Digital libraries have been established worldwide to make information more readily available, and this innovation has changed the way information seekers interact with the data they are collecting. Faced with decentralized, heterogeneous sources, these users must be familiarized with high-level search activities in order to sift through large amounts of data. Information Seeking Behavior and Challenges in Digital Libraries addresses the problems of usability and search optimization in digital libraries. With topics addressing all aspects of information seeking activity, the research found in this book provides insight into library user experiences and human-computer interaction when searching online databases of all types. This book addresses the challenges faced by professionals in information management, librarians, developers, students of library science, and policy makers.

Technology has revolutionized the ways in which libraries store, share, and access information, as well as librarian roles as knowledge managers. As digital resources and tools continue to advance, so too do the opportunities for libraries to become more efficient and house more information. Effective administration of libraries is a crucial part of delivering library services to patrons and ensuring that information resources are disseminated efficiently. Digital Libraries and Institutional Repositories: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice addresses new methods, practices, concepts, and techniques, as well as contemporary challenges and issues for libraries and university repositories that can be accessed electronically. It also addresses the problems of usability and search optimization in digital libraries. Highlighting a range of topics such as content management, resource sharing, and library technologies, this publication is an ideal reference source for librarians, IT technicians, academicians, researchers, and students in fields that include library science, knowledge management, and information retrieval.

The effective use of technology offers numerous benefits in protecting cultural heritage. With the proper implementation of these tools, the management and conservation of artifacts and knowledge are better attained. The Handbook of Research on Emerging Technologies for Digital Preservation and Information Modeling is an authoritative resource for the latest research on the application of current innovations in the fields of architecture and archaeology to promote the conservation of cultural heritage. Highlighting a range of real-world applications and digital tools, this book is ideally designed for upper-level students, professionals, researchers, and academics interested in the preservation of cultures.

Museums and archives all over the world digitize their collections and provide online access to heritage material. But what factors determine the content, structure and use of these online inventories? This book turns to India and Europe to answer this question. It explains how museums and archives envision, decide and conduct digitization and online dissemination. It also sheds light on born-digital, community-based archives, which have established themselves as new actors in the field. Based on anthropological fieldwork, the chapters in the book trace digital archives from technical advancements and postcolonial initiatives to programming alternatives, editing content, and active use of digital archives.

Service design is a holistic, co-creative, and user-centered approach to understanding user behavior for creating or refining services. Use this LITA Guide to help as a toolkit for implementing service design studies and projects at all types of libraries. It begins with directions for how to create a service design team and assembling a user working group for your library and move through the various phases in a service design journey. The authors outline the tools required to gain insights into user behavior and expectation and how to diagnose the difference between a symptom and a problem users face when interacting within the library environment. The guide features a series of examples that the service design team can use to learn how to work with library staff and patrons to find out what current user experience is like and how to refine services to better meet user expectations. Learn how to: *create service blueprints - to outline the service delivery model and understand pain points and places where services can be refined *create customer journey maps - to better understand the actual paths taken by users to fulfill a service. *find the right tool for the situation so you can make an informed decision on usage *create an ethnographic program of your own tailored to your library environment *understand how assessment and post-implementation is key to any project's success *create a service design plan that fits your library and patronage This book is a toolkit, not a step-by-step, paint-by-the-numbers book. It is geared towards libraries of all types and sizes and will provide tools that any library can use and ideas for developing a service design project that fits within the means of your library so that your project will be meaningful, useful, and sustainable. While several books have been written on how to implement service design, this book will be the first to explain how to practice service design in libraries.

Providing the basics for working with spatial-data collections in libraries, this book describes in detail the processes and procedures of map selection, acquisition, classification, cataloging, everyday storage, care, preservation, reference, public relations, and education. Focus is on practicalities of handling both hard copy and digital forms of atlases, maps, remote-sensing images, globes, and so forth. Larsgaard has thoroughly revised and updated the book, addressing major changes resulting from the shift of spatial data to digital forms, and she has added significant new material to the chapters on selection, cataloging, and reference.

