The Evaluation and Measurement of Library Services

Matthews, J. R. (2018). The Evaluation and Measurement of Library Services (2nd ed.) foreword by Lisa Hinchliffe. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited (ABC-CLIO, LLC). ISBN: 9781440855368.

Publisher's Description

This guide provides library directors, managers, and administrators in all types of libraries with complete and up-to-date instructions on how to evaluate library services in order to improve them.

• Helps librarians to thoroughly examine their libraries' services toward making improvements
• Enables librarians to answer with authority the question "what difference do we make?"
• Explains the most effective ways of conducting library measurement and evaluation, covering qualitative and quantitative tools, data analysis, and specific methodologies for measuring and assessing specific services
• Offers a highly readable and clear treatment of a topic of paramount importance, but that librarians often find difficult

More information from the publisher.

Crash Course in Young Adult Services

Crash Course in Young Adult Services, by Sarah Flowers. Libraries Unlimited, 2017. 978-1-4408-5170-4.

Publisher's Description
A library can be a tremendous resource for teens—one that helps them to learn about themselves and the world they live in. But teenagers are intrinsically different from children and from adults, and these critical developmental differences affect the ways they interact with others, both in the world at large and in the library. Serving teens effectively in the library requires a basic understanding of who teens are and the developmental tasks they face—factors that affect all aspects of library service, from the specific programs and services we offer to the ways that staff provide assistance to the teen who is seeking help at a library service desk.

This book enables library workers to better understand adolescent development, which allows them to provide a positive library experience for teens. Readers will learn how to supply excellent library services with and for teens, including in the areas of collection development, readers' advisory, reference and homework help, programming, and advocacy. The book identifies the best ways to have positive interactions with teens in the library based on their mental development and details best practices for teen services. The concluding section discusses advocating for teens, with emphasis on their right to privacy and equal access to materials and services.

Features

• Enables librarians to create a welcoming environment for teens in the library
• Explains how to better understand teen patrons by finding out what teens read, listen to, and watch, enabling you to guide them to "something good to read"
• Provides guidance in how to help teens meet their homework or other information needs
• Examines thorny issues regarding access, privacy, challenges to materials, and Internet use

More Information

See the publisher's website for author information and a look inside.

Fostering Family History Services: A Guide for Librarians, Archivists, and Volunteers

Fostering Family History Services: A Guide for Librarians, Archivists, and Volunteers, by Rhonda L. Clark and Nicole Wedemeyer Miller. Libraries Unlimited, 2016. 978-1-61069-541-1.

Publisher's Description
Websites, social media, and the Internet have made research on family history accessible. Your library can tap into the popularity of the do-it-yourself genealogy movement by promoting your role as both a preserver of local community history as well as a source for helping your patrons archive what's important to their family. This professional guide will teach you how to integrate family history programming into your educational outreach tools and services to the community.

The book is divided into three sections: the first introduces methods for creating a program to help your clients trace their roots; the second provides library science instruction in reference and planning for local collections; and the third part focuses on the use of specific types of resources in local collections. Additional information features methods for preserving photographs, letters, diaries, documents, memorabilia, and ephemera. The text also includes bibliographies, appendices, checklists, and links to online aids to further assist with valuating and organizing important family mementos.

Features

• Discusses the reference environment and offers tips for strategic planning for local studies
• Includes hints of how to assess, organize, discard, or donate family heirlooms
• Offers suggestions for caring for family history archives, including physical enclosures, digital copies, and the importance of data backups
• Features templates for partnership agreements with other organizations

More Information

See the publisher's website for author information, table of contents, reviews, and a look inside.

Peer-Assisted Learning in Academic Libraries

Peer-Assisted Learning in Academic Libraries, edited by Erin Rinto, John Watts, and Rosan Mitola. Libraries Unlimited, 2017. 978-1-4408-4688-5.

Publisher's Description
In this era of accountability—and stretched budgets—in higher education, librarians need to make instructional programming both highly effective and sustainable. Peer-assisted learning is a methodology that has long been accepted in teaching but is relatively new as applied to academic library instruction, outreach, and reference. This book brings together the most innovative applications of peer-assisted learning in these contexts, explaining specific ways to apply peer-assisted learning in a variety of academic library settings for maximum benefit.

