A library’s Web site is well-recognized as the gateway to the library for the vast majority of users. Choosing the most user-friendly Web architecture to reflect the many services libraries offer is a complex process, and librarians are still experimenting with what works best for their users. As part of...
The Oregon ExplorerTM (www.oregonexplorer.info) strives to support informed decisions and actions by people concerned with Oregon's natural resources and environment. The Oregon Explorer's multi-media environment integrates archived digital documents, mapping and decision support tools, and finding aids for specific natural resource issues and topics. This paper presents the chronology of...
This article presents the results of an exploratory study asking faculty in the first-year writing
program and instruction librarians about their research process focusing on results specifically
related to serendipity. Steps to prepare for serendipity are highlighted as well as a model for
incorporating serendipity into a first-year writing course.
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of worldwide mobile usage; mobile technologies; libraries' use of mobile technologies including a review of library mobile catalog options, both vendor-supplied and in-house created; perspectives from current library leaders and innovators on the importance of incorporating...
At Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries, librarians are evaluating the decade-old information commons in the transition to a learning commons. Visits to commons spaces at libraries across the country provided perspective on this transition. This paper describes the development of the OSU Libraries Information Commons, identifies themes from our trips...
This article seeks to make a compelling case for authors’ rights training through emphasis on academic librarians’ dual roles as both authors and as liaisons to research and teaching faculty. Using the example of the Rights Well Workshop developed at Oregon State University Libraries, the article demonstrates the value of...
Oregon State University Libraries piloted a one-year ILL purchase on demand service beginning in February 2009. An online survey was used to measure patron satisfaction and determine future borrowing and recommendation behavior. These results, along with patron comments, were used to explore future success of the service and ways to...
Library faculty are often tenure track, requiring a record of significant publishing and service before achieving tenure. However, meaningful tools and methods for evaluating the scholarship of librarianship frequently fall short of providing an accurate picture of the scholarship of any particular candidate. The authors conducted a case study analyzing...
This article discusses findings from a longitudinal research study that examined the way graduate students carry out the literature review and how they were impacted by attending a library literature review workshop. The literature review research process serves as an important gateway for graduate students’ into their scholarly communities’ practices,...
The Oregon Spatial Data Library (http://spatialdata.oregonexplorer.info/) provides easy and convenient ways to find, access, and share geospatial data. Developed in partnership with the Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS), the Oregon Spatial Data Library provides access to spatial data including "framework" data for the State of Oregon. Framework datasets serve...
Undergraduate students are expected to find, evaluate and use peer-reviewed or scholarly literature, but they rarely learn about the process of creating new knowledge or the roles the literature plays in the work of scholars. A desired outcome of undergraduate education is the understanding that knowledge is created, evolving and...
Focus group methodology was used to investigate graduate students' cross-campus technology, space and service needs. Although the library provides valued services and spaces, graduate students need enhanced and more equitable support for their roles as teachers and scholars. Librarians can provide leadership and act as advocates for graduate student needs...
Changes in the field of publishing and in scholarly communication have been impacting the distribution of scientific knowledge for years. The economics of publishing continues to have an impact on subscribers’ ability to maintain access and therefore the readership of established publications may diminish or look for legitimate alternatives to...
The value proposition of academic library consortia often focuses on the
benefits a member library expects to receive in return for its paid membership in a
consortium. This article takes a look at the literature of library and information science
as well as the websites of 45 academic library consortia...
Objective – This study investigated the image-seeking preferences of university freshmen to gain a better understanding of how they search for pictures for assignments.
Methods – A survey was emailed to a random sample of 1,000 freshmen enrolled at Oregon State University in the fall of 2009. A total of...
Faculty and librarians agree on the qualities of a good research question. However, in an exploratory study, they differed on when students should develop their research question. While librarians stated that students should develop their question early, first-year writing faculty advocated for delaying the development of the research question. The...
This issue of the Oregon Library Association Quarterly is dedicated to exploring the multiple meanings of service, the way
we accomplish service through our programs and policies, and the deeply held beliefs and feelings that drive us to serve.
Purpose – The purpose of this article is to communicate how an academic library can establish and implement a realignment process to prepare itself to serve users in the 21st century.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors employed a case study approach to present the challenges of realigning an academic library. They...
An Oregon State University Libraries (OSUL) study group's review of its current policies, practices, and costs provides an illustrative case study of the challenges in managing government documents during this period of transition from print to digital. In its exploration of more aggressive approaches to greatly increasing access to electronic...
Purpose: The paper discovers how many American Research Libraries produce podcasts, on what subjects they are produced and how those podcasts are promoted.
Design/methodology/approach: The researchers looked at each American Research Library’s website in December 2009 to determine if the library has a podcasting initiative and if so, what topics...