With the advent of downloadable retail eBooks marketed to individual consumers, for the first time in their history libraries encountered an otherwise commercially available text format they were prevented from adding to their collections. Trade eBooks in Libraries examines the legal frameworks which gave rise to this phenomenon and advocacy efforts undertaken in different jurisdictions to remove barriers to library access. The principal authors provide a general historical overview and an analysis of library/eBook principles developed by a variety of library associations and government reviews. In addition, experts from twelve countries present summaries of eBook developments in their respective countries and regions.

This professional reference provides solid advice to academic and public librarians for managing performing arts collections. The volume is divided into sections on the history of performing arts librarianship, dance collections, film studies collections, music collections, and theater collections. Each chapter is written by one or more expert contributors and presents current and reliable information on collection management. They discuss personnel management, collection development, technical services, public services, the impact of new technologies, facilities management, financial planning, and political considerations. Each chapter closes with references cited in the chapter, and the volume concludes with a valuable selected, annotated bibliography of important background sources and management tools.

Cultural history enthusiasts have asserted the urgent need to protect digital information from imminent loss. This book describes methodology for long-term preservation of all kinds of digital documents. It justifies this methodology using 20th century theory of knowledge communication, and outlines the requirements and architecture for the software needed. The author emphasizes attention to the perspectives and the needs of end users.

Collection management is becoming increasingly complex due to electronic access to information, the growth of the Internet, greater reliance on document delivery and resource sharing, and changes in scholarly communication. This professional reference shows how changes in all aspects of collection management will affect future activities in this area and examines the likely value of these changes in the next century. Chapters are written by leading practitioners and academics from around the world, and the volume concludes with a bibliographical essay.

Collection management has always been more difficult to define and more varied in organization and procedures than other library operations, such as acquisitions or automation. Current shifts in emphasis only make this more apparent. The electronic access to catalogs, databases, and full text materials, the increasing importance of the Internet, greater reliance on interlibrary loan and document delivery, and the changing world of scholarly communication all influence how library collections are acquired and managed. Faculty research and academic disciplines are not easily contained within clearly defined boundaries, acquisitions on-demand is on the increase, and document delivery has made patrons less dependent on local collections.

These changes influence policies, but not in any clear or uniform manner, and sometimes against organizational constraints. If local collections are being emphasized less, and access and connectivity more, then selection, evaluation, and preservation are greatly affected. And while cooperative efforts may relieve a library from collecting exhaustively in all areas, needed materials must still be collected and stored somewhere. This professional reference shows how changes in all aspects of collection management will affect future activities in this area and examines the likely value of these changes in the next century. Chapters are written by leading practitioners and academics from around the world, and the volume concludes with a bibliographical essay.

This volume is intended to aid both those organizations considering the establishment of an institutional archives and those practicing archivists needing materials to assist them in evaluating their programs and planning for their development. The author's theme is that archival programs found in corporate, educational, cultural, and religious institutions are necessary both to the organizations themselves and their efficient functioning and to society's concern for preserving its documentary heritage. Managing Institutional Archives covers all aspects of managing an archival program. There are chapters on appraisal and acquisition; preservation and security; arrangement, description, and reference; internal and external support, fund-raising and grantsmanship; and cooperation. The impact of new information technology on organizations and the implications for their archives are discussed. A detailed examination of three case studies of archives is provided. The final chapter is a description of sources for additional assistance in managing institutional archives. Managing Institutional Archives will be useful to archival specialists, administrators, educators, and others needing guidance about the elements of managing archives. Its contents is based on a wide-reading of archival theory and practice and nearly two decades of archival experience by the author.

