Library Technology and Digital Resources: An Introduction for Support Staff

Library Technology and Digital Resources: An Introduction for Support Staff by Marie Keen Shaw. Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. 978-1-4422-5644-6.

Publisher's Description

In the last decade library collections have rapidly evolved from a predominance of print books and journals to an ever growing mix of digital and print resources. Library patrons are predominately served by support staff that is expected to know how to help patrons select and use digital resources. Yet most library support staff (LSS) has not had training to become proficient in finding, using, and instructing others in the abundance of the digital resources of websites, databases, e-texts, digital libraries and their related technologies.

Library Technology and Digital Resources: An Introduction for Support Staff is both a text for professors who teach in library support staff programs and an introductory reference manual for support staff who work in libraries. This book will guide the LSS to be able to:

• Distinguish key features and enhancements found among vendors and providers of digital libraries, digital collections, databases, and e-texts;
• Plan, budget, fund and write grants for digital resources;
• Understand the complexity and options of licensing and usage agreements for digital resources;
• Know copyright permissions and acceptable use guidelines for digital resources.
• Understand the basic technologies that support library digital resources including network structures, software applications, and protocols;
• Distinguish between directories and search engines as they relate to digital resources as well as be able to employ advance search skills effectively;
• Explore the resources of global, national, and state digital libraries and their collections;
• Use government databases and other digitized systems and information sources;
• Find exemplary digital resources though other agencies such as museums, university collections and other sources that librarians can share with patrons.
• Create local digital resources of primary and historical materials and artifacts with metadata and cataloging for searchable access.
• Interpret meaning from library digital resources using visual literacy skills.
• Promote library digital resources through a variety of means including social media and online options.

More Information

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Foundations of Library Services: An Introduction for Support Staff

Foundations of Library Services: An Introduction for Support Staff by Hali R. Keeler. Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. 978-1-4422-5641-5.

Publisher's Description

Trained library support staff is critical in assisting the user in locating and interpreting the resources available in libraries. To do so requires the knowledge and practice of library missions and roles in different types of libraries and the delivery of that information to an increasingly diverse clientele. The plethora of resources available today requires that support staff understand and implement the basic principles of information services as well as the responsibility and relationships among library departments and functional areas.

Foundations of Library Services is both a text for professors who teach in library support staff programs and an introductory reference manual for support staff who work in libraries. This book will guide the LSS to be able to:

• Understand the mission and role of the library in its community
• Be familiar with the ethics and values of the profession, including those of the Library Bill of Rights, the ALA Code of Ethics, freedom of information, confidentiality of library records and privacy issues
• Know the responsibility and relationships among library departments
• Practice the basic principles of circulation, including interlibrary loan; current cataloging and classification systems; and acquisitions and collection development policies.
• Understand how libraries are governed and funded within their organizations or government structures
• Realize the value of cooperation to enhance services
• Practice quality customer service
• Communicate and promote the library’s values and services
• Recognize and respond to diversity in user needs

More Information

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Working with Library Collections: An Introduction for Support Staff

Working with Library Collections: An Introduction for Support Staff by Hali R. Keeler. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. 978-1-4422-7489-1.

Publisher's Description

Working with Collections: An Introduction for Support Staff deals with the technical service aspect of library work- the processes that put a book on the shelf or online. It provides an introduction to publishers, vendors, preparing items for use, and caring for items in the collections and is both a text for professors who teach in library support staff programs and their students, and an introductory manual for support staff who work in libraries.

This material is written in clear language with practical examples of how performance can contribute to exemplary library service. It is aligned with the ALA support staff standards and prepares library support staff to:

• Know how to use an integrated library system and other appropriate online tools.
• Know the basic principles of collection development and management.
• Assist with decisions regarding selection, de-selection, retention and replacement of all types of library resources.
• Know the basic principles, and can apply, the appropriate procedures to the processes that provide users with access to a wide variety of content.
• Know the various ways in which content, in multiple formats, is produced and distributed to libraries.
• Understand the value of resource sharing agreements and apply them to collection decisions.
• Know and use the recognized standard evaluative sources to assist with collection development.
• Know the principles and basic practices regarding the preservation of library resources.
• Apply appropriate methods and techniques for accurate preparation of library resources.
• Explain and apply policies regarding library collections.

More Information

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Meeting Community Needs: A Practical Guide for Librarians

Meeting Community Needs: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Pamela H. MacKellar. Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. 978-0-8108-9134-0.

