scholarly journals Lessons learned in academic libraries: What I wish they told me in library school

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Rodriguez

This column muses on topics and issues not covered during a Master of Library Science program and offers advice that would be useful for a recent graduate with little experience in libraries entering the field.

2015 ◽  
Vol 116 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 358-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Michele Moorefield-Lang

Abstract – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the user agreements of makerspaces in public and academic libraries. User agreements, also known as maker agreements, user forms and liability forms, can be very important documents between library patrons, staff and faculty. User agreements are similar to the earlier creation of acceptable use policies for technology use in libraries. The author of this study will delve into the user agreements created for public and academic libraries across the USA. Design/methodology/approach – The researcher used content analysis to investigate 24 different user agreements written for public and academic library makerspaces. NVivo qualitative data analysis software was integrated into this research to aid in the breakdown of commonalities across terms, themes and purpose within the user agreements. Findings – Although makerspaces are a very exciting topic in the field of library science at this time, the implementation of a maker learning space is still new to many libraries. Creating a user agreement for a makerspace is newer still. Most user agreements in this study were six months to a year old. Some consistencies found across makerspace user agreements include liability waivers, permissions for minors, safety, copyright and technology replacement costs. Originality/value – At this time, most publications on makerspaces are held in the realm of popular publications (blogs, magazines, zines, etc.). The body of peer-reviewed and scholarly research on makerspaces is growing. Makerspace user agreements are new to this growing field of interest, and a content analysis of these documents will pave the way for the writing of future forms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-40
Author(s):  
Zoe Bastone

Outreach is a necessary component of an academic library’s operations and often requires extensive time for the planning, approval, execution, and assessment depending on the personnel involved and the scope of the event. Recent literature has started to examine how academic libraries are planning outreach to align strategically with the goals of their larger institutions, but not how they balance these efforts when new opportunities arise throughout the academic year. This article will provide a brief analysis of the literature which addresses issues that academic librarians who plan outreach face. The second half of this article will provide a case study of how the author planned, created, and implemented an outreach plan at her academic branch library. This case study will detail the process of how she used an outreach plan to establish outreach that was efficient and impactful with limited staffing, while also aligning strategically with the goals of her library and the larger institution. In addition, this case study will detail how she used this outreach plan throughout the 2019-2020 academic year to guide decision making when new outreach opportunities would arise. This article will conclude with lessons learned from this process.


Author(s):  
A. Humenchuk

The purpose of the article is to explore the experience and to identify the best practices for modernizing the content and organizational structure of multilevel training of librarians in China. The methodology. The study has used a systematic approach, which allowed to consider all components of the Chinese higher education in the specialties “Library, Archive and Information Science”, to establish the continuity of educational levels of librarians, to find out the factors determining the training system’s modernization. There was carried out comparative and content analysis of the Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral higher education levels educational programs, implemented by Chinese universities in the specialty “Library Science”, “Information Management and Information Systems”. This allowed to determine the general and the specifics of the Information Field Science training in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), to establish interdisciplinarity educational components, to substantiate the objective strengthening of the information component in the content of higher education in library science. The results. The article has looked into the content and structure of 227 different levels educational programs (EP) of the information specialists training, with 41% of them being the Bachelor’s level EP, 49% — Master’s, and 9% — Educational-Scientific Programs (ESP) for the Doctor of Management degree (an equivalent to the Doctor of Philosophy) in Information Sciences, provided in 108 universities in China. There were clarified the EP peculiarities: about 40% of them are programs dedicated to Information Management and Information Systems (Program in Information Management & Information Systems); 35% — EP in Library Science (Program in Library Science); 31.5% — EP in Archive Science (Program in Archive Science). In terms of content, most EPs are interdisciplinary, which is due to the national information infrastructure digitalization and the focus of its components to support the basic technological processes of the information management life cycle. It is established that Chinese universities adhere to the IFLA Guidelines for Professional Library and Information Science (LIS) Educational Programs. The scientific topicality. It is substantiated that in the digital information market the content of modern librarian training should be updated with such relevant interdisciplinary educational components as: “Principles of competitive intelligence and artificial intelligence”, “Electronic library and consolidated information management”, “Intelligent control systems”, “Information security systems”, “Economics of Management and Information Industry”, “Methods of data mining”, “Knowledge extraction and management”, “Analysis and design of information systems”. The practical significance. Ukrainian institutions of higher education when improving educational programs in the can use the study results. Addressing to the best foreign practices of the library specialists training will allow increasing their competitiveness in the world information market and promoting better efficiency of the Ukrainian libraries work in the conditions of the society digitalization.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-202
Author(s):  
Christy Groves

Purpose A large, predominantly undergraduate university in Tennessee partnered with a local magnet school aiming to assist high school seniors with their college-level research assignment. The partnership began as a pilot, but quickly expanded to include other high schools as a result of initial successes. This paper aims to describe the development of the partnership and its importance in fulfilling a key component of college preparedness for gifted high school students. Design/methodology/approach This paper describes how the Library partnership commenced as a service to a local high school that required its students to access college-level research materials. The paper details how both the Library and the high school recognized the impact of collaborating to expose these students to the information literacy skills needed for college readiness. Findings The paper presents the challenges encountered when attempting to provide college-level information literacy instruction to large groups of students visiting a college campus. It concludes with best practices and lessons learned, as well as plans for formal assessment and future initiatives. Originality/value The author has presented at Library Instruction West, July 2018. A review of the professional literature demonstrates that other academic libraries have partnered with local schools for a variety of library-related initiatives. Therefore, the concept of partnerships between the Library and local high schools is not unique. However, this paper aims to describe challenges encountered, best practices, lessons learned and suggestions for future directions, including formal assessment, all of which could be adapted by other academic libraries as applicable.


