The Wiki Way of Learning

The Wiki Way of Learning: Creating Learning Experiences Using Collaborative Web Pages by Michele Notari, Rebecca Reynolds, Samuel Kai Wah Chu, and Beat Döbeli Honegger. American Library Association, 2016.

Given the limited budgets of schools, educators, and school librarians, free and open source tools for learning are more important than ever. Essentially, wikis are easily accessible webpages for creating, browsing, and searching through information, making them ideal vehicles for teaching and collaboration. In this pathbreaking collection, theoreticians and practitioners from a range of international settings explore how wikis are being used to create learning experiences in a variety of educational environments, from grade schools through universities. 

Offering numerous hands-on examples of using collaborative webpages with learners, this book gives teachers, educators, and instructor librarians

·        a theoretical overview of the concept of web-based collaboration and the social implications of the participative web written by Mark Guzdial, a pioneer in using wikis in education;

·        an understanding of how wiki-engines function as a flexible tool for collaboratively creating, linking, revising and regrouping hypertext content;

·        pragmatic guidelines for the educational use and application of wikis, including applications as e-learning management systems, informational resource libraries, online tutorials, maker community project creation, and digital asset file management; 

·        strategies for setting up a learning unit the “Wiki Way” and choosing the most appropriate and suitable wiki-engine in a particular education setting; and

·        coverage of two different scaffolding models for learning scenarios which have been implemented and tested in the US, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and China.

Enabling readers to see how wikis’ content and content creation processes can be harnessed for instructional design, this collection represents an important advance in improving education through collaborative technologies.

For more information on this title, see the publisher’s web page.

Local Community in the Era of Social Media Technologies

Local Community in the Era of Social Media Technologies by Hui-Lan Titangos. Chandos Publishing, 2013.

Social media technologies can help connect local communities to the wider world. Local Community in the Era of Social Media Technologies introduces the experience of bringing a local community to the world. This book, with the model of Santa Cruz County, California, develops a truly global approach to the subject. The first section of the book covers the early efforts of recording the local Santa Cruz area, before moving on to deal with Library 1.0. The next section looks at the present situation with Library 2.0 and its benefits. The book ends with a discussion of future directions and the implications of Library 3.0 and beyond.

Covers:

• Illustrates the potential for new developments through practical experience
• Goes beyond digitization technology to include: integrating database management; using library professionals’ unique research skills; conferencing and publications; and rejuvenating Library 1.0 applications
• Demonstrates how to effectively present local information to the world

Visit the publisher’s web page for the table of contents and more.

Exploring Discovery

Exploring Discovery: The front door to your library's licensed and digitized content edited by Kenneth J. Varnum. American Library Association, 2016. 978-0-838-9-1414-4.

We’re in a new age of Discovery. Not of the physical world but rather one that serves up appropriate resources for your library’s researchers, thanks to advancements in handling metadata, natural language processing, and keyword searching. For you, Discovery might be shorthand for single-index products such as Serials’ Solutions Summon, EBSCO Discovery, and OCLC’s WorldCat Discovery. Yet even those tools require adjustments to meet your institution’s specific needs. With first-hand profiles of 19 library projects, Varnum and his roster of contributors offer guidance on the complete range of discovery services, from the broad sweep of vendors’ products to the fine points of specialized holdings. Topics include:

• migrating from a traditional ILS to a library services platform;
• creating a task list for usability testing of discovery;
• managing internal development requirements within the constraints of a small or mid-sized library;
• applying agile software methodology to a Blacklight implementation;
• real-world examples of usability testing, including a small liberal arts college’s implementation of VuFind;
• meeting the challenge of three different metadata formats;
• practices in the Primo community for integrating open access content into the front end;
• serving mobile users with an app and responsive Web design;
• analyzing the use of facets in search;
• using a single discovery tool across a library, museum, and archive; and
• implementing discovery with geospatial datasets.

Easy to dip into as needed, this comprehensive examination of discovery services will prove invaluable to IT, web development, electronic resource management, and technical services staff.

Visit the publisher's web page for the table of contents and more.

The Patron-Driven Library

The Patron-Driven Library: A practical guide for managing collections and services in the digital age by Dee Ann Allison. Chandos Publishing, 2013. 978-1-84334-736-1.

