Whether you have an interest in starting an ebook collection for your school library program or are working on enhancing an ebook collection you've already established, this handbook is for you. The world of ebooks is both vast and intricate. Exploring the many articles concerning ebook publication, vendors, devices, and copyright laws can be…

Academic, government, and corporate librarians organize and leverage internal resources and content through institutional repositories and library catalogs. Getting more value and usage from the content they license is a key goal. However, the ever-growing amount of content and shifting user demands for new materials or features has made the…

Librarians are familiar with the single-line form, the consolidated index, which represents a very large portion of a library's print and online collection. Their end users are familiar with the idea of a single search across a comprehensive index that produces a large, relevancy-ranked results list. Even though most patrons would not recognize…

Libraries, as authoritative custodians and providers of information, are facing a number of challenges as they are trying to adjust to the new information environment. Some challenges arise from major paradigm shifts in recent decades relating to the understanding of the nature of information processes and conceptions of authority. Engagement…

Purpose; The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of information communication technology (ICT) in 31 college libraries in Karnataka, India by investigating the ICT infrastructure, current status of library automation, barriers to implementation of library automation and also librarians' attitudes towards the use of ICT.…

Self-service is a hit. From gas stations to banks to grocery stores--it has become table stakes for retailers who aim to satisfy an increasingly independent consumer. Libraries are no exception, and, in fact, with their card catalog past, they may well have been in the vanguard in enabling customers to find what they want on their own. Card…

While podcasting initiatives may have come and gone in many libraries, it remains a powerful and accessible way to leverage emerging technology to make personal as well as practical connections with users. In this article, the author briefly discusses best practices in podcasting informed by her experience in public radio, which gives her a unique…

Recent surveys indicate that many colleges and universities have reached a pivotal moment in assessing the function and future development of their institutional repositories. Other surveys convey that archivists are participating in the development and implementation of institutional repositories at a variety of levels and have contributed to the…

Planning is necessary in selecting the appropriate digital asset management system for your institution. Key issues one should consider in planning: the objects to be stored, where they come from, and how they will be accessed; the end users; and the needed staffing levels for system maintenance. During the development of the system requirements,…

Information literacy is a central tenet of academic librarianship. However, technological advancements coupled with drastic changes in users' information needs and expectations are having a great impact on this service, leading practitioners to wonder how programs may evolve. Based on a Delphi study, this article surveyed 13 information literacy…

Librarians face a dilemma when it comes to copyright. On the one hand, if content providers disappeared, libraries and their patrons would suffer. By doing their part to eliminate copyright violations, they help keep publishers in business. On the other hand, they understand that "information wants to be free." They resent license agreements that…

In this article, the author argues the need for transparency with regard to the automation systems used in libraries. As librarians make decisions regarding automation software and services, they should have convenient access to information about the organizations it will potentially acquire technology from and about the collective experiences of…

What would technological librarians like to see in the next generation of Integrated Library Systems (ILS)? This question was asked of several well- known library technology experts, and their responses are presented in this article. Survey respondents expressed a clear desire for the following features and functionality: (1) Direct, read-only…

Most school librarians do not think of copyright compliance and facilities planning in the same breath. Yet the design of space--physical and virtual--can discourage or promote compliance, or even help police it. Placement of and access to equipment, traffic patterns, signage, and student workspace all may influence copyright-compliance behavior…

Discussion of the library, its information providing function, and the systems librarian examines: (1) the impact of information technology on libraries; (2) library organization charts; and (3) position advertisements--who are systems librarians, what do they do, and what should they do? (seven references) (MES)