Publisher's Description

Librarians must know how to provide essential programs and services that make a difference for the people they serve if libraries are going to survive. It is no longer realistic for librarians to rely on the idea that “people love libraries, so they will fund them” in this economic climate. Librarians must be able to prove that their programs and services are making a difference if they want to compete for funding in their municipalities, schools, corporations, colleges, institutions and organizations.

Meeting Community Needs: A Practical Guide for Librarians presents a process that librarians of all kinds can use to provide effective programs and services. This requires being in close touch with your community, whether it is a city, town, or village; college or university; public or private school; or corporation, hospital, or business. Understanding what information people need, how they access it, how they use it, how it benefits them, and how they share it is paramount. The process in this book covers community assessment, designing programs and services to meet needs, implementing and evaluating programs and services, and funding options.

Providing library programs and services for your entire population - not just library users - is more important than ever. Librarians working in libraries of all types must provide programs and services that meet community needs if libraries are to stay relevant and survive in the long run. Librarians must be able to measure their success and demonstrate the library’s worth with verifiable proof if they are going to be competitive for available funds in the future. Meeting Community Needs will make you take a serious look at how well your library programs and services are meeting your community’s needs, and it will show you the way to success.

More Information
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Cosplay in Libraries: How to Embrace Costume Play in Your Library

Cosplay in Libraries: How to Embrace Costume Play in Your Library by Ellyssa Kroski. Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. 978-1-4422-5648-4.

Publisher's Description

Cosplay, comics, anime, and geek culture have exploded into the mainstream over recent years and have resulted in a thriving community of costume enthusiasts and pop culture fans. Today’s cosplayers find inspiration on the pages of comics, classic literature, and even history, as well as film, television, and video games to inform their creative and oftentimes elaborate ensembles. They utilize all manner of materials and techniques including 3D printers, thermoplastics, craft foam, fabric and more to design their costumes and props.

Libraries on the leading edge are already embracing this new worldwide sensation by integrating cosplay into their programming and events. Learn all about the world of cosplay and how you can host cosplay events, workshops, makerspaces, clubs, and more in your library!

This one-stop guide includes quotes and interviews with librarians who are incorporating cosplay into their programming as well as with cosplayers. You’ll also find 32 full-color photographs of cosplay in action to give you both ideas and inspiration for getting started!

Table of Contents

• Preface 
• Chapter One: What is Cosplay? 
• Chapter Two: Getting Started: Tools of the Trade
• Chapter Three: Places to Go, People to See 
• Chapter Four: Cosfamous
• Chapter Five: Libraries Embracing Cosplay
• Chapter Six: Cosplay Programming for Libraries
• Project 1: Host a Comic or Anime Con in your Library! 
• Project 2: How to Host a Cosplay Contest
• Project 3: How to Form a Cosplay Club in Your Library 
• Project 4: How to Host a Cosplay Props 3D Printing Event 
• Project 5: How to Host a Create Your Own Armor with Worbla Event
• Project 6: How to Host an Armor Painting Event 
• Project 7: Budget Cosplay Event: How to Create an Infinity Gauntlet with Craft Foam
• Project 8: Budget Cosplay Event: How to Create Cardboard Superhero Helmets
• Project 9: Budget Cosplay Event: How to Create Papier Mache Minions
• Project 10: How to Host a Cosplay Cards Workshop
• Project 11: Host a Cosplay Web Presence Workshop
• Project 12: Plan a Themed Cosplay Lock-In
• Chapter Seven: Cosplay Issues, Tips, and Tricks
• Chapter Eight: Must-Have Cosplay Resources
• Appendix A: Cosplay Event Activities
• Appendix B: Suppliers Directory
• Appendix C: Cosplayers Directory
• Appendix D: Photographers Directory
• Appendix E: Cosplay Websites & Blogs Directory

About the Author

Ellyssa Kroski is the Director of Information Technology at the New York Law Institute as well as an award-winning editor and author of 34 books including Law Librarianship in the Digital Age for which she won the AALL's 2014 Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Award. Her ten-book technology series, The Tech Set won the ALA's Best Book in Library Literature Award in 2011. She is a librarian, an adjunct faculty member at Pratt Institute, and an international conference speaker. She blogs at Cosplay, Comics, and Geek Culture in Libraries. Her professional portfolio is located at: http://www.ellyssakroski.com 

Ellyssa is also an avid cosplayer and has appeared on TLC's Cake Boss TV show as well as in the official music video for New York Comic Con and many other events. Her cosplay portfolio can be found at http://giallogirl.com. Contact her at ellyssakroski@yahoo.com.