This guidebook begins with an extensive literature review of the theoretical underpinnings of peer-assisted learning and the various benefits these programs can provide academic librarians and peer mentors. The bulk of the book's content is organized into three sections that address the subjects of information literacy instruction, cocurricular outreach, and reference services separately. Each section showcases real-world examples of peer-assisted learning at a variety of academic institutions. Through these case studies, readers can fully understand the development, implementation, and assessment of a peer-assisted learning program, and librarians and administrators will see the practical benefits of enriching the experiences of student employees. Practitioners will receive inspiration and guidance through chapters that discuss training activities, identify lessons learned, and explain the implications for further research.

Features

• Introduces readers to a well-established and effective practice in higher education and demonstrates how it can be used in library-initiated programs
• Provides the means to extend library staff resources by incorporating student employees in instruction, outreach, and reference services
• Supplies practical examples—complete with assessments, administrative justifications and lessons learned—for training and assessing student peer mentors
• Offers justification for how peer-assisted learning programs provide student employees with rewarding and enriching opportunities that can benefit them academically, personally, and professionally

More Information

See the publisher's website for editor information and a look inside.

Engaging Diverse Learners: Teaching Strategies for Academic Librarians

Engaging Diverse Learners: Teaching Strategies for Academic Librarians, by Mark Aaron Polger and Scott Sheidlower. Libraries Unlimited, 2017. 978-1-4408-3850-7.

Publisher's Description
Drawing on the literatures of adult education and of teaching skills, Engaging Diverse Learners: Teaching Strategies for Academic Librarians presents a wide range of methods to improve how you teach. Coauthors Mark Aaron Polger and Scott Sheidlower argue that in order to grab–and hold onto—students' attention, instructors must get their interest right from the beginning. The techniques they suggest explain how to take into consideration the range of different learning styles students may have, how to accommodate students with different English language skills or abilities, and how to successfully work with individuals from different socioeconomic backgrounds or from different technologically adapted generations. The sections for each group address the key questions of identification (who are they?); how members of that group tend to react to libraries, librarians, and education; and how educational theories of that time affected students' learning in that generation.

Features

• Describes engagement techniques that work even for shy librarians or instructors who aren't naturally comfortable with performance aspects of teaching
• Covers working with adult learners at different age groups and students with different English language abilities, from different socioeconomic backgrounds, or with various levels of technological competence, not just the "traditional" undergraduate
• Presents methods to overcome and win over those learners who initially react with "Why do I need another library lesson?"

More Information

See the publisher's website for author information and a look inside.

Academic Library Management: Case Studies

Academic Library Management: Case Studies, edited by Tammy Nickelson Dearie, Michael Meth, and Elaine L. Westbrooks. Neal-Schuman, 2018. 978-0-8389-1559-2.

Publisher's Description
What does successful academic library management look like in the real world?  A team of editors, all administrators at large research libraries, here present a selection of case studies which dive deeply into the subject to answer that question. Featuring contributions from a range of practicing academic library managers, this book:

• spotlights case studies equally useful for LIS students and current managers;
• touches upon such key issues as human resource planning, public relations, financial management, organizational culture, and ethics and confidentiality;
• examines how to manage radical change, using project management methodology to reorganize technical services, creating a new liaison service model, advancing a collaborative future, and setting up on-the-spot mentoring;
• discusses digital planning for archives and special collections;
• rejects “one size fits all” solutions to common challenges in academic libraries in favor of creative problem solving; and
• provides guidance on how to use case studies as effective models for positive change at one’s own institution.

LIS instructors, students, and academic library practitioners will all find enrichment from this selection of case studies.

More Information
See the publisher's website for table of contents and editor information.

63 Ready-to-Use Maker Projects

Kroski, E. (Ed.). (2018). 63 Ready-to-Use Maker Projects. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions. ISBN: 9780838915912.

