Information and Referral Services: A Brief History

What is information and referral (I&R) service? The most widely accepted definition of I&R is “the active process of linking a person with a need or problem with a service which will meet the need or solve the problem.” For example, this type of service would provide detailed information, including contact information, mailing address, telephone number, etc., about where a person could go to receive childhood immunizations. There are three basic requirements of an I&R service: creation of a resource file, distribution of the information, and updating the file. I&R services were originally created to serve the disadvantaged members of underserved areas, but few actually served this population exclusively or even primarily

Where Did All the Journals Go?

When disaster hits and space is at a premium or when other offices need or want space, eyes often turn towards the library. After a tornado hit the campus and their building was devastated, the University’s Library became the home to one academic unit’s classes. Additionally, after a new division was created, the Library once again lost space. This case study explores that academic library’s experience with both situations and the work the library staff completed to prepare the spaces for non-library entities to move into the building

Faculty COVID-19 Reflection 18

As part of its documentation for Spring 2020 Faculty Development Workshop attendance, Faculty Commons requested that attendees share their reflections on the workshop content. Faculty were also asked to document the impact that COVID-19 and the switch to online instruction has had on their teaching and professional duties during the Spring 2020 semester

New Voices: Interactive CD-ROMs for Library Instruction and Discovering a Research Agenda

This paper describes the development of an instruction/orientation platform that teaches students, specifically the distance education students, at our university how to access, navigate, and understand the services and resources available to them via the university library. However, there is another purpose to this paper that the authors believe to be just as valuable to other “new voices” in our profession. To that end, this paper examines how two new librarians attempted to better serve their patrons. But it also looks at how, through the instruction project’s development, two new academic librarians discovered that one lone project could benefit the academic and professional development of their careers as they worked toward tenure and promotion – helping them to find and define their “voice” so to speak

Interface-Lift: The Houston Cole Library\u27s Web Page Redesign Project

A discussion of the redesign of the web site for the Houston Cole Library at Jacksonville State University. Faculty and student input were taken and the results used to shape the direction of the project

Recommendations for the Use of the Veggie Meter for Spectroscopy-Based Skin Carotenoid Measurements in the Research Setting

Carotenoids are a class of phytochemical compounds found in a variety of fruits and vegetables (F/V) and, therefore, are commonly used as a biomarker for F/V intake. The Veggie Meter® is a noninvasive research-grade instrument that detects and quantifies carotenoids in the skin. To determine current practices and examine variability among users, a survey was administered to researchers using the device (n = 19, response rate = 35.8%) and variation in anatomical site preparation, calibration, number of measurements, measurement site, and documentation was observed. A protocol was developed in partnership with Veggie Meter® users to outline the preparation, calibration, and data collection procedures for using this device for research purposes. Although many protocol conditions will benefit from additional validation, this standardized protocol supports the development of a universal data repository to establish usual observed ranges, with the ultimate goal of examining associations between skin carotenoid scores and diet-related health outcomes