Reinventing Reference: How Libraries Deliver Value in the Age of Google

 

Anderson, Katie Elson and Vibiana Bowman Cvetkovic (eds.) Reinventing Reference: How Libraries Deliver Value in the Age of Google. ALA Editions, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1278-2

Description
This collection of essays takes a critical look at the overarching trends that affect current library policy and practice regarding the process of delivering information services, and how factors such as public policy, economics, and popular culture will continue to affect those trends in the future. This book offers practical solutions for new paradigms of reference service for all users.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Referencing the Future, by Katie Elson Anderson and Vibiana Bowman Cvetkovic

Part I: Understanding Reference

Chapter 1: A History of Reference, by Julie M. Still

Chapter 2: Terrorism, Privacy, and Porn: Reference Ethics in the Twenty-First Century, by Zara Wilkinson and Vibiana Bowman Cvetkovic

Chapter 3: The Real Reference Revolution: The Digital Library User, by Susan J. Beck

Part II: Reference 2.0

Chapter 4: Reference Service Trends and Forecasts for Academic Librarianship, by Gary Golden

Chapter 5: The State of Reference in School Libraries, by Lawrence V. Ghezzi and Walter Johnson

Chapter 6: The Future of Public Library Reference, by Justin Hoenke

Chapter 7: The Central Image: The Future of Reference in Academic Arts Libraries, by Sara Harrington

Part III: “Dude, Where’s My Jet-Pack?” Near Future of Reference

Chapter 8: Whither Libraries? User-Driven Changes in the Future of Reference, by John Gibson

Chapter 9: Future World: Strategic Challenges for Reference in the Coming Decade, by Stephen Abram

Coda

LibraryNext: Reference in 2052, by John Gibson

Managing with Data: Using ACRLMetrics and PLAmetrics

Hernon, Peter with Robert E. Dugan and Joseph R. Matthews. Managing with Data: Using ACRLMetrics and PLAmetrics. ALA Editions, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1243-0.

Description
Highlighting key data services provided by the American Library Association (ACRLMetrics and PLAmetrics), this guide illustrates how to use the data to support value, collection use, benchmarking, and other best practices. It also includes exercises that illustrate how to produce meaningful metrics and reports that can be used to demonstrate value and provide advocacy support. 

Table of Contents
A detailed table of contents is available at the publisher's web site.

Makerspaces: A Practical Guide for Librarians (book)

Burke, John J. (2014). Makerspaces: A Practical Guide for Librarians. Boulder, CO: Rowman &Littlefield. 978-1-4422-2967-9.

*This book appears to be about makerspaces for upper elementary children, 'tweens, teens, and adults.

A “makerspace” is an area in a library where users can use tools and equipment to design, build, and create all sorts of different things. It may be a dedicated room or a multipurpose space in which a collection of raw materials and resources can be utilized as desired. Projects range from prototyping product designs with 3D printers, to programming robots, to creating art out of recycled items.

This practical guide will help librarians

• develop, budget for, and implement makerspaces;
• write grant proposals for funding;
• and understand the mindset behind the maker movement in order to meet patron needs.

Makerspaces: A Practical Guide for Librarians also includes useful case studies, descriptions of equipment and new technologies, and models for planning and assessing projects.

(book description)

Making Makers: Kids, Tools, and the Future of Innovation (book)

Thomas, AnnMarie. (2014). Making Makers: Kids, Tools, and the Future of Innovations. Sebastopol, CA: MakerMedia. 978-1-4571-8374-4.

This is a book for parents and other educators—both formal and informal, who are curious about the intersections of learning and making. Through stories, research, and data, it builds the case for why it is crucial to encourage today’s youth to be makers—to see the world as something they are actively helping to create. For those who are new to the Maker Movement, some history and introduction is given as well as practical advice for getting kids started in making. For those who are already familiar with the Maker Movement, this book provides biographical information about many of the “big names” and unsung heroes of the Maker Movement while also highlighting many of the attributes that make this a movement that so many people are passionate about.

