Monday, August 31, 2015

The Complete Guide to Acquisitions Management, 2nd edition

 

Wilkinson, Frances C., Linda K. Lewis, and Rebecca L. Lubas. The Complete Guide to Acquisitions Management. 2nd edition. Libraries Unlimited, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-61069-713-2

Description
Since the last edition of this text was published over a decade ago, library acquisitions practices have changed dramatically in response to economic and industry changes and the introduction and maturation of new technologies. An essential tool kit, this updated edition covers every aspect of current acquisitions management from organization of acquisitions departments to professional ethics. It also covers what's new in integrated library systems, electronic resource management, and patron- and demand-driven acquisitions.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Organization of Acquisitions Departments
Chapter 2: Navigating the Publishing Industry
Chapter 3: Vendor Services: Outsourcing
Chapter 4: Acquisitions Systems
Chapter 5: Acquiring Monographic Content
Chapter 6: Acquiring Used and Antiquarian Material
Chapter 7: Acquiring Continuing and Electronic Resources
Chapter 8: Gift and Exchange Programs
Chapter 9: Selection and Evaluation: The Art of the RFP
Chapter 10: Decisions of Permanence
Chapter 11: Professional Ethics
Chapter 12: Acquisitions as the Gateway: Selection, Discovery and Delivery

  • Appendix A: Automated Acquisitions Systems
    Appendix B: Conferences and Seminars
    Appendix C: Electronic Discussion Lists
    Appendix D: Internet Sites Related to Acquisitions
    Appendix E: Journals Related to Acquisitions
    Appendix F: Organizations
    Appendix G: Reference Tools

    Friday, August 28, 2015

    Books Challenged or Banned 2013-2014 (supplement)

    Doyle, R.P. (2015). Books Challenged or Banned 2013-2014. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

    Have you seen Invisible Man, The Face on the Milk Carton, or Where’s Waldo? These books have been targeted for removal from bookshelves across the country. Celebrate the freedom to read in your school, bookstore, or library during Banned Books Week... [by reading] a banned book.


    Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.


    For more information about Banned Books Week, please visit www.ala.org/bbooks.

    (supplement description)

    Thursday, August 27, 2015

    Health Librarianship: An Introduction

    Huber, Jeffrey T. and Feili Tu-Keefner (eds.) Health Librarianship: An Introduction. Libraries Unlimited, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-61069-321-9

    Description
    The book addresses the basic functions of librarianship—for example, management and administration, public services, and technical services—within the health care context as well as issues unique to health librarianship like health literacy, consumer health, and biomedical informatics. This book will be of interest to those considering a career change to health librarianship.

    Table of Contents

    Chapter 1: Overview of Health Sciences Libraries and Librarianship
    Katherine Schilling
    Chapter 2: Overview of the Healthcare Environment
    Fay J. Towell
    Chapter 3: Situating Health Librarianship Within the Healthcare Environment
    Anna Getselman and Sandra G. Franklin
    Chapter 4: Evidence-Based Healthcare / Evidence-Based Practice
    Connie Schardt
    Chapter 5: Government Agency and Professional Association Resources and Services
    Keith Cogdill
    Chapter 6: Health Librarianship: Management and Administration
    Gerald Perry
    Chapter 7: Technical Services in Health Sciences Libraries
    Susan Swogger
    Chapter 8: Public Services in Health Sciences Libraries
    Melissa De Santis
    Chapter 9: Information Retrieval
    James E. Andrews and Denise Shereff
    Chapter 10: Historical Collections in Health Sciences Libraries
    Michael A. Flannery
    Chapter 11: Interpersonal Skills to the Fore: Consumer Health Librarianship
    Mary L. Gillaspy
    Chapter 12: Health Literacy
    Robert Shapiro
    Chapter 13: Outreach Services
    Julie K. Gaines and Meredith Solomon, AHIP
    Chapter 14: Special Populations
    Michele A. Spatz
    Chapter 15: Health and Biomedical Informatics
    P. W. Dalrymple and D. L. Varner

    Wednesday, August 26, 2015

    Library Automation: Core Concepts and Practical Systems Analysis, 3rd edition


     

    Bilal, Dania. Library Automation: Core Concepts and Practical Systems Analysis, 3rd edition. Libraries Unlimited, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-59158-922-8

    Description
    Planning a library catalog migration? This book is a great starting point! The author explains how next-generation discovery services supported in the library services platforms (LSPs) provide a single point of access to library content in all types and formats, thereby offering a unified solution to managing library operations. The book covers methods of analyzing user requirements, describes how to structure these requirements in RFPs, and details proprietary and open-source integrated library systems (ILSs) and LSPs for school, public, special, and academic libraries.

