Celebrating ACRL\u27s 75th Anniversary: Librarians\u27 Roles in Changing Times

In this guest editorial, Dawes shares his view on the changing role of librarians

The Path to Library Leadership: The Importance of a Leadership Plan

Preparing leaders in the library profession is by no means a new phenomenon. However, as one looks at the number of leadership training and development programs, institutes, workshops, and conferences, you might begin to ask the question, “where are all the people who participated in these programs?” Top Takeaways in this Chapter •Develop a personal mission statement and refer to it often •Build relationships with mentors—formal and informal •Know your limitations •Continue to learn and gro

Minnesota Institute for Early Career Librarians from Traditionally Underrepresented Groups

The Minnesota Institute for Early Career Librarians from Traditionally Underrepresented Groups (MNTIEL, or the Minnesota Institute) is offered every two years for librarians with less than five years’ professional library experience and is intended to provide an “opportunity to learn about leadership and organizational behavior in institutions of higher education. This chapter provides an overview of the program highlighting some benefits and potential shortfalls

New Times, New Roles, New Structures

Slides from the Closing Keynote presentation at the Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians (WAAL) Annual Conference, April 2015. The talk was about the changing roles of librarians that have come about as a result of changing needs of faculty, scholars and researchers. Some libraries have also modified their structures to better carry out these new roles.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/lib_present/1010/thumbnail.jp

Amazon.com vs. EBSCO’s GOBI Library Solutions: Evaluating New and Used Book Vendors While Building a Diverse Collection

This article will share a small college’s comparison of the benefits and challenges that occurred when ordering a curated list of new and used print books from EBSCO’s GOBI Library Solutions, a traditional book jobber, instead of Amazon.com, a book retailer. The researchers analyzed the acquisition process, final purchase cost, and reconciliation workflow between the two vendors. Results from this study revealed a 3.1% final cost difference between the two vendors. Additionally, this case study addressed the workflow undertaken to build a curated list of new and used LGBTQ and Title IX print books. This research contributed to the literature as scholarship that compared titles in academic libraries between one subject area, gender studies, in combination with an assessment of the collection development, acquisition, and ordering software tools provided to academic libraries from a traditional book jobber and a book retailer was scant

Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome

The tundra biome is experiencing rapid temperature increases that have been linked to a shift in tundra vegetation composition towards greater shrub dominance. Shrub expansion can amplify warming by altering the surface albedo, energy and water balance, and permafrost temperatures. To account for these feedbacks, global climate models must include realistic projections of vegetation dynamics, and in particular tundra shrub expansion, yet the mechanisms driving shrub expansion remain poorly understood. Dendroecological data consisting of multi-decadal time series of annual growth of shrub species provide a previously untapped resource to explore climate-growth relationships across the tundra biome. We analysed a dataset of approximately 42,000 annual growth records from 1821 individuals, comprising 25 species from eight genera, from 37 arctic and alpine sites. Our analyses demonstrate that the sensitivity of shrub growth to climate was (1) heterogeneous across the tundra biome, (2) greater at sites with higher soil moisture and (3) strongest for taller shrub species growing at the northern or upper elevational edge of their range. Across latitudinal gradients in the Arctic, climate sensitivity of growth was greatest at the boundary between low- and high-arctic vegetation zones, where permafrost conditions are changing and the majority of the global permafrost soil carbon pool is stored. Thus, in order to more accurately estimate feedbacks among shrub change, albedo, permafrost thaw, carbon storage and climate, the observed variation in climate-growth relationships of shrub species across the tundra biome will need to be incorporated into earth system models.JRC.H.3-Forest Resources and Climat

Variation in Structure and Process of Care in Traumatic Brain Injury: Provider Profiles of European Neurotrauma Centers Participating in the CENTER-TBI Study.

