Academic, public, school, and special libraries are all institutions of human rights and social justice, with an increasingly apparent commitment to equality, to ethical principles based on rights and justice, and to programs that meet needs related to human rights and social justice. Key topics at the intersection of information, human rights, social justice, and technology include information access and literacy, digital inclusion, education, and social services, among many others. Edited by Ursula Gorham, Natalie Greene Taylor, and Paul T. Jaeger, this volume is devoted to the ideals, activities, and programs in libraries that protect human rights and promote social justice. With contributions from researchers, educators, and practitioners from a range of fields, this book is an important resource for library professionals in all types of libraries, a reference for researchers and educators about all types of libraries, and an introduction to those in other fields about the contributions of libraries to human rights and social justice.

Digital Literacy and Digital Inclusion: Information Policy and the Public Library examines the interrelationships between digital literacy, digital inclusion, and public policy, emphasizing the impacts of these policy decisions on the ability of individuals and communities to successfully participate in the information society. The ability to use the Internet to meet information needs is often labeled digital literacy, while access to the Internet in order to apply the skills of digital literacy is often discussed in terms of digital inclusion; while both are widely recognized as central to participation in contemporary society, they are rarely considered as policy issues. This book is the first detailed consideration of digital literacy and digital inclusion as policy problems and as core issues in information policy and libraries.The unique features of this book include: *Drawing together the key themes and findings from the discourse on digital literacy and digital inclusion widely spread among many fields; *Analyzing digital literacy and digital inclusion as policy issues, both being driven and regulated by policy; *Building on a wealth of original research conducted by the authors using different quantitative and qualitative data collection approaches on four different continents when analyzing these issues, providing unique examples, case studies, and perspectives; *Using information behavior theory to provide important insights about these issues at individual, community, and political levels; *Providing recommendations to inform practice in libraries and help libraries to frame their advocacy for public policies that support literacy and inclusion; and *Providing policy recommendations to improve the creation and implementation of policy instruments that promote digital literacy and digital inclusion. The authors of this book have been involved in this research space for many years and their experience provides a broad view across the literature and problems, as well as across national perspectives.This breadth allows the book to offer comprehensive policy recommendations, solutions, and best practices for an area that is currently extremely fragmented in discourse, practice, and policy.

Drawing on two decades of original research conducted by the authors, as well as existing research about the intersection of public policy, political discourse, and public libraries, this book seeks to understand the origins and implications of the current standing of public libraries in public policy and political discourse. It both explains the complex current circumstances and offers strategies for effectively creating a better future for public libraries. The main message is that there is a pressing need for public librarians and other supporters of public libraries to be: 1.Aware of the political process and its implications for libraries; 2.Attuned to the interrelationships between policy and politics; and 3.Engaged in the policy process to articulate the need for policies that support public libraries. The style is both scholarly and accessible to general readers, with the goal of being useful to students, educators, researchers, practitioners, and friends of public libraries in library and information science. It will also be usefull for those engaged in areas of public policy, government, economics, and political science who are interested in the relationships between public libraries, public policy, and political processes. Building upon the discussion of the key issues, the book offers proposals for professional, policy-making, and political strategies that can strengthen the public library and its ability to meet the needs of individuals and communities. The discussion and analysis in the book draw upon data and real world examples from the many studies that the authors have conducted on related topics, including libraries' outreach to increasingly diverse service populations and efforts to meet community needs through innovative partnerships. As the intersection of politics, policy, and libraries has grown in importance and complexity in recent years, the need for a book on their interrelationships is long overdue.

At the heart of any discussion about the future of libraries is the future of librarians-and how well our instructional programs, especially the Master of Library Science (MLS) degree, prepare them for their careers. Building on the Re-envisioning the MLS initiative from the University of Maryland's iSchool and the Information Policy & Access Center (iPAC), this book continues the critical conversations around preparing future librarians. Library and information science (LIS) programs are the foundation of librarianship, and their design requires input from everyone in the field-from academics designing programs and courses, to practitioners reflecting on how prepared (or unprepared) they are to serve their communities, to hiring authorities considering qualifications of candidates. The second installment of this two-part volume explores many of the challenges and opportunities inherent in the future of the MLS degree, including the changing nature of the communities that libraries serve and how LIS education should address these changes, how archival training must accommodate big data, the specialized skill sets librarians need on the job, and how best to prepare librarians for their role as educators. These conversations will never be fully resolved, as LIS education must continue to evolve to ensure the efficacy of libraries and the librarians at the heart of the work.

All libraries have patrons and staff members with disabilities, making equitable service a priority for these organizations as they provide diverse services to their entire communities. Although rapid technological changes in recent years have offered challenges to libraries, these same technologies provide opportunities to embrace the concept of accessible library services and create innovative new services for patrons with disabilities. Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities and the Inclusive Future of Libraries, edited by Brian Wentz, Paul T. Jaeger, and John Carlo Bertot, focuses on the issues at the intersection of disability, accessibility, inclusion and libraries. The chapters in this volume provide best practices and innovative ideas to share amongst libraries, explore the roles that internet and communication technologies play in the context of inclusive libraries, illuminate the important contributions of libraries in promoting social inclusion of and social justice for people with disabilities, and help libraries to better articulate their contributions in these areas as they engage with disability groups, funders, policymakers, and other parts of their communities.

At the heart of any discussion about the future of libraries is the future of librarians-and how well our instructional programs, especially the Master of Library Science (MLS) degree, prepare them for their careers. Building on the Re-envisioning the MLS initiative from the University of Maryland's iSchool and the Information Policy & Access Center (iPAC), this book continues the critical conversations around preparing future librarians. Library and information science (LIS) programs are the foundation of librarianship, and their design requires input from everyone in the field-from academics designing programs and courses, to practitioners reflecting on how prepared (or unprepared) they are to serve their communities, to hiring authorities considering qualifications of candidates. The second installment of this two-part volume explores many of the challenges and opportunities inherent in the future of the MLS degree, including the changing nature of the communities that libraries serve and how LIS education should address these changes, how archival training must accommodate big data, the specialized skill sets librarians need on the job, and how best to prepare librarians for their role as educators. These conversations will never be fully resolved, as LIS education must continue to evolve to ensure the efficacy of libraries and the librarians at the heart of the work.

This book describes techniques for evaluating services provided through library networks, including collection development, group purchases, and reference services. Providing guides for developing evaluation instruments, testing them and applying them, it is comprehensive in its treatment of evaluating network services. Featuring contributions from some of the leaders in the area of e-metrics (Oliver Pesh, Ebsco; Judith Hiott, Houston Public; Jeff Shim, ARL e-metrics; and Chuck McClure) this book is an integrated, updated knowledge base of events in this area since 1998. It also provides a great deal of experiential knowledge concerning what libraries should do, plan for, and use in e-metrics.

This book is a timely and detailed exploration of the impact and issues of the Internet in public libraries and their implications for society, policy, and professional practice. Public Libraries and the Internet: Roles, Perspectives, and Implications explores the impact of the Internet and the expansion of the networked environment on U.S. public libraries through more than a dozen essays written by leading scholars and administrators. Notwithstanding the far-reaching changes wrought by the Internet, this is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive exploration of the subject over time and across areas of practice. This wide-ranging volume, edited by the authors of several national studies tracking the use and involvement of public libraries with the Internet since 1994, offers both description and assessment. It discusses the ways in which the roles and services of public libraries have changed as a result of the Internet and offers a perspective on the meaning and impact of these changes. Perhaps most critically, it also suggests possible futures and opportunities as public libraries continue to evolve in this networked environment.