Special interest in topics relating to library management over the last decade has led to the close examination of crisis management practice among library professionals. Due to the importance of the archives, documents, and books housed within libraries around the world, preemptive planning for potential disaster is necessary to all librarians and their staff. TheHandbook of Research on Disaster Management and Contingency Planning in Modern Libraries brings together the latest scholarly research, theories, and case studies to investigate the scale and types of disasters that can impact a library. Through the evaluation of past crisis management strategies and future best practices, this handbook is an essential reference source for librarians, library staff, archivists, curators, students, professionals, private collectors, and corporations with archival collections to learn from the experiences of others, expand their definition of disaster, and create or redesign their own disaster plans with newfound awareness. This handbook features timely, research based chapters and case studies on crisis management, emergency response, exhibition loans, natural disasters, preserving archives, public and staff safety, and risk assessment.

For the past ten years, Nancy MacKay's Curating Oral Histories (2006) has been the one-stop shop for librarians, curators, program administrators, and project managers who are involved in turning an oral history interview into a primary research document, available for use in a repository. In this new and greatly expanded edition, MacKay uses the life cycle model to map out an expanded concept of curation, beginning with planning an oral history project and ending with access and use. The book:-guides readers, step by step, on how to make the oral history "archive ready";-offers strategies for archiving, preserving, and presenting interviews in a digital environment;-includes comprehensive updates on technology, legal and ethical issues, oral history on the Internet, cataloging, copyright, and backlogs.

At long last, here is the definitive practical guide to sexuality materials in libraries and an annotated bibliography of nearly 600 recommended books for school and public libraries. Cornog and Perper, the preeminent experts on sexuality materials for libraries, provide guidelines for materials selection, reference, processing, access, programming, and dealing with problems of vandalism and censorship. The bibliography, organized into 5 topics and 48 subtopics, annotates a collection of recommended books and nonprint materials on sexuality information for children and adults, most published since 1985. Recommended works represent a wide variety of views, including Christian and conservative. Part I offers detailed guidance for selecting and processing sexuality materials, including vertical files, audiovisuals, and periodicals, and for doing reference on sexuality topics; lists a full range of topics and viewpoints that libraries should collect; addresses a variety of processing and access issues such as cataloging, programming, and vandalism; discusses how to deal with censorship issues relating to sexuality materials in the library; and reviews the history of libraries and sexuality materials. Part II, the annotated bibliography, is organized into 5 broad topics-sexuality and behavior, homosexuality and gender issues, life cycle issues, sex and society, and sexual problems-which are then divided into 48 subtopics. Each title is compared and contrasted with similar titles. Titles for young people include grade level appropriateness. Specialized acquisition sources are also listed for each of the 48 subtopics. Cornog and Perper point out that the key to selection of materials is balance and representativeness of a wide range of viewpoints. They have gone to great lengths to provide a wide variety of materials and viewpoints and to seek out interesting and valuable materials from large and small publishers and organizations. This is the definitive guide on sexuality information for public and school libraries.

Using critical discourse analysis and comparing theory and practice from the UK and the Anglophone world, Hoyle explores the challenges faced by scholars, institutions, organizations, and practitioners in embedding new values. She demonstrates how persistent underlying discursive structures about archives have manifested from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Qualitative and participatory research in the UK shows how conceptions of archival value arise, are expressed, and become authorised in practice at international, national and local levels. Considering what might be learned from similar debates in public history and cultural heritage studies, the book asks if and how dominant epistemologies of the archive can be dismantled amidst systems of power that resist change. The Remaking of Archival Values is relevant to researchers and students in the field of archival and information studies, as well as practitioners who work with archives around the world. It will also speak to the interests of those working in the fields of cultural heritage, archaeology, museum studies, public history, and gender and race studies.