Libraries in the USA and globally are undergoing quiet revolution. Libraries are moving away from a philosophy that is collection-centered to one focused on service. Technology is key to that change. The Patron Driven Library explores the way technology has moved the focus from library collections to services, placing the reader at the center of library activities. The book reveals the way library users are changing, and how social networking, web delivery of information, and the uncertain landscape of e-print has energized librarians to adopt technology to meet a different model of the library while preserving core values. Following an introduction, the first part begins with the historical milieu, and moves on to current challenges for financing and acquiring materials, and an exploration of why the millennial generation is transformational. The second part examines how changes in library practice can create a culture for imagining library services in an age of information overflow. The final chapter asks: Whither the library?

Covers:

Provides a synthesis of current research on the impact of technology on behavior, and connecting it with library services

Offers examples and practical advice for incorporating technology to meet user expectations and assess services

Suggests management techniques to overcome barriers to change and technology innovation

Visit the publisher's web page for the table of contents and more.

Librarians and Instructional Designers

 

Eshleman, Joe, et al. Librarians and Instructional Designers: Collaboration and Innovation. Chicago: ALA, 2016.
ISBN: 978-0-8389-1455-7

Publisher's Description

With online education options more ubiquitous and sophisticated than ever, the need for academic librarians to be conversant with digital resources and design thinking has become increasingly important. The way forward is through collaboration with instructional designers, which allows librarians to gain a better understanding of digital resource construction, design, goals, and responsibilities. In this book, the authors demonstrate that when librarians and instructional designers pool their knowledge of curriculum and technology, together they can impact changes that help to better serve faculty, students, and staff to address changes that are affecting higher education. Illustrated using plentiful examples of successful collaboration in higher education, this book

• introduces the history of collaborative endeavors between instructional designers and librarians, sharing ideas for institutions of every size;
• reviews key emerging issues, including intellectual property, digital scholarship, data services, digital publishing, and scholarly communication;
• addresses library instruction, particularly the new information literacy framework and threshold concepts, and how the movement towards online library instruction can be supported through collaboration with instructional designers;
• describes the complementary roles of librarians and instructional designers in detail, followed by a case study in collaboration at Davidson College, an evolving digital project that mirrors changes in technology and collaboration over more than a decade;
• shows how librarians and instructional designers can work together to encourage, inform, train, and support both faculty and students in the use of digital media, media databases, online media, public domain resources, and streaming media tools;
• highlights creative opportunities inherent in the design and use of the Learning Management System (LMS); and
• looks ahead to how emerging technologies are already leading to new jobs at the intersection of librarianship and technology, such as the instructional design librarian.

With a firm foundation on best practices drawn from a variety of institutions, this book maps out a partnership between academic librarians and instructional designers that will lead to improved outcomes. 

Table of Contents

See the publisher's website.

Embedded Business Librarianship for the Public Librarian

Alvarez, Barbara. Embedded Business Librarianship for the Public Librarian. Chicago: ALA, 2016. 027.69 Alvar.

When a public library invests in building relationships with business owners, professionals, and job seekers in the community, it is investing in the livelihood, well-being, and future of all of its citizens. By demonstrating how the library is a valuable resource for these patrons, the embedded business librarian can be an equal partner in the business community and have an equal voice. As a business liaison librarian, Alvarez has taught nearly 150 job seekers, completed over 100 one-on-one appointments with business owners and professionals, and co-produced numerous videos and podcasts with entrepreneurs. Here she distills her experiences into a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to developing sustainable library-business relationships. Speaking to beginners as well as those who may already have a background in business reference or outreach, this book:

• introduces the concept  of embedded business librarianship, emphasizing how it extends beyond outreach to include integration with the business community;
• discusses how the embedded business librarian not only cultivates awareness of the library's resources and expertise, but is also a valued contributor to the business community's conversation;
• recommends research sources and strategies for learning the needs, goals, and partnership opportunities of the local business community;
• outlines a five-step process for reaching out to organizations, businesses, and professionals to cement long-lasting ties;
• details the important differences between business owners, professionals, and job seekers, offering guidance on the best ways to approach and engage them as well as techniques for forming sustainable partnerships with each group;
• shows how to create a co-working space, illustrated using real life examples from libraries that have created  their own business spaces for networking and collaboration; and
• talks about the importance of continuing education for the embedded business librarian, highlighting books, blogs, podcasts, news sources, online training, librarian support groups, and other avenues for expanding one's expertise.

