The University of Texas at Arlington's Library began using an online chat reference in 2002. The service, called Collaborative Digital Reference Service, later became "Ask a Librarian." Slightly over one year later, the library joined the University of Texas System's "Ask a Librarian" service. Both services are powered by…

The Integrated Library System remains a true innovation that forms the baseline of service provided by the contemporary library. The purpose of this paper is to take a moment and reflect upon this innovation, and also to comment about ways to boost and revive innovative endeavors that can further develop the ILS. (Contains 1 table.)

In order for patrons to make the wisest use of the library, they must be both computer and information-literate. Librarians are faced with the challenge of designing programs that fit the literacy needs of the community. Academic and school librarians may find that their users are mostly students who are familiar with computers, but need help with…

From 2000-2004, the Auburn University Montgomery Library measured electronic book usage. Electronic book usage increased while use of the printed collection decreased. Subject areas most used resembled those reported by larger institutions, supporting the idea that some subjects are amenable to electronic use regardless of institutional size and…

What is the impact of an academic library consortium on the perceptions of library services experienced by users of the member institutions' libraries? What is the impact of an academic library consortium on the perceptions of library services experienced by users of the member institutions libraries? In 2002 and 2003, OhioLINK (Ohio's consortium…

An increase in its distance-learning student population prompted Regent University Library to consolidate the library's information literacy program into one course. The course eventually went online to meet the needs of distance learners. During course development and implementation, librarians learned what worked well and what did not.…

Laval University is launching a series of major development projects aimed at meeting the needs of an institution that currently offers over 350 academic programmes to more than 36,000 students. This article will focus on three of the most important construction projects that are already under way or about to start: the Wood Processing Centre,…

Research libraries were among the first to embrace and exploit the potential of the World Wide Web after its debut in the 1990s. They quickly began constructing virtual information landscapes, including policies, services, and collections that not only shaped but also defined the realms of possibility within such terrain. In their roles as both…

The Gallaudet University Archives contains the world's most comprehensive collection of materials relating to the language, history, and culture of deaf people. Photographs, artifacts, personal correspondence, publications, and institutional records form the core of the repository, but the Archives also contains a Deaf film collection of more than…

New product development is an omnipresent challenge to modern libraries in the information age. Therefore, we present the design and selected results of a comprehensive research project aiming at the systematic and user-oriented planning of academic library services by means of conjoint analysis. The applicability of the analytical framework used…

This article features MarcEdit, a free, Windows-based, metadata editing software suite that is developed and supported by the author as part of his contribution to the library profession. MarcEdit Suite is a tool that helps one with MARC coding and conversion and to perform database cleanups, to generate temporary electronic journal holdings, or…

Digital games and simulations are receiving considerable notice within the library and information science (LIS) community. This study adds to the depth of knowledge in this area by providing research on the likelihood a hypothetical digital game delivery method for library instruction achieves sufficient adoption to justify its development.…

This manual describes the methods, procedures, techniques, and activities that were used to produce the Academic Library Survey of 2004 (ALS:2004). This manual is designed to provide guidance and documentation for users of the ALS data. Included in the manual are the following: (1) an overview of the study and its predecessor studies; (2) an…

Presented herein are data that describe collections, expenditures, personnel, and services in 65 medical libraries at Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions throughout North America. In 2005-06, the reporting health sciences libraries held a median of 245,212 volumes, spent a total of $239,944,918, and employed 2,524 FTE…

Citation analysis of dissertations was used to explore the interdisciplinary nature of education graduate students' research. A sample of curriculum and instruction dissertations, and their bibliographies we studied using citation analysis methods and analysis of "Digital Dissertation" records. Research methodologies were also explored.…