2017 ◽  
Vol 118 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 317-330
Author(s):  
Charla Chebl ◽  
Maroun El Rayess

Purpose This research paper aims to present a specific outline of the library decision makers’ perceptions and the hiring patterns and acceptability of online library science degree holders in academic libraries across the Arab world. It also investigates whether such degrees compare favorably with traditional degrees or not. Design/methodology/approach This study data were collected using an online questionnaire, which was sent out to 74 library managers in academic libraries across the Arab world. The libraries were selected from the QS stars Worldwide University Ranking for the Arab Region 2015, which ranks the Arab world’s top 100 universities. Findings The findings reveal no significant relationship between the hiring decision of library managers and the degree type, whether earned through traditional education or online. The analysis notes different factors influencing the hiring practices and acceptability of online library science degree holders, the most influential factors being candidate skills, accreditation of programs and candidate experiences. Originality/value To date, no study has investigated whether employers in academic libraries across the Arab world perceive online library science graduate degrees “less than” or “equal to” those obtained through traditional education. This study will contribute to the literature on the acceptance of online degrees in general and in the library science field in particular. The study is a significant contribution to knowledge for students, job seekers and employers alike.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Eichenlaub ◽  
Trina Grover ◽  
Jennifer Thomas

This paper, based on an exchange of librarians between academic libraries in Canada and Australia, describes the process of planning for and participating in an international job exchange. It highlights the benefits of the exchange and lessons learned from it and reflects on the opportunities for career development and renewal afforded by such a swap. This experience will be contextualized within the continuum of literature on library exchanges. By describing our successful exchange process, the authors aim to encourage more library staff exchanges.


Author(s):  
Tetiana Luhova

The purpose of the study is to identify the features of the use of augmented reality technologies in the training of specialists in information, library and archival studies, who can solve specialized problems in the professional field, characterized by the complexity and uncertainty of the conditions and provide for the application of the provisions and methods of information, library and archival affairs. Work in project student groups to develop library augmented reality is a synergistic educational model that combines different pedagogical strategy: problem-based (PBL), innovative learning (IBL), project-based (PjBL), active learning (AL), deeper learning and game-based learning (GBL). The study proposes an interdisciplinary approach to teaching student librarians: a combination of applied augmented reality research for academic libraries and problem-oriented student learning, learning in the development process for innovations. The method of infographics comparative analysis was used. The article raises the issues of convergence of traditional forms of theoretical and practical training and the organization of innovative activities of students in the space of the academic library on the example of the development of AR-technologies. Peculiarities of development and implementation of augmented reality information technologies in work with documentary funds of academic libraries in the process of problem-based learning focused on innovations are determined. AR-marker technology has been intuitive for humanities students and facilitates the annotation and indexing of library documents. AR-technologies allow playfully to delve into documentary and library science aspects of creating the content of an AR document to master the skills of compiling thematic references. In the concepts of PBL and IBL, the primary emphasis is placed on the applied solution of problems and implementing innovations that meet the needs of a particular organization. This undermines the value of fundamental theoretical learning. We show the value of theoretical lecture material, on the example of the development of augmented reality for academic libraries by student librarians. We prove the importance of correlating lecture material as a starting point for student innovations to the actual needs of the academic library. The results of the research will be an impetus for implementing PBL & IBL in higher education in developing innovations by students in new learning environments (internships, information industry), such as academic libraries. Also initiate the work on implementing AR information technologies in the activities of university libraries. AR is a significant addition to the tools that university and libraries can use to engage their audiences to information literacy training. This should promote the librarianship and increase the status of the university. The students’ work with AR library technology is characterized by complexity, interdisciplinary nature, the collaboration of students of humanities and technical profiles. All this develops in students important competencies: creativity, ability to apply theory, work in a team, learn, developer responsibility, systematic thinking, involvement, focusing on innovation. The paper proposes to consider AR information technologies not only in the perspective of programming but also as a tool for PBL-AL-PjBL-GBL-IBL of student librarians, and as a subject of library and document researches (new tools of documentation). We emphasize fundamental learning and its constant testing in practice. The starting point in the development of innovations by students is the educational material, not the needs of the organization for which the innovations are developed. Because the process of innovation is a learning experience designed to show the applied power of theoretical knowledge. A multifactor model for evaluating student innovations is proposed.


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