Publisher's Description

This new compilation from editor and maker Kroski spotlights a multitude of creative projects that you can tailor for your own library. Librarians and makers from across the country present projects as fun as an upcycled fashion show, as practical as Bluetooth speakers, and as mischievous as a catapult. Included are projects for artists, sewers, videographers, coders, and engineers. The handy reference format will help you quickly identify the estimated costs, materials, and equipment; and because several projects don’t even require a dedicated makerspace, every library can join in. Inside you’ll find how-to guidance for projects like:

• a foam rocket launcher;
• stop-motion animation with 3D print characters;
• found-object robots;
• glowing ghost marionettes;
• Arduino eTextiles;
• magnetic slime;
• yarn painting;
• fidget flannels;
• an LED brooch;
• cardboard sculpture

With takeaways like origami tea lights or a t-shirt tote bag, your patrons will be sure to remember how much fun your library can be.

Table of Contents.

Managerial Leadership for Librarians: Thriving in the Public and Nonprofit World

Evans, G. Edward and Holland Christie. Managerial Leadership for Librarians: Thriving in the Public and Nonprofit World. Libraries Unlimited, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-4408-4170-5

Description
This guide shows librarians how to make the most of their inherent skills and develop new leadership strengths in order to become better library managers, advance their careers, and sustain their libraries—in spite of changing environments and shrinking budgets.

Table of Contents 

1. Why nonprofit and public sectors matter for library information service managers
2. Leading
3. Communication and persuasion
4. Authority, influence, and power
5. Boards
6. Vision, mission, and planning
7. Changing environment? Why it matters
8. Assessment, coordination, and quality
9. Fiscal
10. Fundraising
11. Managing projects
12. Advocacy, lobbying, marketing, and public relations
13. Political skills
14. Legal aspects 
15. Ethics in the workplace
16. Understanding oneself and others
17. Training and developing staff
18. Collaboration 
19. Negotiation 
20. Long-term career success

School Librarian as Curriculum Leader

Howard, Jody K. The School Librarian as Curriculum Leader. Libraries Unlimited, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-59884-990-5

Product Description
As one of the only books to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the multifaceted role of school librarians in student success, this instructional guide offers everything you'll need to develop, align, and evaluate curriculum with your library collection in mind.

This reference provides school library professors with strategies and tips for creating future school leaders out of current LIS students. Drawing upon her extensive experience as a school librarian, author Jody K. Howard heralds the library professional's role as information specialist, instructional partner, and curriculum advocate. Her insider's perspective is rich with tested strategies to help students seamlessly integrate the responsibilities of their multiple roles into daily activities.

The work explains the process of curriculum mapping and collection development with an eye on teaching these tools to those new to the profession. The content provides methods for developing guided inquiry lessons in collaboration with teachers, illustrates ways to develop leadership skills while aligning the collection with the curriculum, and offers strategies for working alongside curriculum committees and classroom teachers to build a cohesive educational program. The final chapter explores the roles and responsibilities of school librarians at the district, state, and national level.

Features

• Includes charts, tables, models, and discussion questions to aid school library professors
• Provides strategies for developing, aligning, and evaluating curriculum
• Features specific process examples for effective collection development
• Explains both horizontal and vertical curriculum mapping

Table of contents

Learning Transformed

Sheninger, Eric C., and Thomas C. Murray. Learning Transformed: 8 Keys to Designing Tomorrow's Schools, Today. ASCD, 2017.
ISBN: 978-1-4166-2389-2

This book is not about libraries, although one example is about libraries. One of the authors is involved in the Future Ready Schools initiative.

Product Description
With all that we know about how students learn, the nature of the world they will face after graduation, and the education inequities that have existed for centuries, maintaining a traditional, one-size-fits-all approach to teaching and learning is tantamount to instructional malpractice.

International security, the success of global economies, and sustainability as a global society all depend on the success of our education system in the years to come. It's our obligation to prepare our students for their future—not our past.

Authors Eric C. Sheninger and Thomas C. Murray outline eight keys—each a piece of a puzzle for transforming the K–12 education system of teaching and learning—to intentionally design tomorrow's schools so that today's learners are prepared for success . . . and stand ready to create new industries, find new cures, and solve world problems.

