Am. Library Association
The academic library and the net gen student; making the connections.
Gibbons (public services and collection development, U. of Rochester, River Campus Libraries) offers academic librarians in public services, technology, and administration insights into the role of technology in the lives of today's tech-savvy undergraduate students. Following overviews of the academic library's mission and of the Net Generation, individual chapters focus on specific technological genres — online gaming, blogging, social bookmarking — and offer evidence-based observations about how students use these technologies in their social and academic practices. Gibbons suggests ways that this knowledge can be incorporated into the mission of an academic library, utilizing aspects of these technologies to provide value-added services to students by communicating in their preferred means. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Academic librarianship by design; a blended librarian's guide to the tools and techniques.
Bell (associate university librarian for research and instructional services, Temple University) and Shank (instructional design librarian and director, Center for Learning Technologies, Pennsylvania State University-Berks) explain why the "blended librarian skill set," which incorporates enhanced capabilities in instructional design and technology, is critical for professional success. They show academic librarians how to employ blended librarian concepts to guide their use and development of course management systems, digital learning materials, and online learning communities. Ideas are illustrated with scenarios, examples, case studies, and profiles, and each chapter begins with a set of learning objectives and a brief introduction. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Analyzing library collection use with Excel.
Greiner (Portland Community College, Oregon) works in collection development, reference, and bibliographic instruction; Cooper has some 14 years of collection development experience in public and special libraries, including ten years' work with Microsoft's Office Suite. They present a practical guide for librarians on using Excel to translate circulation and collection data into meaningful reports for making collection management decisions. Each chapter contains step-by-step instructions illustrated with corresponding b&w computer screen shots. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Best books for young adults, 3d ed.
Presented by the Best Books for Young Adults Committee, this volume features 27 annotated booklists for young adult readers between the ages of 12 and 18. The lists, each containing 20 titles, are organized by theme and are reproducible. They include fiction and nonfiction, and annotations were written with young readers in mind. The 15-member committee chose books from 2000 to 2006 relating to standard themes and genres, and recent literary trends. The lists are followed by the Best Books for Young Adults Selections from 1966-2007, annotated and organized by author and year. Also provided is a chapter on current trends in the lists and teen publishing in general. The book is intended for teen service librarians in public and school libraries, parents, and middle and high school English teachers. Koelling is outreach services manager for a library system in Washington. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Children's jukebox; the select subject guide to children's musical recordings, 2d ed.
This volume lists twice as many children's recordings (about 550) as did the first edition. Reid (literature for children and adolescents, U. of Wisconsin-Eau Claire) describes how each song or album can be applied to teaching and playing opportunities under 147 subject headings, plus subcategories. In addition to recommending an essential core collection, he highlights fun songs for learning about: food, animals, languages, weather, sportsmanship, brothers and sisters, emotions, and divorce, among many other themes. A selected discography and list of further resources are provided. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Gamers...in the library?!; the why, what, and how of videogame tournaments for all ages.
A self-proclaimed videogame geek, Neiburger is technology manager at the Ann Arbor District Library, where he has been coordinating gaming events since 2004. He offers a practical guide for librarians interested in expanding their offerings to include videogame tournaments. Coverage includes the basics of gaming culture, software, and hardware; how gaming fits into the library's overall mission; how to plan, market, and hold gaming events to reach new audiences; and how to turn a gaming audience into an ongoing community and harness its power for the good of the institution. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
A good match; library career opportunities for graduates of liberal arts colleges.
The College Alumni Librarians Study (CALS) surveyed 431 librarians who graduated from eight liberal arts colleges from 1962-2000. In this volume, Watson-Boone performs a qualitative analysis of the study's findings. Some of the themes explored include the values alums gained from their undergraduate experience; the factors influencing their career choice; and their satisfactions and dissatisfactions with their work. The final chapter examines the concept of librarianship as a service profession that is focused on helping others. Watson-Boone is a independent researcher and former academic librarian. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Human resources for results; the right person for the right job.
