Just as literature can be used for learning, the power of storytelling can be very effective when applied to leadership and management. Library expert and author Marek shows readers how they can use storytelling to communicate vision and values with: (1) A primer on how to develop storytelling skills; (2) Tips on how to use narratives to navigate…

Since its inception, Metropolitan State University has demonstrated a strong commitment to community partnerships and the integration of community engagement into student learning and scholarship while meeting community-defined needs. This article presents examples of reciprocal partnerships in the context of a shared community-university library…

This study is centered on the utilization of secondary school libraries by teachers and students in Idah Local Government Council of Kogi State. A survey method was adopted for the study with questionnaire constructed, validated and used for the collection of data related to the research questions formulated to guide the study. The population of…

A data-gathering project using elements of Participatory Action Research was conducted at the Auraria Library, which serves the University of Colorado Denver, the Metropolitan State College of Denver and the Community College of Denver. The project was administered in order to shape a plan to develop a Learning Commons environment at the library.…

This book explains how teachers can set up and run a successful school library. In it you will find advice and information on how to: (1) set up a small library and build bookshelves; (2) select books for your library; (3) make a written record of your school's books, pamphlets and other library stock such as newspapers, magazines, audio tapes and…

An imperative to develop the social experience of learning has led to the design of informal learning spaces within libraries. Yet little is known about how these spaces are used by students or how students perceive them. Field work in one such space is reported. The general private study practice of undergraduates was captured through audio…

Two floors of the W. K. Hancock Library at the Australian National University (ANU) were refurbished in 2011 as part of a cooperative project between the library and the College of Science. The refurbishment, costing $5 million, was part of a much larger exercise involving the construction of four new science buildings around the Hancock Library.…

This essay served as the basis for the opening keynote speech during the Library Assessment Conference in Baltimore in 2010. It set the stage by tracing the demands for accountability in the beginning of the century and outlining progress made. It provided important background and context for the following four keynote papers delivered by Megan…

Describes a two-part study of the research needs of graduate students at Georgetown University. The first part, conducted in May 2010, consisted of an online survey about students' research practices and opinions about the library. The second part, conducted in May 2011, consisted of focus groups with particular subsets of graduate students. The…

Today's undergraduates are clearly comfortable as consumers of technology and new media--purchasing ring tones for their cell phones and tunes for their iPods, text-messaging from handheld devices, scanning and tinkering with photos, keeping up with their Facebook friends and watching viral YouTube videos, sometimes all simultaneously. We share…

The difference between the University of Texas at San Antonio's Applied Engineering and Technology Library and other science-focused libraries is not that its on-site collection is also available electronically. It is that its on-site collection is only available electronically. The idea of libraries with no bound books has been a recurring theme…

Focus group methodology was used to investigate graduate students' cross-campus technology, space and service needs. Although the library provides valued services and spaces, graduate students need enhanced and more equitable support for their roles as teachers and scholars. Librarians can provide leadership and act as advocates for graduate…

It has become widely recognised across the academic and research libraries sector that special collections and archives play a key role in differentiating each institution from its peers. In recognition of this, Research Libraries UK (RLUK) established the workstrand "Unique and Distinctive Collections" (UDC) in support of its strategic…

Much has been written about library commons in recent years. For the most part, that literature has dealt with designing information and learning commons that support student learning by giving them the tools and resources they need for their academic work. However, few authors have discussed how a library commons might facilitate collaboration…

Can it be only two years, as Alan Jay Lerner once wrote, "since the whole [economic] rigmarole began"? Yet libraries have weathered to varying degrees the unreliability of funding, especially with regard to programming, materials, and hours. Money earmarked years ago is seeing construction through to conclusion; state support has helped out in…