Managing Reference Today: New Models and Best Practices

Managing Reference Today: New Models and Best Practices by Kay Ann Cassell. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. 978-0-8108-9221-7.

Publisher's Description
Reference collections and services have changed considerably in the last three decades. We have moved from all services coming from the reference desk to a more fluid environment where users can be served in person, by phone, email, virtual reference/chat, instant messaging, texting, skyping, etc.

Collections have changed too– from print collections, microfilm, microfiche and microcards to e-resources and e-books plus e-research collections in institutional archives.

Although we see many libraries still providing traditional services, others have begun to move away from this model and try to develop and offer services and collections which will better serve their user population. With technology changing so fast, users expect to communicate with the library in whatever way they choose. They also want to obtain information with little effort on their part.

Managing Reference Today: New Models and Practices 
• highlights newly developed service models that libraries are developing as well as the way they are handling changing reference collections.
• describes new ways of providing reference services and new ideas of how to select and manage reference collections.
• identifies the best practices for meeting the needs of current and future library users in academic, special, and public library settings.

Table of Contents

1. Understanding reference services and collections today
2. Moving toward new models of reference services
3. Identifying new ways of providing reference services and communicating with users
4. Choosing newer and better staffing models for ways of utilizing staff 
5. Providing outreach
6. Bringing necessary change to the education and training of reference librarians
7. Keeping up with change through more effective assessment
8. Accepting how reference resources necessarily shape reference services
9. Preparing to better serve our patrons today and tomorrow

About the Author

Kay Cassell is presently an Assistant Teaching Professor at the School of Communication and Information, Department of Library and Information Science, at Rutgers University. Her areas of teaching and research include reference services and collection development. Dr. Cassell has been the director of several public libraries and an academic library as well as working as a reference librarian. She was the Associate Director for Collections and Services of the Branch Libraries of the New York Public Library. She served in the Peace Corps in Morocco and was the Director of the Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines. She is active in the American Library Association and served as president of RUSA (Reference and User Services Association). Dr. Cassell has also been the editor of the quarterly journal, Collection Building.

Reading, Research, and Writing: Teaching Information Literacy with Process-Based Research Assignments

Reading, Research, and Writing: Teaching Information Literacy with Process-Based Research Assignments by Mary Snyder Broussard. ACRL, 2017. 978-0-8389-8875-6.

Publisher's Description

The research paper has become so ingrained in higher education that its benefits are assumed to be self-evident, but the connection between student writing and learning is not always clear. Educators frequently discuss the lack of critical thinking demonstrated in undergraduate research papers, but it may not be that students will not invest in writing assignments—it’s possible that many cannot with the educational support currently provided.

Through theory and examples, and with ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education integrated throughout, Reading, Research, and Writing: Teaching Information Literacy with Process-Based Research Assignments shows just how difficult research assignments can be for novice learners, and offers concrete plans and approaches for building assignments that enhance student learning.

In six chapters—including a final chapter on turning theory into practice—Reading, Research, and Writing is an in-depth, interdisciplinary look at the literature in rhetoric and composition studies, reading comprehension, cognitive psychology, education theory, and library and information science that captures what academic librarians and their teaching faculty collaborators should know about reading and writing to improve undergraduate writing-from-sources assignments. The implications for such an understanding include improving students’ motivation to research, analyze, and synthesize information at a deeper level; improving librarians’ ability to influence effective assignment design among teaching faculty; and opening new avenues of meaningful formative assessment in library instruction.

Information literacy and writing-from-sources are important skills for college graduates who leave formal education to be professionals and, hopefully, lifelong learners. Librarians must examine the broader picture that their piece fits within and work across disciplines to produce truly literate—and therefore information-literate—college graduates.

