Leading for School Librarians

Weisburg, Hilda K. Leading for School Librarians: There Is No Other Option. ALA Neal-Schuman, 2017.
ISBN: 978-0-8389-1510-3

Publisher's Description

With the recent passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), school libraries are poised for a potential turnaround. But there’s only one way forward: school librarians must become leaders, fully interwoven into the fabric of the educational community. And to become a truly effective leader you’ve got to have a plan. In her new book, Weisburg builds on her decades of experience and mentorship in school libraries to offer a carefully crafted roadmap that guides readers step by step through the process of transforming into a leader, from becoming aware of what’s at stake to learning and mastering the necessary skills for leadership. Using a pragmatic approach that acknowledges the challenges to come while also offering unabashed inspiration, this book 

• incorporates first-hand understanding of the dynamics of the educational environment, from the building to the district level;
• begins by addressing common fears about taking on a leadership role, and shows how to move past them and gain confidence;
• demonstrates how to build credibility among stakeholders and peers through strategic risk-taking;
• discusses ways to rely on one’s strengths to grow skills and expertise;
• explains how to know when to lead and when to manage, plus the fine art of delegation;
• gives pointers on communicating effectively, becoming visible, behaving ethically, maintaining a healthy life-work balance, and other important career issues; and 
• shows readers what it takes to move onto a larger stage and become a local educational leader who also has a presence on the state and national level.

By starting with the basics and then offering concrete ideas for moving forward, the book shows readers how they can slowly build their confidence and skills to become the leaders their students and the profession needs them to be.

Table of contents

The First-Year Experience Cookbook

The First-Year Experience Cookbook, edited by Raymond Pun and Meggan Houlihan. ACRL, 2017. 978-0-8389-8920-3.

Publisher's Description

First-year students face many challenges in adjusting to university life, including making the most of the university library. Librarians are constantly addressing student misconceptions about libraries and locating information, and have been working hard to reach first-year students and create high-impact practices in student retention.

The First-Year Experience Cookbook provides librarians with a series of innovative approaches to teaching and assessing information literacy skills during a student’s first year. Featuring four chapters—Library Orientation, Library Instruction, Programs, and Assessment—and more than 60 practical, easy-to-implement recipes, this book compiles lessons and techniques for you to adapt, repurpose, and implement in your libraries.

This Cookbook is essential for all academic and school librarians looking for ideas on how to infuse the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education in their first-year courses and instruction; design and assess effective services and programs; and engage and retain students.

More Information

See the publisher's website for Table of Contents and editor information.

Collaborating with Strangers

de Farber, B. G., Hines, A., & Hood , B. J. (2017). Collaborating with Strangers: Facilitating Workshops in Libraries, Classes, and Nonprofits. Chicago, IL: Neal-Schuman. 978-0-8389-1542-4

Interaction with strangers cultivates creativity and provides opportunities for joining forces to achieve great ends. However most people tend to avoid talking or working with people they do not know, whether in the library, a classroom, or in academic and nonprofit settings. And to do so is to short-circuit much of the creative potential that is so necessary for innovation, and that organizational stakeholders crave. Enter CoLAB. Developed and presented by de Farber at workshops across the country, and used by the authors to successfully spur collaboration at the University of Florida (including faculty-librarian, librarian-librarian, librarian-student, faculty-faculty, student-student, and student-librarian-community member), it showcases the power of face-to-face conversations. Leading readers through a unique framework that breaks down barriers to collaboration while also kindling long-lasting enthusiasm, this manual includes

• testimonials from workshop participants that demonstrate the benefits of a Collaborating with Strangers workshop;
• step by step guidance on every aspect of organizing and presenting a CoLAB workshop;
• helpful photographs and diagrams that show prep and workshops in action;
• ready to use surveys for assessment before and after the workshop;
• grant proposal development techniques for bringing two or more organizations together on a project;
• pointers on how to adapt the workshop for ice-breakers, conference programs, or classrooms; and
• samples of workshop promotion pieces that can be adapted as needed.

Libraries have always connected patrons to resources and information; this resource shows how, through successful group collaboration, organizations can extend that connection to include the talents and assets of community members.
(book description)

The Readers' Advisory Guide to Graphic Novels

Goldsmith, F. (2017). The Readers' Advisory Guide to Graphic Novels (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: ALA Editions. 978-0-8389-1509-7

The first edition of this readers’ advisory represented a pioneering effort to provide help and encouragement to librarians diving into this exciting format, and since then the popularity of graphic novels has continued apace. Goldsmith has updated her guide to encompass a bounty of new titles, authors, and styles, ensuring its continued usefulness as a tool for both RA and collection development. Suitable for newbies and hardcore fans alike, this book

• sketches in the history of graphic novels, tracing their evolution and showing what makes them unique;
• explores traditional and cutting edge titles most friendly to children, teens, and adults, reflecting the burgeoning and maturing publishing efforts made for each of these audiences;
• discusses common themes, topics, and the place of diversity in graphic novels;
• gives in-depth guidance on ways to connect readers to titles they’ll be sure to love;
• offers ideas for media tie-ins, displays, programming, book clubs, and more;
• includes annotated bibliographies, with appeal characteristics noted, and multiple indexes to ensure that locating the right graphic novel is a snap; and
• provides detailed tips for keeping current and aware of new titles and trends.

