This paper presents the ongoing design, development, and implementation of a K-16 maker movement centered around a joint public school/university library whose minimal dedicated space has expanded opportunities for public participation, partnerships, and shared resources. As the library sought to circulate STEM resources for K-9 teachers and…

As information literacy continues in its centrality to many academic libraries' missions, a line of inquiry has developed in response to ACRL's charge to develop information literate citizens. The literature of critical information literacy questions widely held assumptions about information literacy and considers in what ways librarians may…

Library instruction continues to evolve. Regardless of the myriad and conflicting opinions academic librarians have about the ACRL "Framework for Information Literacy," the debates and the document itself have engendered greater discourse surrounding how and why librarians teach. The "Framework" provides an additional push…

Introduction: Uncertainty is understood as an important component of the information seeking process, but it has not been explored as a component of reference and information service. Method: Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to examine the practitioner perspective of reference and information service for eight academic research…

Despite the prevalence of academic libraries adopting web-scale discovery tools, few studies have quantified their effect on the use of library collections. This study measures the impact that EBSCO Discovery Service has had on use of library resources through circulation statistics, use of electronic resources, and interlibrary loan requests.…

This article investigates the possibility that e-journal collections can reach a maximum size that satisfies long-term patron needs without further significant expansion. The study included collection and usage data taken from 2000 to 2013. In terms of the e-journal collection, the occurrence of a maximal mass appears to be very real. The…

This study concerns administrative support provided to encourage the research and publishing activities of academic librarians working in Association of Research Libraries member libraries. Deans and directors of these libraries were asked to respond to an online survey concerning the support measures that their libraries provide, as well as their…

Mentoring expectations, activities, and support in Canadian college and university libraries were investigated by surveying 332 recent MLIS graduates, practicing academic librarians, and library administrators. Findings indicate that the presence of a mentoring program will help attract new librarians, retain them, and aid in restructuring efforts…

Instruction is a vital part of the academic librarian's public services mission, but the teaching efforts of special collections librarians can be overlooked due to the culture and particularities of teaching in an archival setting. This article documents the challenges special collections librarians face in integrating their teaching program into…

In their 1994 article, "The Politics of the Interface: Power and its Exercise in Electronic Contact Zones," compositionists Cynthia Selfe and Richard Selfe give examples of how certain features of word processing software and other programs used in writing classrooms (including their icons, clip art, interfaces, and file structures) can…

Libraries often lack the in-house information technology (IT) expertise required to (1) implement mobile applications and related technologies (MAT); (2) attain maximum return on investment including patron satisfaction for using MAT; and (3) reduce reliance on expensive IT consultants. Based on secondary analysis of the experiences and advice…

This study connects library user surveys, a common library assessment technique, to institutional data to demonstrate the value an academic library brings to student learning and student outcomes. Using regression techniques, the study identifies multiple significant correlations, both positive and negative, between student use of the library and…

As librarians increasingly support digital publication platforms, they must also understand the user experience of these tools. This case study assesses use of Scalar, a digital humanities publishing platform for media-rich projects, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Based on a survey, interviews, and content analysis, the study…

Information literacy (IL) is increasingly considered to be an important life skill and there are a number of challenges that librarians face in implementing an effective IL program. This article examines the experience of library staff at Birmingham City University (BCU) and how they developed a printed workbook to be embedded within sessions…

This article analyzes 21 in-depth interviews of engineering and atmospheric science faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) to determine faculty data management practices and needs within the context of their research activities. A detailed literature review of previous large-scale and institutional surveys and interviews…