This inspiring book will enable academic librarians to develop excellent research and instructional services and create a library culture that encompasses exploration, learning and collaboration. Higher education and academic libraries are in a period of rapid evolution. Technology, pedagogical shifts, and programmatic changes in education mean that libraries must continually evaluate and adjust their services to meet new needs. Research and learning across institutions is becoming more team-based, crossing disciplines and dependent on increasingly sophisticated and varied data. To provide valuable services in this shifting, diverse environment, libraries must think about new ways to support research on their campuses, including collaborating across library and departmental boundaries. This book is intended to enrich and expand your vision of research support in academic libraries by: Inspiring you to think creatively about new services. Sparking ideas of potential collaborations within and outside the library, increasing awareness of functional areas that are potential key partners. Providing specific examples of new services, as well as the decision-making and implementation process. Encouraging you to take a broad view of research support rather than thinking of research and instruction services, metadata creation and data services etc as separate initiatives. Dynamic Research Support in Academic Libraries provides illustrative examples of emerging models of research support and is contributed to by library practitioners from across the world. The book is divided into three sections: Part I: Training and Infrastructure, which describes the role of staff development and library spaces in research support Part II: Data Services and Data Literacy, which sets out why the rise of research data services in universities is critical to supporting the current provision of student skills that will help develop them as data-literate citizens. Part III: Research as a Conversation, which discusses academic library initiatives to support the dissemination, discovery and critical analysis of research. This is an essential guide for librarians and information professionals involved in supporting research and scholarly communication, as well as library administrators and students studying library and information science.

How do college students really conduct research for classroom assignments? In 2008, five large Illinois universities were awarded a Library Services and Technology Act Grant to try to answer that question. The resulting ongoing study has already yielded some eye-opening results. The findings suggest changes ranging from simple adjustments in service and resources to modifying the physical layout of the library. In this book Duke and Asher, two anthropological researchers involved with the project since the beginning, Summarize the study's history, including its goals, parameters, and methodology Offer a comprehensive discussion of the research findings, touching on issues such as website design, library instruction for faculty, and meeting the needs of commuter and minority students Detail a number of service reforms which have already been implemented at the participating institutions This important book deepens our understanding of how academic libraries can better serve students’ needs, and also serves as a model for other researchers interested in a user-centered approach to evaluating library services.

A core resource for any LIS student or academic librarian serving as a liaison, this handbook lays out the comprehensive fundamentals of the discipline, helping librarians build the confidence and cooperation of the university faculty in relation to the library.

This landmark textbook takes a whole subject approach to Information Science as a discipline. Introduced by leading international scholars and offering a global perspective on the discipline, this is designed to be the standard text for students worldwide. The authors' expert narrative guides you through each of the essential building blocks of information science offering a concise introduction and expertly chosen further reading and resources. Critical topics covered include: foundations: - concepts, theories and historical perspectives - organising and retrieving information - information behaviour, domain analysis and digital literacies - technologies, digital libraries and information management - information research methods and informetrics - changing contexts: information society, publishing, e-science and digital humanities - the future of the discipline. Readership: Students of information science, information and knowledge management, librarianship, archives and records management worldwide. Students of other information-related disciplines such as museum studies, publishing, and information systems and practitioners in all of these disciplines.

As social technologies continue to evolve, it is apparent that librarians and their clientele would benefit through participation in the digital social world. While there are benefits to implementing these technologies, many libraries also face challenges in the integration and usage of social media. Social Media Strategies for Dynamic Library Service Development discusses the integration of digital social networking into library practices. Highlighting the advantages and challenges faced by libraries in the application of social media, this publication is a critical reference source for professionals and researchers working within the fields of library and information science, as well as practitioners and executives interested in the utilization of social technologies in relation to knowledge management and organizational development.