The traditional model of schooling ultimately prepares students for the industrial model of the past. If we want our students to become successful citizens in a global society, we must dramatically shift to a more personal approach. Failure is not an option. We can no longer wait. Let Learning Transformed show you how you can be a part of the solution.

The authors encourage you to use the hashtag #LT8Keys to continue the discussion online.

Table of contents

Technology and the School Library

Jurkowski, Odin L. Technology and the School Library: A Comprehensive Guide for Media Specialists and Other Educators. 3rd ed., Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-4422-7644-4 

Product Description

Technology and the School Library is a comprehensive overview of the types of technologies used in school libraries, from traditional low-tech options to the latest developments, describing how school librarians interact with these technologies.

This thoroughly revised and updated third edition addresses the continuously changing nature of technology, including new information on 1:1 initiatives, Chromebooks, mobile devices, and current trends in technology integration throughout schools.

Major topics covered in this volume include information resources in the school library, varieties of educational software, resources available via the web, and the importance of creating a web presence. This book also addresses tools that can be used in classrooms and technology administration—everything from automation and filters to security on student computers and security systems in general.

Table of contents

Marketing Your Library’s Electronic Resources, Second Edition: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians

Kennedy, Marie R. and Cheryl LaGuardia. Marketing Your Library’s Electronic Resources: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians. Second Edition. Neal-Schuman, 2018. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1565-3

Description
A practical guide for marketing library resources, this new edition has been updated with additional marketing plan examples for public, community college, technical college, and university academic libraries.

Table of Contents 

Part I    How to Design Your Marketing Plan

Chapter 1    Determine the Purpose of Your Marketing Plan

What You Can Discover about Your E-resources Right Now

• Usage Statistics
• Cost
• Cost-Per-Use
• Advanced Data Considerations

Speak with One Message
Everybody Does the Marketing
When Does the Marketing Happen?
Be Mindful of Competing Interests
The Evolving Formats and Methods of E-content Delivery
Marketing Makes Your Patrons Smarter
Gather the Troops
References

Chapter 2    Fashion Your Marketing Plan

Components of a Marketing Plan

• Project Description
• Current Market
• SWOT Analysis
• Target Market
• Goals
• Strategy
• Action Plan
• Measurement
• Assessment

Recommended Resources for Further Reading
References

Chapter 3    Implement Your Marketing Plan

Components of a Marketing Plan, with Examples

• Project Description
• Current Market
• SWOT Analysis
• Target Market   
• Goals
• Strategy
• Action Plan
• Measurement
• Assessment

Marketing Your Electronic Resources Can Change Your Library
Recommended Resources for Further Reading
References

Chapter 4    Construct Your Written Marketing Plan Report

Write for Your Audience
Address the Components in Your Report

• Executive Summary
• Current Market and Target Market
• Goals, Strategies, and Proposed Measurements
• Timeline, Staff, and Budget

This Marketing Grant Request Form Caught Our Eyes!
Wrap It Up

Chapter 5    Assess Your Marketing Plan

First, Take a Good, Long, Hard Look at Your Library Website

• About Social Media for Marketing
• Changing Your Web Presence

Then, Take a Good, Long, Hard Look at Your Electronic Resources
Now, Ask Yourself Assessment Questions

• A Rubric May Help
• Some Practical Considerations for the Assessment of Your Marketing Plan

Market Your Electronic Resources Ethically
Recommended Resources for Further Reading and Support
References

Chapter 6    Revise and Update Your Marketing Plan (“Lather, Rinse, and Repeat”)

Give Yourself Time to Think

• Project Description
• Current Market
• SWOT Analysis
• Target Market
• Goals
• Strategy
• Action Plan
• Measurement
• Assessment

Revise Your Plan
Communicate Your Successes or Failures in Marketing
References

Part II    Sample Marketing Plan Reports

Example 1    Marketing Plan from an All-Electronic Library: Statewide Marketing and Communications Plan, NOVELNY: New York Online Virtual Electronic Library