    Table of Contents
    Chapter 1: Integrated Library System (ILS) Defined
    Chapter 2: Library Automation Life Cycle (LALC)--Phase I: System Identification and Planning
    Chapter 3: Library Automation Life Cycle (LALC)--Phase II: Gathering User Requirements
    Chapter 4: Library Automation Life Cycle (LALC)--Phase III: Structure User Requirements and Selecting a System
    Chapter 5: Library Automation Life Cycle (LALC)--Phase IV: System Implementation, Part 1: Preparing the Collection for the Integrated Library System
    Chapter 6: Library Automation Life Cycle (LALC)--Phase IV: System Implementation, Part 2: Installation, Testing, Facility, Training, and Tracking System Use
    Chapter 7: Software, Hardware, and Network Architecture
    Chapter 8: System (ILS) Migration
    Chapter 9: Library Automation Life Cycle (LALC)--Phase V: Evaluating System Use Through Usability
    Chapter 10: Library Automation "On the Move"
    Appendix A: Sample Request for Proposal by the Brentwood Library, Brentwood, TN
    References

    Tuesday, August 25, 2015

    Mentoring A to Z

    Todaro, Julie. Mentoring A to Z. Chicago : ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1329-1.

    From the publisher:

    Your library’s future is as good as the talent you develop. Too many mentorship programs are cursory; without structure and expectations, they accomplish little beyond a procedural orientation. But a solid, sustainable mentorship program can be a game changer for libraries, with long-term results that include career development, organization-wide professionalism, and retention. Here, library leader Todaro offers an accessible guide to putting mentorship into practice, complete with scanning checklists and critical questions that will assist you in designing, planning, and implementing your own program. Bypassing abstract management theories in favor of succinct action items, this book includes:
    • Four case-method scenarios that will prepare you for making decisions in common mentoring situations
    • A discussion of mentor, mentee, reverse-mentoring, and co-mentoring terminology, and how to choose the best language to shape the expectations of your program
    • Tips on how to apply nine measurements you probably already use for evaluation, plus five new ones that will make your program even more effective
    • Suggested content and events in a mentorship curriculum, with sample goals, job descriptions, and advice on program planning
    • Ways to address objections to a mentorship program
    Administrators at all types of institutions will benefit from Todaro’s sensible, to-the-point insights into creating and sustaining a mentorship program.



    Tuesday, August 18, 2015

    BiblioTech: Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever in the Age of Google


    BiblioTech: Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever in the Age of Google

    Palfrey, John. BiblioTech: Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever in the Age of Google. Basic Books, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-465-04299-9

    Description
    In BiblioTech, educator and technology expert John Palfrey argues that anyone seeking to participate in the 21st century needs to understand how to find and use the vast stores of information available online. And libraries, which play a crucial role in making these skills and information available, are at risk. In order to survive our rapidly modernizing world and dwindling government funding, libraries must make the transition to a digital future as soon as possible—by digitizing print material and ensuring that born-digital material is publicly available online.

    Table of Contents
    Crisis: A perfect storm --
    Customers: How we use libraries --
    Spaces: The connection between the virtual and the physical --
    Platforms: What cloud computing means for libraries --
    Hacking libraries: How to build the future --
    Networks: The human network of librarians --
    Preservation: Collaboration, not competition, to preserve culture --
    Education: Libraries and connected learners --
    Law: Why copyright and privacy matter so much --
    Conclusion: What's at stake.

