A pracitcal guide to the new model for library service delivery, the Information Commons, an umbrella concept describing the physical, virtual, and cultural environment for new learning communities of students, teachers, scholars, and researchers.

The "commons" has come to mean many things to many people, and the term is often used inconsistently. The study of the commons has expanded dramatically since Garrett Hardin’s The Tragedy of the Commons (1968) popularized the dilemma faced by users of common pool resources. This comprehensive Handbook serves as a unique synthesis and resource for understanding how analytical frameworks developed within the literature assist in understanding the nature and management of commons resources. Such frameworks include those related to Institutional Analysis and Development, Social-Ecological Systems, and Polycentricity, among others. The book aggregates and analyses these frameworks to lay a foundation for exploring how they apply according to scholars across a wide range of disciplines. It includes an exploration of the unique problems arising in different disciplines of commons study, including natural resources (forests, oceans, water, energy, ecosystems, etc), economics, law, governance, the humanities, and intellectual property. It shows how the analytical frameworks discussed early in the book facilitate interdisciplinarity within commons scholarship. This interdisciplinary approach within the context of analytical frameworks helps facilitate a more complete understanding of the similarities and differences faced by commons resource users and managers, the usefulness of the commons lens as an analytical tool for studying resource management problems, and the best mechanisms by which to formulate policies aimed at addressing such problems.

Creating a Learning Commons: A Practical Guide for Librarians provides experienced and detailed research-based guidance for academic librarians and other professionals charged with creating a learning commons. Readers can follow the entire process of developing a library learning commons design and implementation plan from inception to post-occupancy planning and assessment. This practical guide is designed to help librarians develop sound strategies for navigating the challenging issues that often emerge in launching a dynamic and collaborative new library learning commons space within a university or college setting. Lampert and Meyers-Martin provide a practical guide, complete with examples and photos of award-winning learning commons designs. This book will help dedicated professionals identify best practices within today’s existing learning commons settings and get up to speed on how to best approach developing their own library’s new and innovative learning spaces.

Creating and Promoting Lifelong Learning in Public Libraries: Tools and Tips For Practitioners is the sequel to Lifelong Learning in Public Libraries: Principles, Programs, and People. On the one hand, Lifelong Learning in Public Libraries focuses on the information needs and the developmental and psychological characteristics of diverse library users of all ages. It endorses the use of ILI to promote lifelong learning in public libraries, both by borrowing techniques from academic and school libraries and by building on existing public library traditions of programming and outreach. This book also compares lifelong learning in public libraries to informal and nonformal education in museums, community organizations and agencies, places of worship, and other organizations. In addition, Lifelong Learnng in Public Libraries describes basic steps that librarians can execute in order to get started. On the other hand, Creating and Promoting Lifelong Learning in Public Libraries focuses much more on how public librarians can specifically plan and implement their instruction with chapters on planning for instruction, using teaching methodologies, teaching with and about technology, and bringing ILI together with more traditional public library services, programming, and activities, such as reference and Readers’ Advisory services, bibliotherapy, and cultural and literacy programming. Changes in ILI standards and comparisons of ILI with basic reading, media, digital, and cultural literacies are also described. Both books together should act as basic manuals for public librarians who promote lifelong learning. Creating and Promoting Lifelong Learning in Public Libraries also have helpful teaching hints for all librarians and other professionals who teach in a variety of settings.

This new, revised, and expanded edition of the popular Academic’s Handbook is an essential guide for those planning or beginning an academic career. Faculty members, administrators, and professionals with experience at all levels of higher education offer candid, practical advice to help beginning academics understand matters including: — The different kinds of institutions of higher learning and expectations of faculty at each. — The advantages and disadvantages of teaching at four-year colleges instead of research universities. — The ins and outs of the job market. — Alternatives to tenure-track, research-oriented positions. — Salary and benefits. — The tenure system. — Pedagogy in both large lecture courses and small, discussion-based seminars. — The difficulties facing women and minorities within academia. — Corporations, foundations, and the federal government as potential sources of research funds. — The challenges of faculty mentoring. — The impact of technology on contemporary teaching and learning. — Different types of publishers and the publishing process at university presses. — The modern research library. — The structure of university governance. — The role of departments within the university. With the inclusion of eight new chapters, this edition of The Academic’s Handbook is designed to ease the transition from graduate school to a well-rounded and rewarding career. Contributors. Judith K. Argon, Louis J. Budd, Ronald R. Butters, Norman L. Christensen, Joel Colton, Paul L. Conway, John G. Cross, Fred E. Crossland, Cathy N. Davidson, A. Leigh DeNeef, Beth A. Eastlick, Matthew W. Finkin, Jerry G. Gaff, Edie N. Goldenberg, Craufurd D. Goodwin, Stanley M. Hauerwas, Deborah L. Jakubs, L. Gregory Jones, Nellie Y. McKay, Patrick M. Murphy, Elizabeth Studley Nathans, A. Kenneth Pye, Zachary B. Robbins, Anne Firor Scott, Sudhir Shetty, Samuel Schuman, Philip Stewart, Boyd R. Strain, Emily Toth, P. Aarne Vesilind, Judith S. White, Henry M. Wilbur, Ken Wissoker