Here is unique volume offering practical advice on weeding and maintaining reference collections. It covers different types of libraries--academic, corporate, public--and problems, and librarians describe in detail methods and criteria used by their libraries in weeding their reference collections. Dr. Pierce has organized the topics of her book into relevant chapters. These chapters, bound to appeal to a variety of needs, address and discuss the problems and management of growing reference collections. As many librarians find weeding reference books a difficult task, most reference departments suffer from a lack of space as a result. Collection growth reduces shelf and seating space, and both books and people are lost in the clutter. In reading this essential book, reference supervisors will come to understand the importance of allowing reference area growth combined with effective weeding to promote an attractive and well-stocked reference area. Heads of reference will find Weeding and Maintenance of Reference Collections full of useful information, from the specific criteria and detailed methods contributed by several librarians who have found success in weeding their reference collections, to the practical hints on planning and evaluating collection contents and organization. Students and faculty of library schools and information studies will gain insight into successful management of increasing amounts of reference material as the Information Age gathers momentum into the 1990s.

Here is unique volume offering practical advice on weeding and maintaining reference collections. It covers different types of libraries--academic, corporate, public--and problems, and librarians describe in detail methods and criteria used by their libraries in weeding their reference collections. Dr. Pierce has organized the topics of her book into relevant chapters. These chapters, bound to appeal to a variety of needs, address and discuss the problems and management of growing reference collections. As many librarians find weeding reference books a difficult task, most reference departments suffer from a lack of space as a result. Collection growth reduces shelf and seating space, and both books and people are lost in the clutter. In reading this essential book, reference supervisors will come to understand the importance of allowing reference area growth combined with effective weeding to promote an attractive and well-stocked reference area. Heads of reference will find Weeding and Maintenance of Reference Collections full of useful information, from the specific criteria and detailed methods contributed by several librarians who have found success in weeding their reference collections, to the practical hints on planning and evaluating collection contents and organization. Students and faculty of library schools and information studies will gain insight into successful management of increasing amounts of reference material as the Information Age gathers momentum into the 1990s.

This pioneering volume of essays explores the destruction of great libraries since ancient times and examines the intellectual, political and cultural consequences of loss. Fourteen original contributions, introduced by a major re-evaluative history of lost libraries, offer the first ever comparative discussion of the greatest catastrophes in book history from Mesopotamia and Alexandria to the dispersal of monastic and monarchical book collections, the Nazi destruction of Jewish libraries, and the recent horrifying pillage and burning of books in Tibet, Bosnia and Iraq.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the information profession. The series IFLA Publications deals with many of the means through which libraries, information centres, and information professionals worldwide can formulate their goals, exert their influence as a group, protect their interests, and find solutions to global problems.

There is growing recognition of the need to address the fragility of digital information, on which our society heavily depends for smooth operation in all aspects of daily life. This has been discussed in many books and articles on digital preservation, so why is there a need for yet one more? Because, for the most part, those other publications focus on documents, images and webpages - objects that are normally rendered to be simply displayed by software to a human viewer. Yet there are clearly many more types of digital objects that may need to be preserved, such as databases, scientific data and software itself. David Giaretta, Director of the Alliance for Permanent Access, and his contributors explain why the tools and techniques used for preserving rendered objects are inadequate for all these other types of digital objects, and they provide the concepts, techniques and tools that are needed. The book is structured in three parts. The first part is on theory, i.e., the concepts and techniques that are essential for preserving digitally encoded information. The second part then shows practice, i.e., the use and validation of these tools and techniques. Finally, the third part concludes by addressing how to judge whether money is being well spent, in terms of effectiveness and cost sharing. Various examples of digital objects from many sources are used to explain the tools and techniques presented. The presentation style mainly aims at practitioners in libraries, archives and industry who are either directly responsible for preservation or who need to prepare for audits of their archives. Researchers in digital preservation and developers of preservation tools and techniques will also find valuable practical information here. Researchers creating digitally encoded information of all kinds will also need to be aware of these topics so that they can help to ensure that their data is usable and can be valued by others now and in the future. To further assist the reader, the book is supported by many hours of videos and presentations from the CASPAR project and by a set of open source software.