Loaded with recommended practices for increasing engagement and developing courses and programs for business owners, professionals, and job seekers in the community, this book points the way towards making the library an integral part of the business community in ways that are realistic and sustainable.

40 New Revenue Sources

Rossman, Edmund A.,III. 40 New Revenue Sources for Libraries & Nonprofits. Chicago: ALA, 2016. 025.110973 Rossm

In recent years, levies, grants, and other traditional sources of library funding have stagnated or even been scaled back. But as they've already done in other areas, libraries can take an innovative, proactive approach to funding. Change creates opportunities, and the ability to see and exploit opportunities is what creates new revenue streams, which can help maintain and enhance library services. Offering step-by-step guidance, in this book Rossman shares more than 40 revenue-generating methods to bolster the library's bottom line. Through plentiful examples, interviews, and implementation exercises this book:

• discusses the current context of funding for libraries and non-profits, using the history of Public Broadcasting as a positive role model for libraries;
• examines how general market features from the worlds of advertising and broadcasting, such as location, traffic, the right cluster of skills, and technology, apply to the library environment
• demonstrates how to utilize these market features in the most professional and efficient manner to build new revenue streams;
• walks readers through numerous plans for raising revenue from memorial considerations, one-time events like art shows and athletic competitions, naming rights and sponsorships for permanent resources such as buildings and rooms, location specific promotions, online crowd-funding, establishing passport services, and many more;
• provides guidelines of how to establish value, craft board policies, and write comprehensive contracts using a toolkit approach that will make the sales process more efficient; and
• shows library boards and management how to address sensitive issues such as name changes, unforeseen bankruptcy or disgraceful situations with a sponsor, community concerns about selling out, and the use of technology for appeals.

Libraries can use this book's to-the-point guidance to quickly develop plans that support financial stability and better library service.

This collection is supported in whole by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Oregon State Library.

The Big 6 Curriculum

Eisenberg, Michael B., Janet Murray, and Colet Bartow. The Big 6 Curriculum: Comprehensive Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy for All Students. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-4408-4479-9

Publisher's Description
This practical, hands-on book explains how to ensure that your students are information and communication technology literate—that is, competent with a range of tools, technologies, and techniques for seeking out and applying information.

The importance of teaching information and communication technology (ICT) literacy is clear: without it, students will be ill-equipped to find and use information in all its forms as well as produce and present information in all forms. Unfortunately, most ICT literacy educational programs are irregular, incomplete, or arbitrary. Classroom teachers, teacher librarians, and technology teachers need a complete ICT program—one with clearly defined goals and objectives, planned and coordinated instruction, regular and objective assessment of learning, and formal reporting of results. This book explains how to integrate the objectives of ICT literacy into your school's established curricular structure.

The book explains the rationale for a having a comprehensive ICT program, describes how to develop a Big6 by the Month program, and defines the challenges in the areas of information-seeking strategies, location and access, use of information, synthesis, and evaluation. It also includes templates for grade-level objectives; a scenario plan, program plan, lesson plan, and unit plan; summary evidence and criteria; performance descriptors; a presentation readiness checklist; and Big6 by the Month checklists for instructional leaders, teachers, and teacher librarians.

Features

• Helps librarians better understand and implement the information and communication technology (ICT) skills required of 21st-century students
• Presents dozens of figures, templates, and lessons to aid librarians in implementing comprehensive ICT literacy programs that reach all students in all schools
• Provides highly relevant concepts for librarians at all schools or districts seeking to achieve local, state, or Common Core educational standards

Table of Contents
See the publisher's website. 

A to Zoo Supplement to the 9th Ed.

Thomas, Rebecca L. (2016). A to Zoo: Subject Access to Children's Picture Books (Supplement to the Ninth Edition). Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. 978-1-61069-819-1.

Note: We also have the main volume of the 9th edition.