(book description)

Start a Revolution: Stop Acting Like a Library

Bizzle, Ben (with Maria Flora). Start a Revolution: Stop Acting Like a Library. ALA Editions, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1267-6

Description
At the Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library in Arkansas, Bizzle and his colleagues defied common practices by using creative risk-taking in marketing and outreach to transform their library into a dynamic institution that continues to grow and thrive. Here they recount their story, sharing techniques for success alongside a provocative marketing philosophy that will spur libraries to move beyond their comfort zone. Topics include the importance of branding, dynamic web sites and social media, stakeholder engagement, and marketing campaigns.

Table of Contents

Prelude: The Jonesboro Story

Chapter One: The Digital Library

Chapter Two: Going Mobile

Interlude: Crooked Valley Regional Library

Chapter Three: Facebook

Chapter Four: Facebook Advertising (or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Mark Zuckerberg)

Chapter Five: Marketing in the “Real World”

Chapter Six: Making Pretty Pictures

Chapter Seven: Convincing the Decision Makers

Chapter Eight: Start Your Own Revolution

Appendix A: Twitter, by Ned Potter

Appendix B: Pinterest, by Josh Tate

Appendix C: More Convincing the Decision Makers, by Carson Block

Successfully Serving teh College Bound (book)

Africa S. Hands. (2015) Successfully Serving the College Bound. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions. 978-0-8389-1272-0.

Whether they’re students taking the traditional path of entering college from high school, or adult first-time or re-entry students, navigating the admissions and financial aid process can be overwhelming for the college bound. Public libraries can help provide information and guidance for a successful start, and this book shows how to do it. Incorporating insight gleaned from interviews with librarians serving college-bound patrons, this book includes

• Checklists to help public libraries take stock of current services, programs, and resources for serving the college bound, with pointers on how to make improvements
• Tips for using, marketing, and expanding the collection effectively
• Ready-to-adapt program ideas
• Advice on shoring up support among stakeholders, overcoming objections, and taking advantage of outreach opportunities
• Worksheets to help library administrators evaluate staff skills and interests
• Reviews of online college-planning tools
• A directory of college-related organizations, publishers, resources, and education authority agencies

With the assistance of this book, public libraries can provide truly outstanding service to this important population.

(book description)

Make It Here (book)

Mathew Hamilton and Dara Hanke Schmidt. (2015). Make It Here: Inciting Creativity and Innovation in Your Library. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. 978-1-61069-554-1.

*This book appears to be about makerspaces for upper elementary children, 'tweens, teens, and adults.

Libraries of all sizes and resource levels are finding ways to support community innovation and creativity through maker programming—and successful programs don't require dedicating an entire area of the library to makerspace activities or sophisticated technologies such as 3D printers. Make It Here: Inciting Creativity and Innovation in Your Library provides a complete, step-by-step guide for starting a makerspace program at your library and follows through with instructions for operation and building on your success.

This book takes you step-by-step through starting your maker program—from finding the right "makerspace mix," making a plan, and working with staff to establishing funding and support, launching your makerspace, and evaluating and refining your programs. The authors provide guidance based on their personal experiences in creating and developing maker programs in their libraries as well as feedback and lessons learned from library makers across the country. You'll see how easy it can be to bring their ideas to life in ways that will empower your community, and be encouraged to be bold and think outside of the box when imagining the possibilities.

(book description)

The Power of Play (book)

Dorothy Stolrz, Marisa Conner, & James Bradberry. (2015). The Power of Play: Designing Early Learning Spaces. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions. 978-0-8389-1255-3.

Don’t simply accommodate families with young children—draw them in and make your library a destination! In this hands-on guide, an early childhood specialist, a designer, and an outreach librarian take you step-by-step through the process of designing an early learning space that fits your space limitations and budget. With a strong focus on making play spaces welcoming for parents, caregivers, and children while reducing stress for library staff, the authors

• Use current research to explain the importance of play in regard to early literacy and learning
• Show how underutilized spaces of any size can be transformed into play spaces, with planning secrets for small, mid-size, and large play environments
• Offer tips for reinventing reading nooks as “playscapes” that encourage fun and play 
• Present models of successful early learning spaces from across the country, with illustrations and floor plans
• Suggest ways to motivate adults to help young children develop a sense of discovery, energizing adults and children alike to pursue the lifelong enjoyment of learning
• Include sample guidelines, surveys, and plans to help you adapt your play spaces to the needs of your community
• Present a vendor list, tips for cleaning toys, worksheets, and other tools for pulling it all together, from engaging library staff and community partners to hiring architects and contractors

With the help of this book, you can transform neglected spaces into joyful places that help parents inspire their children to learn.