This book examines successfully planned and implemented learning commons at several different academic institutions around the world. These case studies provide a methodology for effective planning, implementation and assessment. Practical information is provided on how to collaborate with campus stakeholders, estimate budgeting and staffing and determine the equipment, hardware and software needs. Also provided are memoranda of understandings (MOUs), planning checklists and assessment tools. This book reflects a unifying focus on both the evolution of learning commons to learning spaces and the collaborative aspect of co-creating learning spaces. - Unique case studies representing very different types of Information Commons, Learning Commons, Faculty Commons and other Learning Spaces - International breadth and depth is assured through inclusion of case studies from Canadian, New Zealand, Australian and European institutions in addition to six in the United States - Practical checklists of planning and implantation considerations, as well as memorandum of understanding (MOU) templates, form the appendices

El espacio, ya sea físico o virtual, puede tener un impacto significativo en el aprendizaje. Learning Spaces se centra en la forma en que las expectativas de los alumnos influyen en dichos espacios, en los principios y actividades que facilitan el aprendizaje y en el papel de la tecnología desde la perspectiva de quienes crean los entornos de aprendizaje: profesores, tecnólogos del aprendizaje, bibliotecarios y administradores. La tecnología de la información ha aportado capacidades únicas a los espacios de aprendizaje, ya sea estimulando una mayor interacción mediante el uso de herramientas de colaboración, videoconferencias con expertos internacionales o abriendo mundos virtuales para la exploración. Este libro representa una exploración continua a medida que unimos el espacio, la tecnología y la pedagogía para asegurar el éxito de los estudiantes.

The Desk and Beyond is intended to provide a thorough exploration of the present and possible future applications of eleven of the most promising new reference delivery methods. In order to reflect the growing role of the digital environment while still respecting the importance of in-person interaction, a balance of physical and virtual methods has been maintained. This collection is intended to provide inspiration for potential reference services at your library; each chapter provides an introduction to an innovative service concept and an annotated list of sources for additional research.

The Whole Library Handbook, now in its fifth edition, is an encyclopedia filled with facts, tips, lists, and resources essential for library professionals and information workers of all kinds, all carefully handpicked to reflect the most informative, practical, up-to-date, and entertaining examples of library literature. Organized in easy-to-find categories, this unique compendium covers all areas of librarianship from academic libraries to teen services, from cataloging to copyright, and from gaming to social media. Selections include Facts and figures on library workers Bookmobile guidelines 100 great libraries of the world Job search and recruitment techniques, and advice on how to deal with tough economic times Tips on writing articles and book reviews Fun with cataloging rules Famous librarians’ favorite books Covering a huge spectrum of librariana, this one-of-a-kind volume is both educational and entertaining.

Meeting the Needs of Student Users in Academic Libraries surveys and evaluates the current practice of learning commons and research services within the academic library community in order to determine if these learning spaces are functioning as intended. To evaluate their findings, the authors examine the measurement tools that libraries have used to evaluate usage and satisfaction, including contemporary anthropological studies that provide a more detailed view of the student's approach to research. The book takes a candid look at these redesigns and asks if improvements have lived up to expectations of increased service and user satisfaction. Are librarians using these findings to inform the evolution and implementation of new service models, or have they simply put a new shade of lipstick on the pig? - Takes an honest look at learning commons in academic libraries and discusses what is working and what is not - Explores behind the statistics as to why users come to the library; does the librarians' concept of 'the library as place' match user perception? - Looks at the anthropology of the user to gauge satisfaction with the services and space provided by the library via recent survey findings