National Union Catalog: Asset or Albatross?

Midsize academic libraries face many unique challenges, particularly in the greyer areas of collection management. This presentation addresses these challenges faced by libraries in midsize institutions and how they differ from those at larger research institutions. It focuses on the presenters’ study of midsize library attitudes toward retaining or weeding the iconic National Union Catalog, Pre-1956 Imprints and the reasoning behind each. The generations of librarians who used the NUC and other analog sets are passing from the scene in academic libraries, and the incoming digital native librarian knows little or nothing about them. The fate of the NUC is examined. The example of de-selection decisions regarding voluminous paper sets of pre-digital finding aids is also discussed. Ultimately, the presentation aims to discuss the ways in which midsize libraries can find in building midsize library collections, which will balance out the research needs against the demands of limited space and budgets

A Review of Buncombe Bob; The Life and Times of Robert Rice Reynolds

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Weeding With Wisdom: Tuning Deselection Of Print Monographs In Book-Reliant Disciplines

As university libraries transition to digital collections and new services, their book deselection projects often lead to the adoption of cross-discipline quantitative weeding criteria (such as age and low circulation) in the interest of speed and presumed fairness. Cross-discipline quantitative rubrics, however, can have unintended negative consequences when applied to disciplines such as history and literature that rely on older books with low circulation statistics. The authors, after an extensive literature review on book research methods in the humanities and the reaction of humanities scholars to massive weeding projects, argue for a discipline-differentiated approach to weeding academic library collections that can employ quantitative criteria for disciplines, such as in the sciences, that are more reliant on current materials and qualitative criteria for disciplines, such as in the humanities, whose scholars benefit from ready access to older and low-use books

Review of Library Collection Development Policies: Academic, Public, and Special Libraries by Frank W. Hoffman and Richard J. Wood

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Building Bridges For Social Justice In Global Publishing: Seeking The Mexican Perspective

At the NASIG 2019 Conference, the presenter outlined how the dominance of English-language publishers based in the Global North negatively impacts researchers in Puebla, Mexico. Universities in the Global South must compete in world-wide university ranking systems, which intensifies the pressure to compete with researchers in the Global North to publish in journals of the Global North in order to demonstrate global competitiveness and local career standing. To support those competitive publishing expectations, institutions of the Global South must also subscribe to English-language journal packages of the Global North, thus locking in a cycle of academic publishing dominance. Meanwhile, Latin America is developing quality Open Access (OA) alternatives. In May 2018, the presenter received funding from a NASIG grant to interview journal editors and librarians at universities in Puebla, Mexico. Through these interviews, the presenter sought to explore challenges for researchers publishing in Global North journals, discuss the role of OA at the interviewees’ institutions, consider the future outlook for OA in Mexico, and examine the social justice implications of the academic journal publishing ecosystem. The presenter reported on findings from the interviews and invited members to discuss how engagement with researchers from the Global South can help the global scholarly communication ecosystem become more equitable

Voices Versus Visions: A Commentary On Academic Library Collections And New Directions

Academic library collections are under pressure to follow dominant voices in the library world to redefine library missions and collections according to emerging trends in new library services. These trends call for a shift in focus away from traditional resource support for curriculum and research to new tech-related and other services. This sea-change in academic library function is led by the voices of major figures at library conferences and taken up by some library leaders who want to be on the cutting edge of reevaluating traditional academiclibrary collections and the very essence of the mission of academic libraries. Thus, it is important to question dominant voices at library conferences, in published discourse, and among our colleagues so as to prevent the shaping of all libraries into a common mold of new services that can seem alluring but can potentially disconnect our libraries from their more fundamental role in supporting the research and curriculum of our institutions. Listening to the input of our faculty and student stakeholders, as well as balancing new roles with the value of foundational ones, are key to preserving our central importance to the university

Local to Global: The Importance of State-Level Journals to Library Literature

While the publishing needs of many state library associations are comfortably served by newsletters and Web sites, a number of state library associations produce major library journals that serve readers beyond their state membership. The author interviewed the editors of five state association journals: Alki: The Washington Library Association Journal, Colorado Libraries, North Carolina Libraries, Texas Library Journal, and Virginia Libraries. The editors were asked to comment on the role, challenges, and future of state-level library journals

Review of Evaluation of Library Collections, Access and Electronic Resources: A Literature Guide and Annotated Bibliography by Thomas E. Nisonger.

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Review of Argentina - Hope in Hard Times

Review of film documentary - Positive revie

Review of The Sixth Division - Military-Paramilitary Ties and U.S. Policy in Colombia

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