Chapter 12: General Works Consulted and Cited

Sarah Houghton-Jan, the author of the second issue of Library Technology Reports in 2007, tackles technology competencies for librarians in the Information Age. “A few years ago,” she notes, “I found myself wanting a work like this to exist. Because it did not, I figured I might as well consolidate all the information about library technology competencies in one place so that others could benefit from my hunting and gathering.” In her report, Houghton-Jan provides useful technology-training practices, including: “This work,” summarizes Houghton-Jan, “is an attempt to fill the gap in knowledge about documenting technology competencies with overall guiding principles, examples of successful projects, and project-management guidelines for those embarking upon such a project in their libraries.” Sarah Houghton-Jan received her MLIS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MA in Irish Literature from Washington State University. A member of Beta Phi Mu, she has worked in libraries for a decade as a page, reference assistant, reference librarian, e-services librarian, technology trainer, and technology manager. Sarah is currently the Information and Web Services Manager for the San Mateo County Library in Northern California. She also works as a consultant technology instructor for the Infopeople Project, serves on LITA's Top Technology Trends Committee, is a member of the California Library Association's Assembly, and the past President of CLA's Information Technology Section. In her time as the IT Section President, she led the task force that developed the Association's Technology Core Competencies for Library Workers, building on her previous experience creating competencies for individual libraries. Sarah is also the author of the blog LibrarianInBlack.net

Chapter 4: Broadening the Audience for Gaming in Libraries

“And what an amazing year it was,” recalls Jenny Levine in the new issue of Library Technology Reports , “ “In an uncharacteristically (for our profession) viral and rapid way, videogame services in libraries broke through the niche, cult-like status that had relegated them to something only geeky nerds did at home in the basement,” she adds. In “Gaming and Libraries Update: Broadening the Intersections” Levine adds to the growing body of content documenting gaming and libraries. In her previous “Gaming and Libraries: Intersection of Services,” ( LTR 42:5) Levine identified the various gaming and videogame-related activities occurring in libraries — public, school, and college — as well as explained gaming activities outside the library domain. In this issue, Levine focuses on unique videogame services libraries are implementing. “We will hear from nine innovators in the field, each of whom spent 2007 taking gaming in libraries in new directions, providing inspiration and leadership.” Levine approaches the topic of gaming and libraries with her quiet and practical zeal and openness and wisely features the work of these innovators, who provide case history examples of these new directions at the intersection of library services and “videogames.” [Says Levine of the spelling “videogame”: “In 2007, P3: Power Play Publishing released The Videogame Style Guide and Reference Manual and noted the official spelling of video games as one word (videogames), not two. I have had trouble adapting to this convention myself, but this LTR represents my first full effort to finally integrate this new spelling into my own writing.”] Contributors to “Gaming and Libraries Update: Broadening the Intersections” include: Jenny Levine is the Internet Development Specialist and Strategy Guide for the American Library Association's Information Technology and Publishing departments. She earned her MLIS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1992 and has been an eminent technology training evangelist for librarians during her career. In 2003, she was named one of Library Journal ‘s Movers & Shakers, the publication's homage to “the people shaping the future of libraries,” published every March. “Levine has one simple goal,” notes the March 15, 2003, Library Journal profile, “to help us librarians become as technologically adept as our users are so that we can deliver services to them when and where they wish to use them and in their preferred medium and platform.” Levine is a keen advocate for gaming services and libraries, as she is a gamer and has witnessed, through personal observation and study, how gaming services can help members of several generations (particularly younger users) feel connected to the library. “Gaming,” she concludes, “provides a wealth of service intersections for libraries today and for the libraries of the future. And that future is all about opportunities and weaving together threads, both old and new.” Since writing a 2006 LTR on this topic, she has organized the 2007 ALA TechSource Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium, helped coordinate ALA's first National Gaming in Libraries Day, and is already working on the next gaming and libraries symposium. Levine also writes about gaming and libraries on a regular basis on her popular blog, The Shifted Librarian, which can be found at theshiftedlibrarian.com. She began the first librarian blog in 1995, The Librarians’ Site du Jour, which can still be accessed a

Introduction

Chapman focuses on managerial decisions associated with developing digitization programs-particularly those configured to create sustainable digital collections from printed and photographic source materials

Surveying the Stacks: Collecting Data and Analyzing Results with SPSS

In fall 2002, the University of Tennessee Preservation Office conducted a condition survey of circulating materials in the school’s John C. Hodges main library. The objective of the collection condition survey was to evaluate the physical condition of the collection and the effect of human and environmental factors in order to develop a long-range preservation plan. The project used a random sampling method, and a database and online survey form created with SPSS software. The results of the survey contribute an understanding of the national preservation picture. Locally, the results indicate action should be taken in several areas, including environmental conditions, staff and patron education, and reformatting. Other libraries in the early stages of establishing a preservation program can employ the techniques used in Hodges Library to develop their own preservation plans

Collection Development Embraces the Digital Age: A Review of the Literature, 1997–2003

Collection development and management literature of the past seven years reveals distinct trends among issues, philosophy, and practice. Digital age themes reflect the increasingly networked nature of the profession, with new attention focused on scholarly communications and publishing, digital collection building, consortial collaboration, and quantitative assessment. Some issues that dominated the library literature a few years ago, such as access versus ownership and organizational structure, have been eclipsed by other challenges, such as the serials crisis, finance and budgeting, and licensing. Neither solved nor forgotten, they have taken backstage to trendier subjects. Publications on organization, training, professional development, management of print collections, and subject-oriented collection development from 1997 through 2003 generally indicate reliance on traditional skills and knowledge even though practitioners are applying practical approaches to new formats and types of media. More theoretical commentary on fundamental changes emanating from an increasingly networked environment comes from authors who explore the implications of collection building in the digital age and challenge readers to imagine a vastly different future for collection development practice

A Circulation Analysis of Print Books and E-Books in an Academic Research Library

In order for collection development librarians to justify the adoption of electronic books (e-books), they need to determine if e-books satisfy the information needs of patrons. One method to determine this is to measure e-book usage. This study compared the usage of 7,880 titles that were available in both print and e-book format at the Duke University Libraries. Although the results of this study cannot be generalized, it does provide information on the use of e-books in one academic research library and implications for e-book collection development

Criteria for Replacing Print Journals with Online Journal Resources: The Importance of Sustainable Access

Long-term sustainability should be a primary concern of librarians deciding whether to replace print subscriptions with online journal resources. This article describes the six criteria used at St. Lawrence University to determine whether particular online resources can be regarded as acceptable substitutes for print. Three conventional criteria—completeness, timeliness, and reliability—are supplemented by three others that focus on the legal, economic, and organizational components of sustainable access. Together, these six criteria can be used to draw an important distinction between permanent subscriptions and supplementary resources. Although the replacement of print subscriptions with nonsustainable resources can sometimes reduce short-term costs, it also increases long-term risk by making sustainability of access contingent on sustainability of payments

Association for Library Collections & Technical Services Annual Report 2003–2004

As articulated in its Strategic Plan for 2001–2005, the mission of the Association for Library Collections Technical Services (ALCTS) is to provide leadership to the library and information communities in developing principles, standards, and best practices for creating, collecting, organizing, delivering, and preserving information resources in all forms. ALCTS strives to provide this leadership through its members by fostering educational, research, and professional service opportunities. Of the many objectives included in the ALCTS Strategic Plan, the division focused on three during 2003–2004: organization; publication; and education