Small and midsize institutions have proven the success of a blended library/IT organization, a hybrid model in which both librarians and IT professionals report to the same senior leader. What hasn't been proven is how well such a blend works for larger universities. There the challenge has become part of the larger institutional budget debate:…

Because of an absence of dialogue, a tense relationship appears to exist between Wisconsin's gay men's book discussion groups and their local public libraries. Public library directors express interest in accommodating these groups if approached but face budget restrictions and local communities that may oppose these gatherings; gay men's book…

Years as a school librarian have given the author many wonderful and rewarding collaborative experiences with teachers and students, but it has also made her aware of many barriers to the implementation of information literacy instruction. This is what motivated her to develop a survey measuring school community engagement. This article discusses…

Technology has been integrated into academia. The 21st century learner will be a life-long learner and students need to be comfortable and familiar with computers and technology. Computers are part of the educational environment independent of the different learning styles of the students. Regardless of the major field of study elected by a…

In this article, the author shares the successful digitization effort of their library and demonstrates how they were able to expand their first digital collection. The author started working at James G. Gee Library when the director asked him to try digital collections and was asked to study an open source collection management program called…

While a great deal of literature on embedded librarians in academic libraries is focused on the role of instructor, there are many other services that could be provided by librarians working closely with students. The Kresge Business Administration Library (Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan) has created a unique…

This study is a quantitative analysis of FTE staffing levels at academic libraries at 176 U.S. research universities between 2000 and 2008. Results showed that overall staffing levels at these libraries declined but that the average number of professional librarian FTE positions modestly increased. Other professional staff positions increased at a…

This article argues that a design studio can be a dynamic medium to explore the creative potential of the complexity of sustainability from its technological to social ends. The study seeks to determine the impact of an interior design/architecture studio experience that was initiated to teach diverse meanings of sustainability and to engage the…

At Winona State University's Krueger Library, where Kendall Larson is an associate professor and Allison Quam is an assistant professor, informational and directional signs are an essential part of the interior space. Yet the ubiquitous sign and media saturation has challenged them to design and maintain effective signage that is conspicuous and…

Drupal is a PHP-and MySQL-based system for managing web sites, developed in 2000 and released in 2001 under the open GNU General Public License (GPL). It is modular, extensible, and scalable. In recent years, Drupal has gained a huge following within libraries as a content management system (CMS). Probably the best-known extension of Drupal in the…

This article presents the narrative accounts of the beginnings of digital library programs in five European national libraries: Biblioteca nacional de Portugal, Bibliotheque nationale de France, Die Deutsche Bibliothek, the National Library of Scotland, and the British Library. Based on interviews with policy makers and developers of digital…

Throughout the history of library automation, the author has seen a steady advancement toward more open systems. In the early days of library automation, when proprietary systems dominated, the need for standards was paramount since other means of inter-operability and data exchange weren't possible. Today's focus on Application Programming…

Despite the recent turmoil in the U.S. economy, most libraries that were tracked by "Library Journal" won their referenda at a rate just slightly lower than 2007. Nearly three-quarters of operating referenda passed. Building referenda under $10 million passed at a whopping 85%, with those over $10 million batting slightly better than…

The move to an increasingly digital research environment has substantially disintermediated both academic and corporate libraries from the research process. The full impact of this disruptive change has been more clearly expressed in the corporate environment, in which libraries are less insulated by institutional tradition and historical…

This article reports on a 2009 budget survey conducted by "Library Journal" in which a random sample of U.S. public libraries were surveyed via mail or fax in October 2008. Those that answered the survey projected a modest increase in budgets for 2009, just 2%, with less than a 1% increase in funds for materials, a predictable area for cuts. That…