At colleges and universities today, the increasing number of students is putting new pressure on facilities--and on facility staff. Student needs are also increasingly different, and most campus facilities have not kept up with the changing times. Facilities are expensive to build, maintain, and renovate, and costs are on the rise. Funds for…

It has become widely recognised across the academic and research libraries sector that special collections and archives play a key role in differentiating each institution from its peers. In recognition of this, Research Libraries UK (RLUK) established the workstrand "Unique and Distinctive Collections" (UDC) in support of its strategic…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose meta-synthetic ideas and knowledge asset management approaches to build a comprehensive strategic framework for Beijing City in China. Design/methodology/approach: Methods include a review of relevant literature in both English and Chinese, case studies of different types of support frameworks in…

Detailed succession planning helps libraries pass information from one employee to the next. This is crucial in preparing for hiring, turnover, retirements, training of graduate teaching assistants in academic libraries, and other common situations. The authors of this article discuss succession planning for instruction programs in academic…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") is a quarterly report from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). This issue includes the following articles: (1) Leading a Full Life: Reflections on Several Decades of Work, Family,…

One of the most exciting developments to occur within the library profession in recent years has been the re-evaluation of library's role in resource discovery in the web environment. This has involved recognition of short-comings of online library catalogues, a re-affirmation of the importance of metadata and a new focus on the wealth of…

What does a newcomer to the library industry bring, at nearly fifty? What does she find? Reflecting on her experience and a recent study tour, the author describes the barely-skilled-although-nominally-qualified challenge; and discusses current cross-cultural provision. She muses on the interplay between a new librarian's fresh eyes, experience…

This article discusses the development of academic research in the archives and records management field. It is argued that the field has faced a dilemma between educating graduates for work in a professional domain and developing robust research methods and frameworks for the emerging academic discipline. The article reports on some projects…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to find out whether LibQUAL+[TM]can account for student loyalty to the library of an institution of higher education. LibQUAL+[TM] is a marketing tool that is used to measure perceived service quality of libraries, and the present analysis aims at validating this service quality instrument within a more…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the work undertaken by Vancouver Public Library (VPL) in an effort to convert its website into a true virtual branch, both through the functionality of the website itself and by extending its web presence on to external social networking sites. Design/methodology/approach: VPL worked with its…

"The Realities of Research Data Management" is a four-part series that explores how research universities are addressing the challenge of managing research data throughout the research lifecycle. The series examines the context, influences, and choices higher education institutions face in building or acquiring research data management…

This article details the process of upgrading and expanding an existing academic medical library intranet to include a wiki, blog, discussion forum, and photo collection manager. The first version of the library's intranet from early 2002 was powered by ColdFusion software and existed primarily to allow staff members to author and store minutes of…

Twenty-six scholarly papers and ten abstracts comprise the content of the thirteenth annual Brick and Click Libraries Symposium, held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at the symposium, portray the contemporary and future face of librarianship. The…

As a result of changing national values and unrest, demographic and population shifts, and ever-changing admissions practices and policies, implementing a diversity and cultural-competency agenda within university settings has become a priority across the UK, Europe, and US. Furthermore, public institutions across the UK, EU, and US are now more…

The number of nontraditional students in U.S. higher education is growing significantly, especially at for-profit postsecondary institutions given their shorter programs and career training. Yet these students have vastly different needs than their traditional-aged counterparts. A mixed-methods study of practical nursing students (n=36) enrolled…