EDUCAUSE | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses; Articles, Papers, and Reports; and Libraries and Technology

Libraries and IT: are we there yet?

elilly — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:23:45 -0500

This study aims to look at the impact for users on university library and information technology services, present and future, following merger. The study examined user survey data from the early 1990s through the 2006 LibQUAL survey, collected information through interviews with faculty and Information Services, and examined the National Science Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies reports on cyberinfrastructure. The paper finds that while the merged information services organization is not yet a resounding success from the perspectives of staff in information services or faculty, it is a brave attempt to respond to the future.

Handbook for Information Literacy Teaching

ckeller — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:51:03 -0600

This Handbook was written by a group of subject librarians at Cardiff University to support their colleagues in Information Services as they developed their information literacy teaching.

Talk About Talking About New Models of Scholarly Communication

elilly — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:17:28 -0600

Although many new forms of scholarly exchange have reached an advanced state of adoption, scholars and researchers generally remain remarkably naïve and uninformed about many issues involved with change in scholarly publishing and scholarly communication broadly. It is increasingly important that dialogue at research institutions involve a much wider group of researchers and scholars. Only active engagement by those undertaking research and scholarship can ensure that the advancement of research and scholarship takes priority in the development and adoption of new models. Research libraries have led in educating stakeholders about new models and are expanding their outreach to campus communities. In considering the effects of recent change, and looking to emerging trends and concerns, six dangers of the current moment are considered along with six topics ripe for campus dialogue.

Enhancing Graduate Education: A Fresh Look at Library Engagement

ckeller — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:02:14 -0600

Over 100 librarians, administrators, faculty, and other members of the academic community concerned about issues relating to graduate education convened in Washington DC on October 12, 2007, to participate in the forum "Enhancing Graduate Education: A Fresh Look at Library Engagement."2 Sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), the event promoted engagement in conceptualizing the library's evolving role in graduate education, and it encouraged academic libraries to begin considering new ways to partner with the broader graduate studies community. The forum was inspired by the Council of Graduate Schools 2007 report, Graduate Education: The Backbone of American Competitiveness and Innovation,3 which examines the current state of graduate education and how it influences the positioning of the United States in the global economy. Asserting the need for cooperation across education, business, and policy sectors, the report emphasizes the need to strengthen and promote an educational model that will "enhance US innovation and national security in the 21st century."4 The report's authors emphasized essential cooperation across sectors, enhanced flexibility within institutions of higher education, and focus on interdisciplinarity and globalization, themes that were equally dominant throughout the daylong
forum.

Agenda for Developing E-Science in Research Libraries

ckeller — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:42:58 -0600

This is the Final Report and Recommendations to the Scholarly Communication Steering Committee, the
Public Policies Affecting Research Libraries Steering Committee, and the Research, Teaching, and Learning Steering Committee.

E-science has the potential to be transformational within research libraries by impacting their operations, functions, and possibly even their mission. Recognizing this potential, the ARL Steering Committees for Scholarly Communication and for Research, Teaching, and Learning jointly appointed a task force in 2006 to address the emergent domain of e-science. The Joint Task Force on Library Support for E-Science focused its attention on the implications of trends in e-science for research libraries, exploring the dimensions that impact collections, services, research infrastructure, and professional development. Priorities of government funding agencies further shaped the task force's work.

The task force recommends that ARL establish dedicated capacity within the Association to develop a program agenda over time and to build a shared understanding among the membership of the component issues and challenges for library engagement. In addition to the recently appointed program officers (one permanent and another temporary part-time), the report proposes a working group with an initial charge to develop principles that will inform program development. Anticipated programmatic efforts would emphasize: education of the research library community about scientific trends, the emergent role of data curation, characteristics of virtual organizations, relevant policy for data and research dissemination, and tools and infrastructure systems. While the task force focused on e-science, it was mindful of the broader eresearch trends that are shaping research and scholarship in all disciplines.

The task force believes that ARL's engagement in the issues of e-science is best focused on educational and policy roles, while partnering with other relevant organizations to contribute in strategic areas of technology development and new genres of publication. These types of strategic collaborations will also provide opportunities to re-envision the research library's role and contribution as 21st-century science takes shape.

Census of Institutional Repositories in the U.S

ckeller — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:09:30 -0600

A Comparison Across Institutions at Different Stages of IR Development.

Top ten assumptions for the future of academic libraries and librarians: A report from the ACRL research committee

ckeller — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:57:46 -0600

"In 2006 the ACRL Executive Committee asked the ACRL Research Committee to determine ten assumptions about the future that would have a significant impact on academic libraries and librarians. In the ensuing months, members of the Research Committee reviewed previous similar reports; surveyed ACRL committees, councils, and sections; conducted literature reviews; and reviewed the ACRL Environmental Scan of 2003. What emerged was a long list of statements that, after deliberations, was shortened to the ten most pertinent assumptions. These assumptions identify present conditions that the committee feels will have a significant impact on how academic libraries and librarians plan for the next ten years."

More Than Coffee and Wireless

ckeller — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:03:27 -0500

"For several years now, the talk about libraries as student-oriented buildings has focused on amenities to enhance the visitor’s experience. Students want their coffee and comfy couches on which to chat with their friends during study breaks. Students want to study in groups. And students want to use their laptops, so wireless is key. "

CALEA: It doesn't apply to universities and libraries after all

ckeller — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:44:41 -0500

"Back in 2005-2006, when CALEA (the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act) was being expanded to cover broadband providers and VoIP companies, libraries and universities raised a massive ruckus over the plan. Their worry was that CALEA would require any network that connected to the public Internet to comply with FBI wiretapping guidelines; universities across the country would be faced with a multibillion dollar bill for upgrading their networks. Now that the new CALEA rules are in effect (the deadline for compliance was Monday), how are universities and libraries handling the issue? "

Understanding Faculty to Improve Content Recruitment

ckeller — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:26:38 -0500

"An institutional repository (IR) is an electronic system that captures, preserves, and provides access to the digital work products of a community . In a university setting, an IR may provide a place for faculty work, student theses and dissertations, e-journals, datasets and so on. Whatever the particular focus of the university IR, to be successful it must be filled with scholarly work of enduring value that is searched and cited."