Publication date:
11 May 2016Length of book:
274 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442266919
Volume 8 of the series Creating the 21st-Century Academic Library is focused on new services, directions, job duties and responsibilities for librarians in academic libraries of the 21st century. Topics include research data management services, web services, improving web design for library interfaces, cooperative virtual reference services, directions on research in the 21st-century academic library, innovative uses of physical library spaces, uses of social media for disseminating scholarly research, information architecture and usability studies, the importance of special collections and archival collections, and lessons learned in digitization and digital projects planning and management. Data management services are highlighted in the context of a consortium of smaller liberal arts and regional institutions who share a common institutional repository. Survey research plays a role in a number of chapters. One provides insight into how academic libraries are currently approaching web services, web applications, and library websites. A second survey is used to explore the role of librarians as web designers, and provides detailed information related to job titles, job duties, time percentages related to duties, and other duties outside of web design. Comments of those surveyed are included and make interesting reading and a deeper understanding of this new function in libraries. More generally, is a survey study exploring how librarians feel about the changes that are currently happening within the profession, as well as how these changes have personally affected their job duties and their current job assignments.
Case studies are include one that features QuestionPoint in the context of a cooperative virtual reference service; another shows how research and scholarship can be disseminated using social media tools such as blogs, Twitter, ResearchGate and Google Scholar, among others; a other studies explore the importance of user engagement and buy-in before moving forward on digitization; and one shows how information architecture and usability emerge from the redesign of a public library website and whose successful completion involves user surveying, focus groups, peer site reviews, needs analysis, and usability testing.
Two chapters deal with the changing legal context: the importance and understanding of copyright and author rights in the 21st-century academic library, and the basics Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
It is hoped that this volume, and the series in general, will be a valuable and exciting addition to the discussions and planning surrounding the future directions, services, and careers in the 21st-century academic library.
Case studies are include one that features QuestionPoint in the context of a cooperative virtual reference service; another shows how research and scholarship can be disseminated using social media tools such as blogs, Twitter, ResearchGate and Google Scholar, among others; a other studies explore the importance of user engagement and buy-in before moving forward on digitization; and one shows how information architecture and usability emerge from the redesign of a public library website and whose successful completion involves user surveying, focus groups, peer site reviews, needs analysis, and usability testing.
Two chapters deal with the changing legal context: the importance and understanding of copyright and author rights in the 21st-century academic library, and the basics Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
It is hoped that this volume, and the series in general, will be a valuable and exciting addition to the discussions and planning surrounding the future directions, services, and careers in the 21st-century academic library.
As the eighth publication in the series on Creating the 21st-Century Academic Library, this volume looks at how academic libraries are changing through new jobs and services. It contains 14 papers that present a combination of case studies, original survey research, and thought pieces. A wide range of topics are covered, from web services, web design, the use of social media, virtual reference services, data curation, special collections, and institutional repositories. Like the other volumes in this series, it is international in nature with contributors representing five nations: Australia, Brazil, Croatia, Spain, and the U.S. Standout chapters include one that discusses librarians as change agents and another that looks at the future roles of academic librarians to support research. This collection will be of interest to academic librarians who are struggling to find their place within the ever-changing nature of higher education today and tomorrow.