Student workers have always been a traditional and valuable component to the smooth running of many academic health sciences libraries. However, in recent years many libraries have redefined student workers' roles to extend beyond their traditional scope due to a range of factors, such as loss of staff and budget cutbacks. The Bio-Medical Library…

Library student assistants account for approximately one-fourth of the staffing in academic libraries in the United States. Each student assistant plays an important role in the daily operations of today's college libraries by providing desk coverage, technical support, and customer service. This article discusses the advantages/disadvantages of…

This book is for community leaders, librarians, library committees, volunteers, aid workers and others who are interested in the practical aspect of starting and maintaining a successful library. Throughout the developing world, countless dedicated people respond to the pressing need for information in their communities by helping to start a…

Describes the formal educational requirements and qualifications for employment on the cataloging staff of the Library of Congress for both professional and paraprofessional employees and the on-the-job training provided for both levels of staff. (Author/CLB)

After undertaking the time and energy consuming task of reference assessment, the library might discover that it needs to tweak delivery of service, weed and update the collection, upgrade workstations, or advance marketing strategies to get patrons to use reference materials and services. Like any other product or service, reference departments…

Describes the decentralization of original cataloging responsibilities that resulted from the development of an online catalog in an academic library, and a training program for the public service librarians responsible for cataloging. The importance of having cataloging conform with national standards is emphasized. (CLB)

This paper presents a description of the Old Dominion University's (Virginia) Reference Librarian Orientation Program designed to ease the transition of reference librarians new to the school and its reference department. The program introduces the reference librarian to the library, the reference department, and the university itself and consists…

Personal narrative of the experiences of two graduates of the same library school who each accepted a position as a serials cataloger in the same academic library, seven years apart. The similarities and differences in their experiences are discussed. (CLB)

To help foreign students adjust to academic environment, the University of California-Davis Library developed a personalized instructional program (small groups, "on call" service) with a dual emphasis: teaching international students how to find and use library information; educating library staff to recognize/understand the special…

The third in a four-lesson continuing education course, this article discusses the legal responsibilities of libraries involving the hiring, training, evaluation, and dismissal of employees. The effects of collective bargaining are discussed, and strategies for effective employer employee relationships are suggested. (9 references) (CLB)