Google is currently recognized as the world's most powerful search engine. Google is so powerful and intuitive that one does not need to possess many skills to use it. However, Google is more than just simple search. For those who have special search skills and know Google's superior search features, it becomes an extraordinary tool. To understand…

Thirty years ago, the only person in a library looking for an electrical outlet was a blue-smocked cleaning person who had to plug in a vacuum cleaner with a very long cord. Now, hordes of patrons outfitted with amp-devouring laptops and cell phones expect and need the library to offer an endless supply of electricity. The overall demand for…

In a perfect world, school libraries would have unlimited budgets with the latest technology. They would be responsible for one building, staffed with a full-time professional school librarian, paraprofessionals, and a district director. The students, staff, and community would understand the breadth and depth of the school librarian's job.…

To gain a fresh perspective as a librarian, go back into the classroom for a year. In reality, this is not possible or even desirable for librarians. Library jobs are hard to come by, and no school would hold someone's position while they ventured off into the classroom. However, a year ago, the author found herself in exactly this situation. In…

Interest in subject specialists in academic libraries has recently been increasing. After being a trend in the West in the 1960s, interest declined in this method of service provision in academic libraries until its recent return to prominence in the last decade. The purpose of this article is to introduce the current movement of Korean…

Little research has been conducted examining advocacy efforts in the school library field despite the fact that program advocate is a prominent role for school librarians. One element of advocacy is the engagement in political initiatives that may affect school library programs. This case study investigates the effectiveness of one advocacy effort…

Student success in Ontario College is significantly influenced by the utilization of student services. At Niagara College there has been a significant investment in student services as a strategy to support student success. Utilizing existing KPI data, this quantitative research project is aimed at measuring factors that influence both the use of…

The transformation of the first floor of Joyner Library into the Collaborative Learning Center produced significant changes to collection and user spaces. Collaboration, in this context, refers to students engaged in teamwork with technology and support services. A Culture War emerged when some faculty, displeased with the loss of the traditional…

The existence of a ubiquitous and cheap worldwide communications network that increasingly makes documents easily and freely available will require a transformation of academic library collecting practice. It will be driven by a number of specific developments including: the digitization of content; the development of print repositories; the…

The field of library and information science (LIS) continues to struggle with the issue of diversity and inclusion. As we are perpetually working to increase racial and gender diversity in the profession, the definition of diversity continues to broaden to include socioeconomic status, education, language, literacy, age, sexual orientation,…

Just as academic gaming in general cannot be limited to any one topic or genre, the "Public Services Quarterly" Internet Resources column is not limited to a single entry on gaming and gamification in libraries. Public services librarians interested in designing their own games have many successful examples to draw from. The previous…

In 1927 the British Federation of University Women (BFUW) established Crosby Hall in London as a hall of residence for women graduates from overseas. The Federation aimed to foster international understanding and peace at a time of social and political turmoil. Accessions to the library at the Hall were on a somewhat ad hoc basis and provide an…

Once limited to geographers and mapmakers, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has taken a growing central role in information management and visualization. Geospatial services run a gamut of different products and services from Google maps to ArcGIS servers to Mobile development. Geospatial services are not new. Libraries have been writing about…

This paper analyzes student evaluations of library orientation and information literacy instruction over a ten-year period, 2002 to 2011. The survey respondents were five hundred students who were taking or had just completed their first course in LEEP, the distance education option of the M.S. program at the University of Illinois. This case…

Advances in technology, evolving user behaviors, the need for educational institutions to explore cost-saving strategies--all frequently force academic librarians into a state of forced adaptation. Librarians at Miami University's Hamilton campus took the challenge of a university change in course management systems and turned it into an…