Given the highly trained library workforce now available and the vast and growing array of packaging information and knowledge, libraries have the capacity to become pre-eminent places of learning, research, and teaching. Yet, despite this potential, libraries remain divided from their constituencies and their governing bodies, be they students, faculties, university administrations, municipal governments, or ordinary citizens. Indeed, many modern university administrators, viewing librarians as ancillary citizens in academe, have allowed their libraries to wither under the burden of shrinking budgets, staffing inadequacies, and deteriorating facilities. This thought-provoking volume by a 35-year veteran of academic libraries identifies, diagnoses, and provides remedies to the damaging divisions in and between libraries and librarianship, arguing that the processes of teaching constitute the genuine context in which to steer librarianship into the future.

Cutting-edge information about providing access to research library users The ultimate goal of librarians is to provide comprehensive informational access to library users. Portals and Libraries provides an in-depth look at various libraries’ challenges and the cutting-edge technology used in providing high-quality electronic access to users through portal systems. Respected authorities detail efforts to build a new kind of search and retrieval system that includes access to the Web as well as other vital collections and academic resources. The book discusses the implementation of access systems and their supporting technology, and spotlights strategies designed to encourage quality system-user feedback, increase the cooperation and diligence of staff, and more. Portals and Libraries comprehensively reviews library portals from their roots to their current state, with a look at assorted products, their implementation issues, and each one’s advantages and shortcomings. The overall state of the portal system today as well as where it is heading in the future is examined in detail. The book also provides the ARL Scholars Portal Working Group Final Report from May 2002 summarizing the group’s work from its inception, and includes their recommendations of key portal features and needed functions. The text includes helpful screenshots, useful descriptive figures, and extensive references. Portals and Libraries discusses: the history of library portals the MyLibrary@NCState Web portal after five years of use “Portals to the World” Library of Congress guide to Web resources the role integrated library systems will play in the future of portals features and services to be added to library portals for greater success portal technologies—their structures and functioning planning portal implementation online catalogs usability testing and interface design nine key issues that will impact the future of portal development Portals and Libraries is crucial reading for library educators and students, college and research librarians in reference, library system professionals, and technical services professionals focused on applying cutting-edge technology to library services.

With the rise of unemployment, increased career growth opportunities, and changing workforce demographics, libraries can support job seekers in several ways. Career Services and Workforce Development Center for Libraries: A Guide serves as a resource for libraries interested in creating, supporting or enhancing their career services, economic and workforce development programs for their communities. Going beyond collection development and hosting job fair activities, the book covers: teaching resources and interviews from library leaders supporting workforce development initiatives or collaborations ideas on how libraries can be embedded in the workforce development community by providing a series of job readiness activities, programs, and services how academic and public librarians can support their users exploring career opportunities and development examines employment trends and resources such as generative artificial intelligence to dive into these issues so libraries can stay active in identifying new skill development and technologies to support their communities How can one start a career services or job center program in their libraries? What are specialized career services in libraries being offered? How can libraries advocate for funding for workforce development? Divided into five chapters, each chapter addresses these questions and provides a series of examples, ideas, and resources for readers to consider replicating in their own libraries. If you are looking for ideas for your libraries to support a community of job seekers, this is the book for you.

The rapid development of the Web and Web-based technologies has led to an ongoing redefinition of reference services in academic libraries. A growing diversity of users and the need and possibility for collaboration in delivering reference services bring additional pressures for change. At the same time, there are growing demands for libraries to show accountability and service value. All of these trends have impacted the field and will continue to shape reference and research services. And they have led to a need for increasingly specialized professional competencies and a literature to support them. In order to reimagine reference service for twenty-first century learning environments, practitioners will need to understand several focal areas of emerging reference. In particular, collaboration with campus partners, diverse student populations, technological innovations, the need for assessment, and new professional competencies, present new challenges and opportunities for creating a twenty-first century learning environment. Librarians must not only understand, but also embrace these emerging reference practices. This edited volume, containing five sections and fourteen chapters, reviews the current state of reference services in academic libraries with an emphasis on innovative developments and future trends. The main theme that runs through the book is the urgent need for inventive, imaginative, and responsive reference and research services. Through literature reviews and case studies, this book provides professionals with a convenient compilation of timely issues and models at comparable institutions. As academic libraries shift from functioning primarily as collections repositories to serving as key players in discovery and knowledge creation, value-added services, such as reference, are even more central to libraries’ and universities’ changing missions.