Marketing Your Library’s Electronic Resources

Kennedy, Marie R. and Cheryl LaGuardia.  Marketing Your Library’s Electronic Resources.  Chicago: ALA, 2013.  025.284 Kenne    ISBN 9781555708894

It's often hard to juggle promoting a library's e-resources effectively at the same time as building basic visibility within the community it serves. Useful for librarians at any type of institution, this How-To-Do-It Manual guides readers through every step of developing, implementing, and evaluating plans to market e-resources in an approachable and user-friendly way. Kennedy and LaGuardia show how front line librarians can improve awareness of under-utilized resources and increase demand for more of the same, thereby encouraging increased funding. Their book includes:

• Four complete programs from both public and academic libraries
•  A step-by-step organization guide, with a variety of feedback and assessment forms which can be used as models
• Numerous examples of well-executed plans and outcomes

Web Analytics Strategies for Information Professionals (LITA Guide)

Farney, Tabatha and Nina McHale.  Web Analytics Strategies for Information Professionals (LITA Guide).  Chicago: ALA, 2013.  025.174 Farne     ISBN 9781555708979

Whether you're gathering information for a department report or planning a website redesign, easy access to meaningful, actionable data is critical. Farney and McHale address the distinctive needs of libraries educational mission with specific advice on how to use web analytics in a library setting. Users are given clear explanations of terminology, a glossary for future reference and effective communication tips for reporting results and recommending changes or improvements. Also included:

•  Eight examples of semi-custom and custom reporting
•  Four case studies showing project-specific applications
•  Advice on how to use tools such as Percent Mobile and Google Analytics to complement one another

Staff Development: A Practical Guide, 4th ed.

Stewart, Andrea Wigbels, Charlotte Washington-Hoagland, and Carol T. Zsulya, eds.  Staff Development: A Practical Guide, 4^th ed.  Chicago: ALA, 2013.  023.8 Staff 4^th ed.  ISBN 9780838911495

Since its original publication more than two decades ago, Staff Development: A Practical Guide has remained a respected handbook for supporting one of the libraries’ most important assets: their human resources. Staff development and training are not only important but essential to ensure that libraries meet new challenges and fulfill their missions, especially in a constantly changing world where technological innovations directly impact information access for library staff and users alike. This new edition offers unique, state-of-the-art perspectives on such important topics as

·        Strategies for building and implementing a staff development program

·        Tracking changes through training, including the importance of setting goals and needs assessments

·        Refining how staff approaches customer service

·        Using instructional design for staff development

This is a volume that every librarian charged with staff development should have at the ready.

Engaging in Evaluation and Assessment Research

Hernon, Peter, Robert E. Dugan, and Danuta A. Nitecki. Engaging in Evaluation and Assessment Research. Libraries Unlimited, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-59884-573-0

When undertaking evaluation and assessment, library managers need relevant data that can be used in planning and decision making. The authors of this book clearly state that this is not "another research methods textbook", but a book that will help managers and decision makers create and use research data more effectively. While covering the structure of the evaluation and assessment research process, the book also emphasizes the use of data in planning and communication with library stakeholders. 

The Table of Contents includes:

• Planning
• Relevant Literature
• Components of an Evaluation and Assessment Research Study
• Applicable Concepts and Language of Research
• Designing Evaluations and Assessments
• Getting Engaged in Evidence Gathering and Managerial Use
• Quantitative Data Collection for Evaluation Research
• Qualitative Study
• Statistics
• Presenting Findings
• Creating a Culture of Evidence Gathering and Managerial Use
• Reality Evaluation and Assessment    

 

Reference Interview Today

Knoer, Susan. The Reference Interview Today. Libraries Unlimited, 2011. 
ISBN: 978-1-59884-822-9

The reference interview has always been an important tool in the librarian's toolkit. This book looks at how it is best used in the traditional face-to face reference interaction, but also in the virtual world. It addresses best practices for working with culturally diverse populations and difficult patrons, as well as how to use social media tools to provide effective service. An excellent training tool for library staff new to reference work, it can also serve as a guide to experienced reference staff who are looking to master new delivery methods.

50+ Library services: Innovation in Action

Schull, Diantha Dow.  50+ Library services: Innovation in Action.  Chicago: ALA, 2013.  027.622 Schul.  ISBN 978-0-8389-1119-8

Adults over the age of 50 constitute some of the most engaged and frequent users of public libraries. They may also be the most misunderstood. As Baby Boomers continue to swell their ranks, the behavior, interests, and information needs of older adults have changed dramatically, and Schull s new book offers the keys to reshaping library services for the new generations of active older adults. A must-read for library educators, library directors, and any information professional working in a community or academic setting, this important book

•         Analyzes key societal trends, such as longer lifespans and improved population health, and their implications for libraries work with midlife adults
•        Profiles Leading-Edge States and Beacon Libraries from across the nation at the forefront of institutional change
•       Discusses issues such as creativity, health, financial literacy, life planning, and intergenerational activities from the 50+ perspective, while showing how libraries can position themselves as essential centers for learning, encore careers, and community engagement
•        Spotlights best practices that can be adapted for any setting, including samples of hundreds of projects and proposals that illustrate new approaches to 50+ policies, staffing, programs, services, partnerships, and communications

The wisdom and insight contained in this book can help make the library a center for positive aging.