INTRODUCTION: The strength of evidence underpinning care and treatment recommendations in traumatic brain injury (TBI) is low. Comparative effectiveness research (CER) has been proposed as a framework to provide evidence for optimal care for TBI patients. The first step in CER is to map the existing variation. The aim of current study is to quantify variation in general structural and process characteristics among centers participating in the Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury (CENTER-TBI) study. METHODS: We designed a set of 11 provider profiling questionnaires with 321 questions about various aspects of TBI care, chosen based on literature and expert opinion. After pilot testing, questionnaires were disseminated to 71 centers from 20 countries participating in the CENTER-TBI study. Reliability of questionnaires was estimated by calculating a concordance rate among 5% duplicate questions. RESULTS: All 71 centers completed the questionnaires. Median concordance rate among duplicate questions was 0.85. The majority of centers were academic hospitals (n = 65, 92%), designated as a level I trauma center (n = 48, 68%) and situated in an urban location (n = 70, 99%). The availability of facilities for neuro-trauma care varied across centers; e.g. 40 (57%) had a dedicated neuro-intensive care unit (ICU), 36 (51%) had an in-hospital rehabilitation unit and the organization of the ICU was closed in 64% (n = 45) of the centers. In addition, we found wide variation in processes of care, such as the ICU admission policy and intracranial pressure monitoring policy among centers. CONCLUSION: Even among high-volume, specialized neurotrauma centers there is substantial variation in structures and processes of TBI care. This variation provides an opportunity to study effectiveness of specific aspects of TBI care and to identify best practices with CER approaches

Variation in general supportive and preventive intensive care management of traumatic brain injury: a survey in 66 neurotrauma centers participating in the Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury (CENTER-TBI) study

Abstract Background General supportive and preventive measures in the intensive care management of traumatic brain injury (TBI) aim to prevent or limit secondary brain injury and optimize recovery. The aim of this survey was to assess and quantify variation in perceptions on intensive care unit (ICU) management of patients with TBI in European neurotrauma centers. Methods We performed a survey as part of the Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury (CENTER-TBI) study. We analyzed 23 questions focused on: 1) circulatory and respiratory management; 2) fever control; 3) use of corticosteroids; 4) nutrition and glucose management; and 5) seizure prophylaxis and treatment. Results The survey was completed predominantly by intensivists (n = 33, 50%) and neurosurgeons (n = 23, 35%) from 66 centers (97% response rate). The most common cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) target was > 60 mmHg (n = 39, 60%) and/or an individualized target (n = 25, 38%). To support CPP, crystalloid fluid loading (n = 60, 91%) was generally preferred over albumin (n = 15, 23%), and vasopressors (n = 63, 96%) over inotropes (n = 29, 44%). The most commonly reported target of partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood (PaCO2) was 36–40 mmHg (4.8–5.3 kPa) in case of controlled intracranial pressure (ICP) < 20 mmHg (n = 45, 69%) and PaCO2 target of 30–35 mmHg (4–4.7 kPa) in case of raised ICP (n = 40, 62%). Almost all respondents indicated to generally treat fever (n = 65, 98%) with paracetamol (n = 61, 92%) and/or external cooling (n = 49, 74%). Conventional glucose management (n = 43, 66%) was preferred over tight glycemic control (n = 18, 28%). More than half of the respondents indicated to aim for full caloric replacement within 7 days (n = 43, 66%) using enteral nutrition (n = 60, 92%). Indications for and duration of seizure prophylaxis varied, and levetiracetam was mostly reported as the agent of choice for both seizure prophylaxis (n = 32, 49%) and treatment (n = 40, 61%). Conclusions Practice preferences vary substantially regarding general supportive and preventive measures in TBI patients at ICUs of European neurotrauma centers. These results provide an opportunity for future comparative effectiveness research, since a more evidence-based uniformity in good practices in general ICU management could have a major impact on TBI outcome

Future of Access Services

Keynote presentation at the 2014 Access Services Conference, November 12-14, 2014, Georgia Tech Global Learning Center and the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, Atlanta, Georgia.The future and trends for access services and the impact on libraries

The Next Generation Integrated Library System: A Promise Fulfilled?

The adoption of Integrated Library Systems (ILS) became prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s as libraries began or continued to automate their processes.  These systems enabled library staff to work, in many cases, more efficiently than they had been in the past.  However, these systems were also restrictive – especially as the nature of the work began to change, largely in response to the growth of electronic and digital resources – for which these systems were not intended to manage.  New library systems – the second (or next) generation library systems are needed in order to effectively manage the processes of acquiring, describing and making available all library resources.  This article examines the state of library systems today and describes the features needed in a next generation library system.  The authors also examine some of the next generation library systems currently in development that purport to fill the changing needs of libraries