A to Zoo is a beloved favorite of children's librarians everywhere, providing easy subject access that helps you build your collection and enhance programs and reading lists for young children. Covering children's picture books published in 2014 and 2015, this supplement complements the ninth edition of A to Zoo, enabling public and school librarians to easily identify recent books about animals, careers, character traits, foreign places, holidays, sports, and more. Like the well-loved main edition, the supplement's simple organization helps you prepare themed story times, programs, and curricular units. Of course, it will also be indispensable for both readers' advisory and collection development.

The supplement follows the same format as the main edition, providing a subject guide to fiction and nonfiction picture books for children in grades Pre-K to 2 followed by a bibliographic guide and title and illustrator indexes. The book's nearly 1,800 entries add to the more than 14,000 entries in the ninth edition, making identification of the right books for your audience easy—and engaging.

• Offers quick access to subjects of interest to young children
• Provides easy-to-understand subject headings that can be used by patrons as well as professionals
• Helps in preparing reading lists and organizing storytime themes
• Covers a broad range of subjects to meet the needs of librarians, teachers, parents, and homeschoolers
• Features user-friendly organization
• Includes in-depth indexing and full bibliographical details

(Book Description)

Summer Matters

Boulay, Matthew. (2016). Summer Matters: 10 Things Every Parent, Teacher, & Principal Should Know About June, July, & August. 9781533348418.

Written in an engaging and fast-paced style, “Summers Matter” is a fun and easy read that will empower parents and educators alike. Readers will be entertained by the quotes and anecdotes, surprised by the facts, and, ultimately, encouraged by the knowledge that they can - and should - foster learning even when schools are closed.

Mixing evidence, stories and expert accounts in a highly readable format, Summers Matter introduces readers to the problem of summer learning loss and provides tips and guidance for parents, teachers, and principals. Amid the bruising battles over how to transform our system of education, summer learning promises a clean slate. By turning our attention to this forgotten season, this groundbreaking book will reinvigorate the American way of learning and schooling.

In short, Summers Matter makes a convincing argument that the months of June, July, and August are as important as the months from September through May.

(Book Description)

Book Programs & Author Events

Hooper, Brad. (2016). The Librarian's Guide to Book Programs and Author Events. Chicago, IL: ALA editions. 978-0-8389-1384-0.

From hosting authors to planning and coordinating book activities such as book signings and book clubs, libraries are perfect venues for readers to interact directly with authors and their books. And mounting literary programming can be easier than you might think. In this guide Booklist’s Brad Hooper inspires, encourages, and advises librarians in providing a wide range of programming that targets their communities of book lovers. Incorporating interviews from librarians in the field who share insider tips, this resource

• includes step-by-step guidance adaptable to any type of audience, from children and teens to millennials and older adults;
• shows how to plan author readings, coordinate book signings, and put together and moderate an author panel;
• offers marketing and outreach pointers, including interviewing authors for local radio, library podcasts, or webinars;
• lays out the nuts-and-bolts of organizing and hosting book clubs, with suggestions for facilitating book group discussions;
• presents ideas for creating displays of “staff favorites” and other ways to get staff involved and engaged; and
• explores programs for community-wide book events, such as “One Book, One City.”

(Book Description)

Linked Data for Cultural Heritage

Jones, Ed and Michele Seikel, (eds.) Linked Data for Cultural Heritage (An ALCTS Monograph). ALA Editions, 2016. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1439-7

Description

Linked data is essential for sharing library collections on the open web, especially the digital cultural heritage in the collections of libraries, archives, and museums. This collection of essays is designed to help readers understand linked data concepts by examining practice and projects based in familiar concepts like authority control.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1    Linked Open Data and the Cultural Heritage Landscape. By Hilary K. Thorsen and M. Christina Pattuelli

Chapter 2    Making MARC Agnostic: Transforming the English Short Title Catalogue for the Linked Data Universe. By Carl Stahmer

Chapter 3    Authority Control for the Web: Integrating Library Practice with Linked Data. By Allison Jai O’Dell

Chapter 4    Linked Data Implications for Authority Control and Vocabularies: An STM Perspective. By Iker Huerga and Michael P. Lauruhn

Chapter 5    A Division of Labor: The Role of Schema.org in a Semantic Web Model of Library Resources.
By Carol Jean Godby

Chapter 6    BIBFRAME and Linked Data for Libraries. By Sally McCallum