Goals and Objectives
Campaign Planning
Research Overview
Situation Analysis
Barriers to Access and Use
OCLC Study Provides Clear Direction
Ten Issues: Ten Strategies
Mass Customization and Segmenting the Market
Target Audience: General Consumer Population
Target Audience: Executive Office, State Legislature Elected Officials and Aides, and Board of Regents
Target Audience: Public Librarians
Target Audience: Business and Economic Development Sector
Target Audience: Academic Librarians, College Administrators, and College and University Librarians and Teaching Faculty
Target Audience: Teachers, Administrators, Students, and Parents in Elementary, Middle, and High Schools; Homeschoolers and Parent-Teacher Associations
Target Audience: Parents of One Million Plus Children in Statewide Summer Reading Program

Example 2    Marketing Plan from a Public Library, Sample 1: Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District, “Building a Buzz”

Introduction
Goals
Objectives
Key Audiences
Message
Strategies
Tools
Budget
Impact
Lessons Learned

Example 3    Marketing Plan from a Public Library, Sample 2: Worthington Libraries 2012 Communications and Development Plan

Community Relations Department Staff
Plan Focus Areas
Fundraising and Development
Programming
Public Relations and Marketing
Partnerships and Outreach

Example 4    Marketing Plan from a Community College Library: Maricopa Community College District Electronic Resources Committee Marketing Plan, 2013–2016

Introduction
Internal Audiences
Desired Behaviors and Attitudes
Communication Goals
Measures
Communication Channels
MCCCD District System-Level Strategies/Initiatives
The MCCCD 2013–2016 Strategic Planning Goals
ERC Strategic Plan Objective
Implementation Strategies

Example 5    Marketing Plan from a University Library, Sample 1: Milner Library, Illinois State University 2012–2014 Marketing Plan

Introduction
Objectives
Marketing Strategies
Forms of Publicity
Assessment/Evaluation
Target Audiences
Media Contacts
Public Relations and Marketing Unit Team Members

• Appendix 1: Milner Library Logo
• Appendix 2: Activity Planning Feedback
• Appendix 3: Speaker Assessment Form
• Appendix 4: Target Audience/Specific Media
• Appendix 5: Media Contacts
• Appendix 6: Marketing Timeline for Standing Annual Activities
• Appendix 7: Public Relations/Marketing Request
• Appendix 8: Flier Posting Information; Mailbox Stuffing Information
• Appendix 9: Table Tent Guidelines for Campus Dining Halls

Example 6    Marketing Plan from a Regional Technical College in Ireland: Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology Library Marketing Plan

Summary
Strategic Overview
Terms of Reference and Scope
GMIT Library SWOT Analysis
GMIT Library’s Main Competitors
Target Markets: User Groups
Analysis of Current Marketing Strategies
Target Market: Undergraduates

Example 7    Marketing Plan from a University Library, Sample 2: Marketing Plan for Kanopy, William H. Hannon Library, Spring–Fall 2016

Executive Summary
Current Market
Target Market
Goals
Strategies
Proposed Measurements
Timeline
Staff
Budget
Summary

• Appendix A: Kanopy Flyer for Circulation Desk
• Appendix B: Sample E-mail to Faculty Library Representatives
• Appendix C: Digital Signage
• Appendix D: Library Blog Post Draft
• Appendix E: Kanopy Social Media Post

Field Report 2016: Banned & Challenged Books

Doyle, Robert P. Field Report 2016: Banned & Challenged Books. Supplement. American Library Association, 2017.   

Publisher's Description
Stay updated on book bans and challenges with this fascinating field report. In 2016, the American Library Association recorded more than 300 book challenges, or attempts to remove books. This nine-page report, a supplement to the resource guide Banned Books: Defending Our Freedom to Read, explores 45 of those titles, and it’s packed with highlights from Banned Books Week 2016, tips on how to defend the right to read and “fast facts” about your favorite banned books.

For more information about banned and challenged books, visit ala.org/bbooks.