Goodrich and Singer combine their consulting expertise in public library planning and human resources development to offer a strategic approach to the human resources function in the library. Designed as a hands-on guide, the book show library managers how to use various HR functions to support goals and service priorities previously identified in the strategic planning process. Unlike other books in the PLA Results series, this book describes a number of possible projects — such as creating a job description, screening and testing candidates, and refining a performance management system — rather than presenting a process to be followed throughout the whole book. An ongoing case study illustrates how library staff can use information in the book to make HR decisions, and 12 sample forms are provided to help readers collect and organize data. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Managing student employees in college libraries, 3d ed.
Michael and Jane Kathman (College of St. Benedict and Saint John's U.) use information drawn from a survey of practicing librarians from 158 institutions in the US to describe the management of student employees in college libraries. The volume is part of the College Library Information Packet (CLIP) Notes program that provides college and small university libraries with reviews and current documentation on practices and procedures to help facilitate decision making and improve performance. In addition, they explain the employment and dismissal process, orientation and training, supervision and evaluations, and other issues. Sample documents and handbooks are included. This edition takes into account new privacy laws as well as the Patriot Act, increased computerization, and new issues in management. Discussion of job descriptions is also new. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Managing your library construction project; a step-by-step guide.
As an architect who has designed numerous libraries and who is a veteran library trustee in Illinois, McCarthy offers practical advice on library building projects. The guide includes process checklists and sample construction documents (e.g., request for proposals, advertisement for bids, and "punch" list — a list of items to be completed/corrected by the contractor). He addresses weighing the case for remodeling vs. constructing a new building, and best practices in hiring and working with an architect, site analysis, and sustainable design. The book is lightly illustrated. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
New on the job; a school library media specialist's guide to success.
With this guide, Toor and Weisberg, both veteran school library media specialists and now consultants, serve as mentors for school library media specialists entering the workforce. Stressing the importance of formulating a philosophy, they give advice on tasks related to scheduling, collection weeding, and ordering, and describe how to build relationships with teachers, principals, students, and parents, as well as with the school board and business and community groups outside the school. They discuss technology issues such as acceptable use policies and online databases, and explain how to incorporate professional and individual ethics into the program. An appendix lists major companies that support the library market. A glossary is also included. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Preschool favorites; 35 storytimes kids love.
Briggs, a veteran public and school librarian, presents 35 themes for preschool storytimes, composed of book suggestions, fingerplays, short poems, flannelboard stories (complete with patterns), music suggestions (and a discography), and very simple crafts. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The Readers' Advisory guide to nonfiction.
This volume, for use by librarians in readers' advisory and collection development, but also valuable to patrons, covers working with nonfiction readers in a readers' advisory context. After discussing the conceptual groundwork for the service and methods for working with nonfiction, Wyatt, a collection development and readers' advisory librarian, outlines the categories of history, true crime, true adventure, science, memoir, food/cooking, travel, and sports. Each of these chapters introduces the subject, explores its appeals, describes the types of books common to the subject, and lists key authors, titles, and benchmark titles for librarians to read and suggest. Read-alike and read-around titles are suggested, as are related awards and links to sites listing them. Chapters on learning and marketing a collection and whole collection readers' advisory service conclude the volume. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Sailing into the future; charting our destiny; proceedings.
The 45 papers of this proceedings were first presented at the ACRL 13th National Conference, held in Baltimore, Maryland in March 2007. The papers present research and case studies on a broad variety of library trends, with topics that include hiring trends, digital libraries, e-book use, RSS feeds for individual courses, virtual reference, and student library use. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Something musical happened at the library; adding song and dance to children's story programs.
Reid (children's literature and literature for adolescents, U. of Wisconsin-Eau Claire) details, for both nonmusicians and musicians, how to make music a part of a children's story hour at a library. He provides eight 30-minute lesson plans that mix songs and picture storybooks, followed by a lengthy annotated bibliography and lists of songs, as well as a list of songs that match picture books. Lesson plans contain an overview, recommended theme-related songs, and descriptions of related picture books. The book is a companion to Children's Jukebox, Second Edition and is meant for librarians and educators. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The whole digital library handbook.
The age of libraries with most of its material available online rather than in print, is in its infancy and calls for a guide rather than a definitive reference. Librarians and other professionals offer advice and ask provocative questions for librarians who are planning for that situation. They look at such aspects as users, the landscape, the market, tools, operations, and preservation. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
