This article presents the results of an online survey of access services departments at academic libraries on the responses implemented during the initial stage of COVID-19 in March-May 2020. The 33-question survey was completed by 121 respondents. The article identifies policies and procedures adopted by access services departments during the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to revisit previous design principles and guidelines for online makerspaces in public libraries (Kim et al., 2020) and expand the design principles with more updated implications and examples from the literature published during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The authors reviewed…

The provision of service to students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) at university libraries in the UK differs based on the types of positions that are being used to staff these programs. This study finds that although nondedicated staff tended to provide services that required fewer specialized skills, they seemed to place a higher priority…

Seven scholarly papers and twelve abstracts comprise the content of the twenty-fifth annual Brick & Click Libraries Conference, held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The 2025 paper and abstract titles include: (1) Active Learning Toolkits: Online Learning & AI Literacy (Kelly Jones, Holly McMasters);…

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…

The OCLC Research Library Partners Metadata Managers Focus Group, first established in 1993, is one of the longest-standing groups within the OCLC Research Library Partnership (RLP), a transnational network of research libraries. The Focus Group provides a forum for administrators responsible for creating and managing metadata in their…

This annotated bibliography provides more details on the "Hanging Together" posts referred to in "Transitioning to the Next Generation of Metadata" (see ED617919), primarily summaries of discussions by the OCLC Research Library Partners Metadata Managers Focus Group in 2015-2020. The order of the sections matches that in the…

The University of Baltimore Library was recently renovated. Part of the design in the newly renovated space was having one single service point, that we call the Information Desk. This desk serves as the public facing portal for what was previously three public facing service points to services by three separate departments, Academic Success,…

This paper, which seeks to investigate ICT-related training and support programmes for information professionals, becomes essential due to multifarious tasks that require adequate ICT skills, knowledge and application in a dynamic context to function better. This paper adopted the quantitative research approach. The quantitative approach was…

The University of Central Missouri has experienced a 1,498% increase in students from India since 2012. These international students utilize interlibrary loan to request textbooks at a rate not evident in other student population groups. Their search for course textbooks impacted librarians, staff, and student workers at public desks and on chat…

Library workflows are an area where repetitive stress can potentially reduce staff efficiency. Day to day activities that require a repetitive motion can bring about physical and psychological fatigue. For library managers, it is important to seek ways in which this type of repetitive stress can be alleviated while having the added benefit of…

Academic libraries contribute to student engagement, student learning, and retention; therefore, the effects of improved library services for students may be positive and long lasting. However, despite successful application of organizational learning (OL), a strategic process for improvement, to enhance services in academic libraries, little is…

In 2016, Access Services staff attended a professional development course on process improvement offered at Kennesaw State University. Process improvement initiatives have been credited with devising more effective, streamlined practices by identifying and eliminating non-value-added work. The Head of Access Services adapted content from the…

The clock and calendar regulate many library activities, but the seasonal and temporal dimensions of libraries are largely unexplored. Intrigued by observations of colleagues' temporal attitudes and behavior, the authors drew on the work of sociologist Eviatar Zerubavel to investigate the perceptions of time, schedules, and urgency among…

Marketing to distance students can be particularly challenging, but a new marketing trend called empathetic marketing provides academic libraries with a new and innovative way to reach these students. Empathetic marketing focuses on the core emotional needs of students and demonstrates how the library's staff and services can help meet those…