(book description)

Basic Music Library: Essential Scores and Sound Recordings, Fourth Edition, Volume 1: Popular Music

Music Library Association (compiler). Basic Music Library: Essential Scores and Sound Recordings. Fourth Edition, Volume 1: Popular Music. American Library Association, 2017. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1039-9

Description

The Music Library Association has completely revamped this classic work, dividing the 4th edition into 3 volumes. This first volume covers popular music in the following genres:

• Music of Colonial North America and the United States to about 1900
• Blues
• Jazz
• Mainstream Popular and New Age
• Country and Western
• Rock
• Rhythm and Blues and Soul
• Rap and Hip-Hop
• Gospel Music and Other Popular Christian Music
• Children’s Music
• Holidays, Special Occasions, Patriotic Music, and Miscellaneous

Fundamentals of Electronic Resources Management

Verminski, Alana and Kelly Marie Blanchat. Fundamentals of Electronic Resources Management. Neal-Schuman, 2017. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1541-7

Description
Part of the ALA Fundamentals Series, this is a hands-on guide to the continually evolving field of electronic resources management (ERM). Learn practical tips on vendor relations, licensing, usage statistics, and much more!

Table of Contents

Chapter 1    Getting Your Feet Wet: A Background in Electronic Resources Management
Chapter 2    Ways to Pay: Understanding Electronic Resources Purchase Models
Chapter 3    Evaluating Content, Old and New
Chapter 4    Changing the Rules: Selecting and Managing Open Access Resources
Chapter 5    Negotiation and Licensing for Electronic Resources
Chapter 6    Keeping the Lights On: Setting Up and Maintaining Access
Chapter 7    Making Sense of Electronic Resources Usage Statistics: COUNTER and Beyond
Chapter 8    What You Might Want to Ask a Library Vendor (But Never Thought You Could)
Chapter 9    Techniques and Tools for Marketing Electronic Resources
Chapter 10    Emerging Trends and the Impact of Change on Electronic Resources Management
Appendix A    University of North Texas Libraries Open Access Resource Rubric
Appendix B    License Review Checklist
Glossary    Acronyms and Everyday Jargon—Things Every Electronic Resources Librarian Should Know

Choosing to Lead

Choosing to Lead: The Motivational Factors of Underrepresented Minority Librarians in Higher Education, edited by Antonia Olivas. ACRL, 2017. 978-0-8389-8887-9.

Publisher's Description

Why does a person choose to lead in an environment where she or he is traditionally labeled “the minority”? Over the years, many library researchers have found that underrepresented minority librarians leave the profession for various reasons: microaggressions, discrimination, burnout, lack of opportunity. But some of these academic librarians both stay in the profession and are motivated to become leaders.

Choosing to Lead: The Motivational Factors of Underrepresented Minority Librarians in Higher Education takes a positive inquiry approach by providing first-hand accounts of success stories, best practices, and practical advice from a collection of diverse authors. Instead of looking at academic library “failures” when it comes to diversifying the leadership workforce, this book highlights what’s going right and how to implement it across the profession—with an emphasis on building strengths and fully leveraging one’s interests, behaviors, and passions, while never ignoring or deemphasizing the prevailing challenges that exist for diverse LIS professionals who wish to advance their leadership skills. Through case studies, promising practices, and specific strategies for cultivating diversity in academic library leadership, this is a resource for both librarians of color who wish to seek leadership positions and current library leaders who want to nurture these future leaders.

More Information
See the publisher's website for Table of Contents and editor information.

Students Lead the Library

Students Lead the Library: The Importance of Student Contributions to the Academic Library, edited by Sara Arnold-Garza and Carissa Tomlinson. ACRL, 2017. 978-0-8389-8867-1.

Publisher's Description

Academic librarians are driven by the belief that student scholars are at the heart of the library. Our collections, programs, and services become meaningful when students use and learn from them. We build our websites and other digital services, our buildings, marketing and communication strategies, and content to meet their needs. The library exists, at least in large part, for the students—and student employment, leadership, and input into the library can increase engagement and outreach and improve both the library and the students it employs. 

In six parts—Students as Employees, Students as Curators, Students as Ambassadors, the Library as Client, Student Groups as Library Leaders, and Students as Library Designers—Students Lead the Library provides case studies of programs and initiatives that seek student input, assistance, and leadership in the academic library. Through the library, students can develop leadership skills, cultivate high levels of engagement, and offer peer learning opportunities. Through the students, libraries can create participatory design processes, enhancement and transformation of the library’s core functions, and expressed library value for stakeholders. 

Students Lead the Library gives practical perspectives and best practices for implementing these kinds of initiatives in ways that can be easily adopted to fit many different needs and circumstances. It’s useful to libraries seeking to improve their services to students, reach out to new student populations, give students experiential learning opportunities, and even mitigate staffing shortages.

More Information
See the publisher's website for Table of Contents.