Libraries at academic institutions have been involved in research data management services (RDMS) for more than ten years. Institutions have adapted their service models in response to funder, journal, and federal mandates that have consequently increased RDMS demand. However, institutions that hope to start or grow their services may have…

An academic library's single service point, where users can get answers and help with their library needs in one place, is often the first and most popular place used by students. Studies assessing desk design are rare but needed to help guide planning for renovation or service model change. This study investigated an academic library's service…

This study surveyed librarians and staff at Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions to determine who assembles social justice guides (that is, LibGuides), what motivated the creation of such guides, and how these guides are deployed. Additionally, the survey gauged employee perceptions of library and institutional responses to…

This case study discusses the implementation of formal organizational learning activities at the Richard G. Trefry Library, which serves the American Public University System, an accredited, for-profit, asynchronous institution of higher education. Discussed are the challenges and solutions throughout the implementation processes along with the…

This is the first qualitative phenomenological study to investigate the state of leadership in Saudi libraries. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 14 library leaders or section heads in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Library leadership was found to be strongly associated with management skills, visionary thinking, teamwork, and…

The College Library Directors' Mentor Program has operated for more than 20 years, during which a substantial portion of the target audience of first-year library directors of small colleges has participated. Through this article, the authors identify the purpose of the program, describe its evolution and current status, and examine the nature of…

As academic libraries explore their connection to student success and how library staff spend their time, it is important to understand how research consultations influence academic achievement. Several studies have found correlations between various measures of library use and grade point averages (GPAs), but only limited research has…

Library public services staff have primarily focused on providing services through interactions with their users. Although service quality and customer satisfaction are important in the delivery of these services, the emphasis and nature of the work have often been influenced by a library-centric philosophy rather than a user-centric philosophy.…

Two academic libraries undergoing significant organizational changes were the location for a project that researched how staff members and subunits of the libraries made collective judgments, negotiated what is sometimes called the "landscape of practice"--the collective body of knowledge of their profession--and thus came to collective…

Today's undergraduates approach research with needs and expectations that challenge traditional library services. The foundation for leading an effective response is the ability to assess undergraduate needs and translate these needs into tangible strategic initiatives that contribute to student academic success. This paper describes the…

Using the results for participating Association of Research Libraries from the 2006 LibQUAL+[R] library service quality survey, we examine the service priorities of library staff (for example, whether desired scores for each survey item are above or below average) and the extent to which they are aligned with the priorities of undergraduates,…

Should academic libraries seek to improve general satisfaction with their services, or are some services more important than others? This article asserts that faculty and students mainly want information resources. The research analyzes LibQUAL+[TM] data to determine which other library resources contribute to information satisfaction among users.…

Explains symbolic interactionism as a theory for analyzing research based on a qualitative interpretive process that can help librarians to understand the way in which the library staff and users view services, training, policy, and other issues. The theory focuses on the symbolic meaning of objects, such as books, and events as they are…