“College Book Clubs: Collaborating for Success” by Lisa A. Forrest

Book Club programming not only adds to the value of the college library, but serves as an excellent marketing and outreach tool for librarians as well. This article describes collaboration between the Women’s Studies Program and E. H. Butler Library at Buffalo State College to establish a Women & Gender Book Club and outlines a model which can be extended to a variety of contexts.

“Creative Fundraising Through Campus Collaborations” by Joe C. Clark

Many libraries have traditionally failed to consider unorthodox sources of funding, especially for collection building. Because of resource limitations, librarians are now beginning to work on acquisition projects with non-library entities. This paper examines a number of innovative collaborations on a university campus that yielded substantial collection development monies for a Library Media Department at the University of Maryland.

Anyone who spends time in an active learning space can attest to the “learning energy” that is generated– and TechPad definitely had that appeal. I wanted to linger as long as possible.

Some takeaways:

• Openness (can see, be seen, and talk with others)
• Defined spaces (while open, have clearly delineated work/ownership areas)
• Flexible (moveable) environment– could rearrange on the fly
• Collaboration (can work together at desks/tables or jump into a conference room, or head down to the bar)

and more in the post.

Purpose – Research productivity is often counted as a major factor in evaluations and promotion. Librarians have had to find a way to pursue research along with performing job duties and professional service. Collaborative research can provide an effective solution for busy librarians who need to show a record of research. Additionally, it can be a cost-effective means for library administrators to promote library faculty output in the face of reduced travel and research budgets. This paper seeks to address these issues.

With funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, LYRASIS Technology Services is leveraging the expertise of its open source development team and consulting staff to help librarians and technologists navigate through the planning, decision-making and implementation processes associated with open source. “Open source software enables libraries to improve their services in cost-effective ways. Through the FOSS4LIB website, library professionals will be able to more effectively assess and meet the needs of their staff and users through open source,” said Kate Nevins, Executive Director of LYRASIS.

FOSS4LIB offers a set of Decision Support Tools for the library community to assess open source readiness and related decisions. The tools include:

• a self-paced survey to determine the best open source hosting option;
• a list of questions that helps libraries understand open source software requirements and how to integrate with their larger institutional technology environments;
• a list of factors that impact the true cost of implementing open source; and
• a document to guide the final software package selection.

The site also details current information about open source software service providers, events and usage. Through its open source software registry, FOSS4LIB enables providers to highlight their software packages and benefits, libraries to submit firsthand experience with open source software, and users to learn about open source software updates and releases.

FOSS4LIB is accessible at http://foss4lib.org/. Software package creators, service providers and library professionals are encouraged to add their contact information to the registry. LYRASIS is providing additional information about this free online resource via free webinars and online classes, and will present overviews at the ALA Midwinter Conference.

• January 21st from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM (CST), City Center Marriott Somerset Room
• January 22nd from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM (CST), City Center Marriott Bordeaux Room

Peter Murray
Assistant Director, Technology Services Development
LYRASIS
Peter.Murray@lyrasis.org

Science faculty and librarians can collaborate on many aspects of undergraduate education – two ideas are the focus of this discussion. First: How can we best help undergrads understand and explore the scholarly information landscape? In addition to formal sources like journal articles, informal sources (e.g., blogs) are of increasing importance/relevance, which raises a question: How do we get students to think about what formal and informal really mean? How do we – faculty, librarians and others – work together to teach students to navigate the disciplinary landscape and become productive and critical consumers of – and contributors to – the disciplinary conversation? Second: How do we introduce students to the great big wide world of open science? How do the various players in higher education communicate to the next generation the incredible depth and complexity of what going on out there? How do we raise (inspire? support?) the next generation of Cameron Neylons, Steve Koches and Jean-Claude Bradleys (not to mention the next generation of Dorothea Salos and Christina Pikases)?

We had a great discussion. The Abstract for the session and other sessions can be found here.

Journal of Library Innovation

Maine InfoNet, the state-wide Library network is a non library partner providing technical infrastructure and support. The MSCS team is working to develop a strategy for the long-term management and preservation of legacy print collections in the state of Maine. The website (http://www.maineinfonet.net/mscs/) includes a listing of project partners, summaries of all project-related meetings, presentations given by project participants, and more.

The Maine Shared Collections Strategy is funded in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. If you have any questions about the project, please contact Valerie Glenn, Program Manager, (valerie.glenn@maine.edu or mainesharedcollections@gmail.com).”

James M Jackson Sanborn
Executive Director, Maine InfoNet
University of Maine

On tap, we have two terrific speakers sharing knowledge and expertise in two timely areas of resource sharing operations  We’ll then engage in informal discussions concerning topics of interest to you.  First, Bethany Sewall from the University of Denver will present “100% Document Delivery:  What to do when your collections are ALL off-site .”  Bethany will discuss how the University of Denver’s Penrose library has continued and plan to continue to provide ILL and Document Delivery services while ALL of our materials are stored 10 miles away in the UD’s Hampden Center Annex.

Then, Tina Baich from the Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis will present “Opening Interlibrary Loan to Open Access: Locating and Managing Borrowing Requests for Open Access Materials,” a reprise of her excellent ILSD 2011 Chicago presentation.  Even though open access materials are freely available on the internet, library users still request them through interlibrary loan. In 2009, IUPUI University Library began tracking borrowing requests for open access materials. As the number of requests filled with open access documents continues to grow, IUPUI University Library is able to provide a service to users and cost savings for the library by utilizing this material. In this presentation, Tina will discuss the data regarding IUPUI University Library open access borrowing requests and demonstrate some of the most commonly used online resources for locating open access materials.

Finally, in keeping with past discussion group formats, we’ll also engage in informal question and answer session on topics of your choosing.  Past topics include Copyright, Managing Textbook Requests, International ILL,  and ILL/Acquisitions & Staffing Philosophies.

If you’d like a particular topic discussed, including reprises of topics past, please let me know via phone or email.

Thanks and hope yours is a great 2012.
David Atkins
STARS ILL Discussion Group Chair & Section Chair-Elect”

David P. Atkins
Head, Resource Sharing & Document Delivery
John C. Hodges Library

Saturday January 21 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Digitization Interest Group  Join us for an opportunity to discuss issues of common concern for anyone involved in digitization projects. This discussion group is open to everyone from experienced project managers to those new to digitization initiatives. Each meeting includes guest speakers and opportunities for project updates from discussion group attendees. Final program details for ALA Midwinter 2012 TBA. Visit Connect Community for details at: http://connect.ala.org/node/151439 DCC – D161

Sunday January 22 8:00 am – 10:00 am  Physical Delviery Interest Group  Discussion group on issues related to the physical delivery of library materials. DCC – D167

Sunday January 22 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Consortia Management Interest Group Discussions focus on management issues pertaining to library systems and consortia.  Previous topics included advocacy, funding, member services, and innovative projects. DCC – D175

Coliibri is build from 100% community-sourced content, allowing authors to rally around creating unique works in a fun, collaborative atmosphere. Coliibri removes many of the traditional boundaries that limit innovation. You can collaborate on any idea with virtually anyone in the world.

Video for more info: https://www.coliibri.com/projects/coliibri-tutorial-video-v2