Few women major in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields at the undergraduate level. Given the drive to attract and retain students in general, and women in STEM in particular, educational institutions need to know what resources and services might help support these students in their work. This study seeks to provide…

Community college and public libraries both serve overlapping populations--including students, job seekers, adult learners, ESL learners, and low-income and underserved communities--playing vital roles in supporting and enriching their local communities. Libraries connect patrons and community members to critical information related to basic needs…

This paper describes efforts at the University of Arizona Libraries (UAL) in Tucson to improve access to the Internet and technology during the COVID-19 pandemic and as the libraries continue to adapt to hybrid instructional modalities. The authors highlight how their institution leveraged campus data and new partnerships to better meet students'…

The New York State School Library Systems were established in 1984 for the purpose of providing professional development, consulting about library programs and practice, coordinating cooperative collection development, facilitating interlibrary loans, and supporting regional and state-sponsored electronic resources. There are currently forty…

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…

Native Americans are underrepresented in higher education; and, while considerable research examines Native student persistence, the role of academic libraries in their experiences has received little attention. This study proposes to investigate Native American undergraduate students' library experiences, needs, and perceptions. Qualitative…

Demonstrating academic library value is crucial in this era of budget cuts and freely available online resources. This article provides a unique complement to existing research on library value. The author uses a qualitative approach known as narrative inquiry to evaluate patron experiences during the temporary closure of an academic branch…

Many of the descriptions of public libraries as sanctuaries provide myriad examples of ways in which they serve the underserved: language circles, English language learning and citizenship classes, and access to technology for the homeless, to name a few. In the school library, if librarians are providing sanctuary only to those who feel…

The right of persons with disabilities for equal access to education and educational resources is enshrined by international and country-specific anti-discrimination laws. Taking the Ethiopian context as an example, this paper sought to identify barriers of access to educational resources and explored ways for removing them. Seventeen students…

In the fall and winter of 2020, New America embarked on a snapshot study to gather data on how--or if--people were discovering, accessing, and using their public libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on materials that libraries made available online. Our findings, which include data from a national survey of 2,620 people, highlight…

In many of the New York City neighborhoods hit hardest by the pandemic, libraries are among the only trusted resources for immigrants, teens, older adults, and those on the wrong side of the digital divide. For example, in 64 percent of the city's neighborhoods, branch libraries are the sole public hub for career services and support for…

Approximately five years ago, the library at Emporia State University started a laptop lending service to provide laptops for use in the library. The program has been highly successful. In the last few years, some modifications were made to the program, and netbooks were added. In this article, the authors will explore laptop programs in a variety…

The core mission of libraries has always centered on making content and related services available to patrons. The form in which that content is delivered has changed continually. The most ancient libraries or archives organized clay tablets or cylinders written in cuneiform. Centuries ago, the transition from scrolls to codices must have been…

As more and more New Yorkers turn to digital books, Wikipedia and other online tools for information and entertainment, there is a growing sense that the age of the public library is over. But, in reality, New York City's public libraries are more essential than ever. Far from becoming obsolete, the city's three public library systems--Brooklyn,…

Public libraries have evolved into a primary source of Internet access in many communities, generating wide-ranging impacts in the communities that public libraries serve. Based on the findings of the 2007 Public Libraries and the Internet study, this article examines the ways in which the Internet access delivered by public libraries affects…