Single copy
8 1/2" x 11", 12 pages

Social Media and Your Brain

Prado, C. G., editor. Social Media and Your Brain: Web-Based Communication Is Changing How We Think and Express Ourselves. ABC-CLIO, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-44085453-8

Publisher's Description

While society has widely condemned the effects on preteens and teens’ natural social maturation of digitally enabled communication, such as texting and messaging, and of social media apps, such as Facebook, Instagram, and SnapChat, these forms of communication are adversely affecting everyone, including adults. This book examines how social media and modern communication methods are isolating users socially, jeopardizing their intellectual habits, and, as a result, decreasing their chances of achieving social and professional success.

The ubiquitous use of the Internet and social media is changing our society—in some ways, for the worse. Use of social media, the Internet, and other purely digital and less-personal communication methods are distorting the intellectual and social maturation of teens and preteens in particular—those among us who were born into and raised with Internet technology. People's ability to read facial expressions, interpret subtle differences in spoken intonation, and perceive body language is in significant decline due to the use of social media and the Internet largely replacing direct, face-to-face contact with other human beings.

This book documents how changes in our daily behavior caused by the proliferation of social media are reshaping individuals' personalities and causing an evolution of the character of our society as a whole. Readers will understand how these important changes came about and how more connectivity all too often leads to more ignorance and less comprehension, and will consider solutions that could counter the negative effects of being "too connected, too often."

Features

• Focuses on the effects of the Internet and social media overall on the specific groups most affected: ‘tweens, teens, and college students, individuals who take to the use of such modern communication methods naturally but who are also ill-equipped to use self-control to resist the instant gratification, constant distraction, and addictive behaviors that come with social media
• Alerts readers to consequences of social media and Internet use of which they are likely unaware
• Identifies practical solutions that can serve to counter the wide-reaching negative effects of excessive use of and reliance on social media

Distracted

Kurtzberg, Terri R., and Jennifer L. Gibbs. Distracted: Staying Connected without Losing Focus. ABC-CLIO, 2017.
ISBN: 978-1-4408-4295-5

Publisher's Description

What are the benefits and negative consequences of our increased connectivity at school, at work, and at home? Is being constantly distracted now a worldwide problem? This book examines how new technologies and social pressures have changed the way we use our attention, and the extent to which they drive us to distraction, by interpreting hundreds of scientific studies from the literatures in cognitive and social psychology, sociology, communication, management, and decision making.

While distraction is ever-present in daily life, staying connected in an efficient way is the goal for one and all. To accomplish that, some amount of fine-tuning of typical interactions with technology is in order. Nearly everyone recognizes the addictive nature of constant connectivity—and its destructive effect on productivity and quality of work. But the availability of technology also promotes better engagement, control, and flexibility in both professional and personal settings. An in-depth analysis of these tradeoffs can lead to smarter choices about when and how to be connected throughout the day and across settings. The ultimate objective is to have technology enhance our lives without serving as a source of constant distraction.

Distracted: Staying Connected without Losing Focus explains the nuances of what this addiction stems from—considering both societal and technological factors—and identifies both the invaluable opportunities and the counterproductive consequences of living in our technology-enabled, instant-access-to-everything world. The chapters examine a wide swath of scientific research to expose how technology use affects our attention and the extent to which it causes distraction. Authors Terri Kurtzberg and Jennifer Gibbs apply the science of human attention to reveal how specific areas of our lives are significantly changed with the advent of "continuous connectedness," including in the workplace, in personal relationships, in childhood development, and with regard to education and learning. Readers will clearly understand why multitasking fails us, what the consequences are—to ourselves and those around us—of being focused on a screen for much of the day, and how each of us can adjust our use of technology in order to improve our lives.

Features

• Offers a comprehensive and insightful understanding of how technology use in daily life affects our attention, our work performance, and our relationships
• Describes how to get and keep the attention of others in a distracted, mobile-device enabled world
• Explains benefits of multitasking as well as how it limits our abilities to process information and make good decisions
• Addresses the connections between constantly being distracted and trying to multitask to the near crisis-level trend of unused vacation time in America and explains why this phenomenon hurts everyone