The impact of libraries on learning, teaching and research. Report of the LIRG seminar held in October 2001.

What makes a good academic library? Those of us who work in academic libraries know that we need to be able to demonstrate value for money. The Library and Information Research Group (LIRG) has recently organised two seminars on the effective academic library. These have been concerned with how we measure the performance of an academic library

Academic digital library in Malaysia: A case study on the status of digital reference services

This paper highlights the current status of digital library services provided by selected public academic libraries in Malaysia. The drift from traditional library to digital library architecture has set drastic changes in favor of adopting knowledge-gain mechanisms via the use of networked and digital environments. With diversity of functions, academic digital library is seen the most awaiting proxy in changing the information culture among academic users. This paper in general attempts to highlight the phenomena of using digital library system in public universities in Malaysia. The focal of the discussion is on digital reference services of academic digital library

Academic Support at Leeds Metropolitan Library

Leeds Metropolitan’s Library Academic Support Stream is made up of Academic Librarians and Information Services Librarians who provide academic support to the university’s six faculties. The team use innovative methods of working together to engage students and enhance their experience. The team only formed a year ago so this is a good time to reflect on our success so far. The library service at Leeds Met is continually developing and offers new challenges and opportunities for staff providing library academic support. Innovation has even become part of our new name – ‘Libraries and Learning Innovation’. We still offer all the traditions types of library academic support, but there is an increasing emphasis on finding innovative ways of supporting students and publicising what we can offer. This year the Library Academic Support Stream won a University Attitude Character and Talents Award for Future Focus

The Papers of Laura Benet

The Papers of Laura Benet consists of Ms. Benet’s personal diaries, several folders of correspondence, and the proof of her book Famous American Humorists (1959). There is also a copy of Ms. Benet’s memoir titled When William Rose, Stephen Vincent and I were Young (1976)

The Papers of Norman Rosten

This collection contains items such as original drafts of published works, photographs, playbills, interviews, reviews, correspondences, and scripts. There is also some publicity material for his screenplay A View From the Bridge, an original radio script for Death of a King, as well as final revisions. In addition, there are newspaper clippings, magazine articles and some interviews Mr. Rosten gave during his term as Brooklyn’s Poet Laureate

World War II Memorabilia

The collection World War II Memorabilia contains various materials related to the war, from different countries: Japan, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany. It includes photographs, manuscripts, illustrations, post cards, flyers, and cigarette cards

The Papers of Professor Emeritus Jerome Krase

Jerome Krase, professor of sociology at Brooklyn College from 1970-2003 and chair of the sociology department twice, taught classes in urban sociology, inter-ethnic group relations and introductory courses. For three decades, he worked as a community activist-scholar and was a student of ordinary urban neighborhood life by lecturing, giving photographic exhibitions, and writing for alternative newspapers. He lectured and did research at Universities of Perugia, Pisa, Trento, and Trieste. Dr Krase was a visiting professor at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and the University of Rome, La Sapienza. He retired from Brooklyn College in Spring 2003

The Papers of Nina Schneider

This collection contains materials primarily about Nina Schneider, although there are some items related to her husband Herman as well. There are articles, biographical information, book reviews (in different languages), press releases, fan mail, photographs, and program data. There are also Ms. Schneider’s diaries/letters, her lectures and speeches (with notes), poetry that she wrote, items regarding her only published book The Woman Who Lived in a Prologue as well as bound copies of the final manuscript. In addition, there are drafts, notes, and several chapters of her unpublished book Coming to Terms: A Fact Finding Memoir. Finally, there are assorted miscellaneous materials such as some short stories Ms. Schneider wrote, audio cassettes, and book reviews

Brooklyn College Student War Correspondence

The Brooklyn College Student War Correspondence collection, consists of .75 cubic feet of documents pertaining to the challenges, hopes, fears and experiences faced by Brooklyn College soldiers during World War II. Arranged in alphabetical order, there are about 69 students whose correspondence has been preserved. Besides letters, soldiers also mailed back home picture postcards, musical compositions, and dramatized skits and whatever artistic talent they were able to produce during the hour of war. In addition to correspondence which makes up the bulk of the collection there are well preserved recruitment brochures for the Women’s Army division and “Waves” the Women’s Naval Division

Moving Target: Academic Library Design and Services in Response to Evolving Technologies and Student Expectations

This article provides a brief overview of several current trends in academic library design, a description of several paradigms for library services, and a discussion of the impact on library design of evolving technologies and changing student expectations for library resources and services. The article explores opportunities and challenges that new technologies provide and the impact of the digital environment on academic libraries and the learning experience of students. Observations from a focus group and site visits to six academic libraries constructed, renovated or planned within the past five years provide examples of factors influencing library design and address both positive and negative outcomes of various designs