The author argues that there is a need to reassess the direction of the academic library and the working practices of the staff within it to reclaim our libraries for their users and to examine the epistemology of library and information services. He argues that in order for academic libraries to find their place in the tertiary education culture…

Many academic librarians use online information literacy tutorials as an alternative or a supplement to in-class library instruction. Tutorials created with streaming media software such as Camtasia Studio have become increasingly popular. Librarians at a mid-sized Midwestern university have created several such tutorials demonstrating various…

In the past decade, academic libraries have struggled with the design of an effective library home page. Since librarians' mental models of information architecture differ from those of their patrons, usability assessments are necessary in designing a user-centered home page. This study details a usability sequence of card sort and paper and…

The desire to investigate similarities and differences of Australian and US academic library professional librarian jobs motivated this paper. Job advertisements were gathered in August, September and October 2004. They are a subset of those reported in earlier studies which are more general in scope; this paper focused on the job market's…

The Council on Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) libraries websites were assessed for Section 508 errors using the online WebXACT tool. Only three of the twenty-one institutions (14%) had zero accessibility errors. Eighty-six percent of the COPLAC institutions had an average of 1.24 errors. Section 508 compliance is required for institutions…

Librarians often cringe when they hear the word copyright, when it is combined with electronic reserves the immediate impulse is to run away as far and as fast as possible. This paper presents the process used by the Armacost Library staff at the University of Redlands to develop and implement a copyright policy for the electronic reserve…

In developing a Library Orientation Tour, it is important to be perceptive about the needs of a college population. At Queensborough Community College the student population is a mix of traditional and non-traditional students from diversified backgrounds. The initial contact with the Library, and its resources, may be overwhelming for students…

This paper reports on the implementation of "My Language Portal" in the City of Greater Dandenong Libraries (CGDL), Melbourne, Victoria, through the development of a "My Language Portal Project Plan" in 2006. It discusses how the aims of the designers of My Language Portal (MLP) are fulfilled in the exceptional, changing…

Oregon State University (OSU) researchers surveyed 3,227 undergraduate students to identify how many students use or do not use the physical and virtual OSU libraries. Most importantly, we wanted to determine the alternatives to the library that students choose for typical library activities, such as studying, research, and research assistance,…

Kiyo are journals published by Japanese academic institutions. As a scholarly communication medium, they have inherent problems such as limited accessibility and lack of quality control. Despite these problems, they have evolved to comprise the majority of academic journals published in the humanities and social sciences in Japan because they fit…

Activities in 2006 pointed to strategic shifts in library automation. The dynamics of the business environment changed rapidly from a fragmented industry to a highly consolidated one. Though the integrated library system (ILS) continues to represent the largest portion of revenue, products that deal with electronic content and deliver better…

The ability to search and receive results in more than one database through a single interface--or metasearch--is something many users want. Google Scholar--the search engine of specifically scholarly content--and library metasearch products like Ex Libris's MetaLib, Serials Solution's Central Search, WebFeat, and products based on MuseGlobal used…

This case study reports on the use of Web-based research portfolios in an information literacy course. It offers a model for teaching research skills in a structured and incremental way that can promote student centered learning and facilitate authentic assessment.

Eight-hundred sixty-five advertisements for academic librarian positions in the 1990 issues of "American Libraries" were examined to determine how many position advertisements were asking for advanced degrees in addition to the MLS. Data from the 231 advertisements asking for advanced degrees were compared with data from previous studies…

This union list identifies 455 microform collections held by 8 public and academic libraries in New Orleans. It is noted that newspapers, periodicals, Government Printing Office (GPO) depository microfiche, and individual monograph titles were excluded from the list unless they are a part of a publisher's series, archival project, or manuscript…