 (book description)

Animal Shenanigans (book)

Reid, Rob. (2015). Animal Shenanigans: 24 Creative, Interactive Story Programs for Preschoolers. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions. 978-0-8389-1271-3.

Featuring our four-legged, no-legged, winged, scaled, and feathered friends, this new series of story program lesson plans from bestselling author Reid will help librarians and teachers unleash kids’ curiosity and learning. Using a combination of high-quality picture books, fingerplays, movement activities, songs, and games, these ready-to-use, mix-and-match lesson plans focus on universal themes such as family, friendship, and school—but with animal protagonists. Useful for both school and public libraries, for teaching as well as collection development, Reid’s book

• Includes two dozen complete 30-minute story programs for preschoolers that can also be adapted for K–2 children
• Offers 70 new “in-between” activities such as fingerplays and movement activities, songs and musical activities, chants, creative dramatics, imagination exercises, and more
• Provides alternate book lists at the end of each story plan so readers can further customize their own storytimes
• Gives tips on how to energize presentations and encourage audience participation

Using Reid’s sure-fire story programs, kids and grownups alike will have a howling, barking, clucking, roaring good time.

(book description)

Preserving our Heritage: Perspectives from Antiquity to the Digital Age

   

book jacket

Cloonan, Michele Valerie. Preserving our Heritage: Perspectives from Antiquity to the Digital Age. Chicago: ALA, 2015  025.84 Presel4  ISBN 978-155570937

Drawing on historical texts, this accessible volume provides a broad understanding of preservation for librarians, archivists, and museum specialists. Cloonan offers students and professionals an overview of longevity, reversibility, enduring value, and authenticity of information preservation. Each section includes historical works that form the basis of contemporary thinking and practices, readings from a variety of fields that are primarily concerned with the preservation of cultural heritage, and hard to find publications that shed new light on how to approach contemporary problems. The author's selections and insightful commentary on each comprise a truly global and current view of preservation.

 

Rightsizing the Academic Library Collection

Ward, Suzanne M. Rightsizing the Academic Library Collection. ALA Editions, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1298-0

Description
Ward defines rightsizing as a strategic and largely automated approach that uses continuous assessment to identify the no- and low-use materials in the collection. The book provides an outline for developing a plan, working with stakeholders and consortial partners, assessing digital content holdings and their impact on physical collections, and future trends in academic library physical collections.

Table of Contents

1. BACKGROUND

Challenges facing colleges and universities

Academic libraries today

A rose by any other name

Why rightsize?

The digital revolution

Project genesis

Resistance to rightsizing

Stakeholders

Use studies

Changing environment 

2. TRADITIONAL DESELECTION SOLUTIONS

Withdrawals based on superseded volumes

Withdrawals based on low circulation/low use

Withdrawals based on electronic access

Local storage

Remote storage

Moving beyond weeding and storage

3. RIGHTSIZING SOLUTIONS

Withdrawal policy

The rightsizing plan

Rules-based mass book withdrawals

Matching books against electronic collections 

Matching journals against electronic collections

Withdrawals based on short or scattered holdings

Digitization

Collaborative storage

Cost

4. PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Strategic rightsizing approach

Disposal of withdrawn material

Getting started: a checklist

Managing workflow: journals

Managing workflow: books

Managing workflow: microforms and audio visual material

Rapid response scenario

Project conclusion

Continuous assessment

5. THE FUTURE OF PHYSICAL COLLECTIONS IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES 

Local collections

Regional and research mega-collections

Future rightsizing

Conclusion