    Tuesday, August 4, 2015

    Assessing Service Quality: Satisfying the Expectations of Library Customers, Third Edition


    Hernon, Peter, Ellen Altman, and Robert E. Dugan. Assessing Service Quality: Satisfying the Expectations of Library Customers. Third Edition. ALA Editions, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1308-6

    Description
    This new edition (last published in 2010) provides guidance for applying a customer-centered approach to service quality and performance evaluation. This extensively updated edition explores the ways technology influences both the experiences of library customers and the ways libraries themselves can assess those experiences.

    Table of Contents 
    1. Understanding ends and means
    2. A look in the library mirror
    3. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it..."
    4.Measuring and evaluating the components of high-quality service
    5. What can go wrong with numbers?
    6. Different ways of listening to customers
    7. Managing the three Cs (comments, complaints, and compliments)
    8. Listening through surveys
    9. Listening through focus group interviews
    10. Customer-related metrics and requirements
    11. Satisfaction and service quality : separate but intertwined
    12. Interpreting findings to improve customer service
    13. Embracing change-continuous improvement

    Data Fluency: Empowering Your Organization with Effective Data Communication


    Gemignani, Zach and Chris Gemignani. Data Fluency: Empowering Your Organization with Effective Data Communication. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley, 2014.  006.6869 Gemig.  ISBN978-1-118-85101-2


    Publisher's Description
    A dream come true for those looking to improve their data fluency

    Analytical data is a powerful tool for growing companies, but what good is it if it hides in the shadows? Bring your data to the forefront with effective visualization and communication approaches, and let Data Fluency: Empowering Your Organization with Effective Communication show you the best tools and strategies for getting the job done right. Learn the best practices of data presentation and the ways that reporting and dashboards can help organizations effectively gauge performance, identify areas for improvement, and communicate results.

    Topics covered in the book include data reporting and communication, audience and user needs, data presentation tools, layout and styling, and common design failures. Those responsible for analytics, reporting, or BI implementation will find a refreshing take on data and visualization in this resource, as will report, data visualization, and dashboard designers.

      *   Conquer the challenge of making valuable data approachable and easy to understand
      *   Develop unique skills required to shape data to the needs of different audiences
      *   Full color book links to bonus content at juiceanalytics.com
      *   Written by well-known and highly esteemed authors in the data presentation community

    Data Fluency: Empowering Your Organization with Effective Communication focuses on user experience, making reports approachable, and presenting data in a compelling, inspiring way. The book helps to dissolve the disconnect between your data and those who might use it and can help make an impact on the people who are most affected by data. Use Data Fluency today to develop the skills necessary to turn data into effective displays for decision-making.



    Keeping up with the Quants: Your Guide to Understanding + Using Analytics


    
    
    Davenport, Thomas H. and Kim, Jinho. Keeping up with the Quants: Your Guide to Understanding + Using Analytics. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2013. 332.632042 Daven ISBN 978-1-4221-8725-8

    Publisher's Description
    Welcome to the age of data.

    No matter your interests (sports, movies, politics), your industry (finance, marketing, technology, manufacturing), or the type of organization you work for (big company, nonprofit, small start-up)—your world is awash with data. As a successful manager today, you must be able to make sense of all this information. You need to be conversant with analytical terminology and methods and able to work with quantitative information. This book promises to become your “quantitative literacy" guide—helping you develop the analytical skills you need right now in order to summarize data, find the meaning in it, and extract its value. 

    In Keeping Up with the Quants, authors, professors, and analytics experts Thomas Davenport and Jinho Kim offer practical tools to improve your understanding of data analytics and enhance your thinking and decision making. You’ll gain crucial skills, including: 

    • How to formulate a hypothesis
    • How to gather and analyze relevant data
    • How to interpret and communicate analytical results
    • How to develop habits of quantitative thinking
    • How to deal effectively with the “quants” in your organization

    Big data and the analytics based on it promise to change virtually every industry and business function over the next decade. If you don’t have a business degree or if you aren’t comfortable with statistics and quantitative methods, this book is for you. Keeping Up with the Quants will give you the skills you need to master this new challenge—and gain a significant competitive edge.