Current Issue: March 2021
Feature
Michael Rodriguez
Absolutely FABulous
Collecting and celebrating faculty-authored books
In 2019, the University of Connecticut (UConn) Library began systematically collecting faculty-authored books (FABs). We envisioned the collection as a service—a program to capture and celebrate faculty work and ensure that their ...
Feature
Ching and New
Touching history
Activating historical materials and enhancing inclusivity in the library
In recent decades there have been great efforts by librarians to integrate digital infrastructure and resources within academic libraries. Over the past two decades, important steps have been taken in Hong Kong towards historical and cultural preservation. ...
Feature
Ornat et al.
Ain’t no party like a LibGuides Party
’cause a LibGuides Party is mandatory
What is currently on your librarian backburner? We’d be willing to make a few bets on the content of those pots growing cold. Maybe we would find a weeding project on pause, a draft of an article gathering dust, or that meeting agenda ...
Feature
Radford, Costello, and Montague
Surging virtual reference services
COVID-19 a game changer
In March 2020, academic libraries across the United States closed and sent everyone home, some destined to not reopen for months. University offices closed. Classes were moved online. Suddenly, librarians and staff pivoted to working from home and to all remote services, without time for planning logistics or training. To study the impact of this extraordinary and sweeping transition on virtual reference services (VRS), we conducted a major study of academic library responses to the pandemic that focused on librarian perceptions of how services and relationships with users morphed during this COVID-19 year. ...
The Way I See It
Karen O’Grady
Virtually hired
Why I can’t wait to meet my colleagues after working with them for six months
I interviewed for my dream academic librarian position in July 2020. I was thrilled beyond words to be hired as the nursing librarian for the University of San Diego in August 2020. Yes, August 2020. Yes, during the COVID-19 pandemic. I interviewed, was hired, and began working entirely on Zoom. It has been, and continues to be, a unique and strange experience.
I have joined my new colleagues for committee meetings and faculty meetings. I have collaborated with them on our library’s newsletter and on our annual report. I have consulted with some of them on my LibGuides, my instructional videos, and my faculty’s database usage ...
Feature
Millie Jackson
Join me online
Supporting faculty and staff wellness in the Age of Zoom
At the beginning of March 2020, when everything in our world suddenly ground to a halt, I realized that we were not going to have an ordinary end to the semester. I did not imagine that we would still be in flux nearly a year later. Our faculty and staff were already heading for Spring Break when decisions were made to go online and to work from home. Over Spring Break, the administrative team prioritized creating the public facing messages and planned how we would continue to provide services to faculty and students in this unusual situation. These were the questions that libraries across the country were grappling with at the same time, and we were quickly learning from one another. ...