Five years ago the Association of College and Research Libraries published "The Value of Academic Libraries" report, spurring academic libraries to action concerning assessment. Communicating library value is especially important when reaching distance learning populations outside the walls of the library. By employing marketing and…

Increasingly, new librarians graduate to face a world of changing technology and new ways of interacting with information. The anxiety of this shifting environment is compounded for tenure-track librarians who must also meet scholarship and instruction requirements that may be unfamiliar to them. One way that librarians can navigate the transition…

An ongoing project at Mercer University's Regional Academic Center Libraries illustrates how utilizing established assessment guidelines, stakeholder input, and a clear understanding of audience and curriculum needs may all be used to optimize a collection. Academic branch libraries often have clear collection development limitations in terms of…

An increasing number of library patrons are hard of hearing. The U.S. Bureau of Census projected that 35 million North Americans would suffer from hearing loss by the year 2005 based on the age-population projections. These individuals would have at one time been labeled as deaf due to the lack of assistive hearing technology such as hearing aids…

Many patrons of libraries have one or more print disabilities that partially or totally impair their ability to use standard print. However, many devices and services are available to aid patrons who can not use print in the conventional manner. This paper provides an overview of typical assistive technology devices and services available to…

Discusses issues related to formula funding and budgeting in higher education, in general, and in academic libraries, specifically. The strengths and weaknesses of state funding formulas and academic library budgeting formulas are evaluated, based on a survey of libraries in eight states. The role of coordinating agencies and structures is also…

Academic librarians report that use by increasingly large numbers of high school students is creating pressures in budgets, staff, and materials. Indications are that these demands will increase: students are increasingly sophisticated in their information needs; they are mobile; and school library media centers' collections have been weakened by…

Describes study that examined both currently operational and planned programs where academic libraries are involved in cooperative programs either financed or encouraged by state coordinating agencies of higher education. Limitations of the study are discussed, and a questionnaire and interview questions are appended. (eight references)…

This study evolved from a survey of all academic libraries in Georgia, designed to identify current online activities in the state's academic libraries, and to predict future directions and trends. The information was gathered to provide a pool of data for comparison, planning, management, and administration of online services, and to serve as a…