Laptops have become ubiquitous in academic libraries, as has the practice of circulating laptops for student use. Several studies have analyzed the how-to of loaning laptops, and a number of surveys have focused on how they are being used. However, little has been written of the practical lessons learned; the trial and error of those on the…

For nearly two decades, librarians have been noting and writing about transformational change in collection development and subsequently predicting future directions for libraries in terms of building digital collections. This paradigm shift caused by the incorporation of more and more electronic resources into existing library collections and…

This article explores the questions to what extent educational research addresses library use in education and how the library can contribute to intercultural education. The focus is primarily on elementary education in Europe. Analysis of research publications was based on searches for peer-reviewed journals in international databases, literary…

This article reports on a content analysis of research articles focusing on library services in distance education published between 1999 and 2009. The study identified 472 articles on the topic and analyzed the citations, abstracts, and indexing to determine major topics, issues, and trends discussed; methodologies used; and major journals…

Science and engineering libraries have an important role to play in preserving the intellectual content in research areas of the departments they serve. This study employs bibliographic data from the Web of Science database to examine how much research material is required to cover 90% of faculty citations in civil engineering and computer…

Extensive Reading is a resource heavy technique used in second language acquisition in which language learners read large amounts of texts for enjoyment, with the expectation that they will improve their vocabulary and fluency as a result of exposure to the written language. Narrow Reading is a similar technique in which the texts have a common…

In an academic library, the use of online databases and electronic journals is becoming more prevalent. Such resources are being used to assist in distance education programs and online learning environments. Students in other states have access to the same information available to students who live close to campus. The use of these sources has…

Web sites are increasingly used by academic libraries to promote key services and collections to teaching faculty. This study analyzes the content, location, language, and technological features of fifty-four academic library Web pages designed especially for faculty to expose patterns in the development of these pages.

E-books have yet to assume a significant place in academic library collections. This article focuses on extracting common themes from the literature that might help the reader better understand why e-books have not yet become the cornerstone of the academic library. Patrons do not use e-books because they find the experience of using e-books…

The goal of this study is to examine the characteristics of scholarly communication, with particular emphasis on the usage of the monograph, in the field of Spanish and Latin American literature over a 30-year period. In addition, this study examines the age of materials referenced in an effort to gain insight into the shelf-life of these…

Purpose: This paper aims to provide an overview of the published literature and current use of social software by libraries primarily in the UK and USA. Design/methodology/approach: The paper's approach is a literature review and desk research. Findings: Libraries are experimenting considerably in this area and many Web 2.0 applications have been…

The study examined the extent of cross-disciplinarity in nanotechnology and transportation engineering research. Researchers in these two fields were determined from the web sites of the U.S. News and World Report top 100 schools in civil engineering and materials science. Web of Science searches for 2006 and 2007 articles were obtained and the…

This report presents selected findings from the Public School Library Media Center Data File of the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is a nationally representative sample survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. School districts associated with public schools…

The study's purpose was to investigate the views and opinions of librarians about the implementation of Web 2.0 technologies into library operations and services. The Delphi technique was chosen as the method of inquiry in this study, in which a group of panelists graded the desirability and probability of a list of statements. Thirty-nine…

This article reviews the recent literature about the essential but often uneasy alliances made between content experts (archivists and librarians) and technology experts. Differing professional cultures, misunderstandings of one another, limited abilities to envision change, and lack of support from top-level administrators are the most often…