Even as librarians have spent the past twenty years documenting the rich world of scholarly communication beyond the catalog, repositories and catalogs too often remain completely siloed from each other. Current practices and tools to unite the two focus entirely on matching names, an imprecise method requiring substantial time spent on review.…

This article describes how the Penn State University Libraries have responded to the unique challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic presents to international student populations. Additionally, the authors discuss support and service programs for international students that may ease the disruptions expected in upcoming semesters. A collaborative…

COVID-19 did not disrupt higher education; it hastened the disruptions that have already been taking place. One particularly prominent disruption is the digital shift, or the move from primarily face-to-face operations to operations with a large digital component. In order to survive, higher education needs to fundamentally change. But how…

In March 2020, many academic librarians were abruptly forced into an online service environment due to the global COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Although some librarians had been providing synchronous video reference consultations prior to the pandemic, evidence of the practice in Library Science literature is scant. This paper presents scenarios…

Research libraries have been engaged in discussions of the functionalist approach versus the liaison model. While some have adopted a hybrid model that overlays functionalists with liaisons, few have abandoned the liaison structure. This article demonstrates a successful nonliaison approach that prioritizes teaching and focuses on building…

Science curricula in academic settings increasingly emphasize the importance of fostering students' science communication skills through coursework and projects. One technique used to build students' multimedia communication skills is digital storytelling. Digital storytelling allows students to tell a subjective story that engages an audience's…

Delaware County Community College provides library services to its branch campus community members by stationing a librarian at a campus 5 to 20 hours each week, without any more library infrastructure than an Internet-enabled computer on the school network. Faculty and students have reacted favorably to the increased presence of librarians.…

This report presents strategies for providing efficient and affordable interlending of actual physical items from special collections for research purposes, as well as advice on determining if a loan is the most appropriate way to fulfill a particular request. Lending physical items ranks among the most divisive issues in the field of archives and…

This column contains information on how students in graduate library and information science programs participate in a forum to discuss key issues they see in academic library public services, to envision what they feel librarians in public service have to offer to academia, to state their visions for the profession, or to tell of research that is…

A makerspace is a physical place in the library where informal, collaborative learning can happen through hands-on creation, using any combination of technology, industrial arts, and fine arts that is not readily available for home use. The underlying goal of a makerspace is to encourage innovation and creativity through the use of technology-to…

Like a bright beacon on the hill, the Lillian Marrero public library rises majestically above the deserted buildings and bulldozed voids below on Germantown Avenue. Here in the heart of what is known as the Philadelphia Badlands, makeshift garbage dumps line the sidewalks. The tall grass that surrounds abandoned lots does nothing to obscure the…

Academic, government, and corporate librarians organize and leverage internal resources and content through institutional repositories and library catalogs. Getting more value and usage from the content they license is a key goal. However, the ever-growing amount of content and shifting user demands for new materials or features has made the…

In this article, the author reports on the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Conference which occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 29-April 2, 2011. There were numerous panel sessions to choose from, and the author attended "Fostering Library as Place for Distance Students: Best Practices from Two…

In January 2006, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Libraries began a successful embedded librarian program in the university's College of Education and Educational Technology. The program has improved the library's relationship with faculty and students; shaped a more relevant collection of print, media, and electronic resources that meets…

Public libraries are redefining their roles in order to stay relevant to the needs of the communities they serve. Today, libraries are places where reading meets hands-on learning and where quietness coexists with voices and music. The latest advances in technology for children and teens, specifically, robotics sets and media-rich software, are…