent group of faculty and administrators. The data and recommendations can further conversations and aid collaboration between librarians and their campus colleagues.

Collecting Campus Culture: Collaborations and Collisions

From the 2007 implementation of Illinois Wesleyan University’s institutional repository (IR), an archivist and special collections librarian and a scholarly communications librarian have worked on its development and expansion from each position’s unique perspective. They have found themselves united on some fronts, but divided at times on big picture questions such as the definition of campus culture and the extent to which the IR should contain products of that culture, how best to describe and structure collections, and who should be responsible for certain collections. Through regular dialogue on these concerns and efforts to understand each other’s perspective, the colleagues’ joint interest in promoting and preserving a broad history of campus culture is being achieved. Examples of how these issues are navigated, recommendations for realizing similar outcomes, and insights into the work remaining are provided.

Special Issue: Library Publishing

Library publishing is not a new topic in the (digital) pages of JLSC. In volume 2 alone, there have been two articles ( McIntyre et al, 2013 ; Weiner & Watkinson, 2014 ) and a review ( Lally, 2013 ) focused on different aspects of the topic, and it’s also made appearances in pieces on related issues (for example, in Salo (2013) ). This is, however, the first issue dedicated entirely to this rapidly growing area of practice. The issue, in its entirety, provides a current picture of the range of programs and diversity of approaches in library publishing. The three practice articles include an in-depth look at an innovative journal publishing project (Newton, Cunningham, & O’Connell), a report on an in-progress pilot project focused on publishing open textbooks (Sutton & Chadwell), and a review of library-press collaborations (Roh). The rest of the issue consists of selections from the first Library Publishing Forum, held in March of 2014 in Kansas City, MO. The Forum consisted of invited panels and interactive sessions, which were both thought-provoking and lively. The authors included here take a variety of approaches to representing their Forum sessions-- from the practical to the provocative. We also include in this issue the posters from the Forum, which were first made available in May.

Human Rights Reference Sources: A Critical Annotated Bibliography

The area of human rights has had significant attention both nationally and internationally in the press and in the political arena. While there is a renewed commitment to human rights advocacy, there is also an upward trend in popular culture of depictions of torture. This article provides critical annotations of English-language reference sources published since 1990 and available both in print and online, in an effort to aid librarians collecting and weeding materials for human rights research.