More Information
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Winning Elections and Influencing Politicians for Library Funding

Sweeney, Patrick (PC) and John Chrastka. Winning Elections and Influencing Politicians for Library Funding. Neal-Schuman, 2017. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1556-1

Description
Written by two experienced library campaigners and filled with easy to follow strategies, this book will guide ballot committees, librarians, trustees, and library advocates through the process of winning an election for funding their library.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1    Getting Started
Chapter 2    Surfacing
Chapter 3    Schmoozing and Networking
Chapter 4    Early Work and Political Landscape Memo
Chapter 5    Power Mapping
Chapter 6    Building Your Vote Yes Committee
Chapter 7    Committee Roles and Responsibilities
Chapter 8    Getting on the Ballot
Chapter 9    Campaign Budget
Chapter 10    Fund-Raising
Chapter 11    Volunteers
Chapter 12    Theme and Message
Chapter 13    Responding to Opposition
Chapter 14    Earned Media
Chapter 15    Paid Media
Chapter 16    Voter Data
Chapter 17    Polling
Chapter 18    Website and Digital Platforms
Chapter 19    Canvassing and Phone Banking
Chapter 20    Campaign Events
Chapter 21    E-Mail
Chapter 22    Facebook

Fundamentals of Library Supervision, Third Edition

McNeil, Beth. Fundamentals of Library Supervision. Third Edition. Neal-Schuman, 2017. ISBN:978-0-8389-1554-7

Description
This updated edition will give you the grounding to supervise, manage, and lead with confidence. A perfect handbook for those just moving into a supervisory position, and a welcome refresher for current managers, this resource focuses on daily, real-world issues.

Table of Contents 

Part I    Supervising Individuals

• Chapter 1    Today’s Workplace
• Chapter 2    Hiring and Interviewing
• Chapter 3    Orientation and Training
• Chapter 4    Managing Performance
• Chapter 5    Managing Rewards

Part II    Managing Groups

• Chapter 6    Becoming a Manager
• Chapter 7    Teamwork and Group Dynamics
• Chapter 8    Planning and Organizing Work
• Chapter 9    Budgeting Basics
• Chapter 10    Facilities, Space, and Safety, by Debra J. Pearson
• Chapter 11    Managing Meetings
• Chapter 12    Project Management

Part III    Leading in Organizations

• Chapter 13    Communication Skills
• Chapter 14    Organizational Climate and the Art of Motivation
• Chapter 15    Inclusiveness and Diversity
• Chapter 16    Policies and the Legal Environment
• Chapter 17    Career Management

Online Teaching and Learning: A Practical Guide for Librarians

Crane, Beverley E. Online Teaching and Learning: A Practical Guide for Librarians. Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-4422-6716-9

Designed for experienced librarians, librarians new to the profession, and library school students, Online Teaching and Learning: A Practical Guide for Librarians provides a comprehensive framework that encompasses all aspects of planning, designing, creating, implementing, and assessing online learning for all types of libraries, including public, academic, special, and K-12. It also provides a valuable guide for teachers, administrators, and other educators.

Online Teaching and Learning: A Practical Guide for Librarians features three main sections:

• Section I: Theory into Practice forms the basis in theory of learning that ultimately influences practice. It includes definition, importance in today’s society, benefits and challenges, and categories and types of online learning with examples to illustrate each.
  
• Section II: Creating Online Instruction explores how to create an online course--describing components and stepping through the process using a model on the topic of information literacy. Design and instructional tips for creating other types of online instruction are also given.
  
• Section III: Practical Applications provides examples of different types of online instruction and materials in all types of libraries. Then, step-by-step detail explains how librarians can create this type of instruction and/or learning materials on their own. Included are worksheets, handouts, and exercises.

Online Teaching and Learning: A Practical Guide for Librarians puts it all together to provide what the library must consider as it prepares for this new challenge and opportunity. It provides a comprehensive guide instructing online programs how to employ library services as part of their program. It is also designed to instruct librarians to incorporate the skills necessary to build a virtual library environment and teach the skills required to meet the needs of online learners. As the educational landscape changes with blended and online learning taking center stage, new and established librarians need a guide to inform them of skills they will need and show them how to create the resources for their new online audience.

Writing Effectively in Print and on the Web: A Practical Guide for Librarians

Blakiston, Rebecca. Writing Effectively in Print and on the Web: A Practical Guide for Librarians. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-4422-7885-1.

The written word is our primary tool for communication – with colleagues, administrators, Writing effectively will help you be a stronger colleague, manager, and librarian.

Poor use of words can lead to misunderstandings and inefficiencies.

In this book, you will learn how to: stakeholders, and users. 

• Define your audience and your primary messages
• Simplify your writing so that it is succinct and understandable
• Structure your written content so that it is most usable and accessible to your audience
• Approach different forms of writing in a way that is most effective to getting your message across
• Establish a voice and tone that reflects the identity of your organization and yourself as a professional

The book covers writing for both print and Web-based publications and is aimed at all types of libraries.