We now have a new ALA president, Loriene Roy, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. I think she has a tough act to follow. Leslie Burger was certainly high profile, and clearly did a great job of taking ALA in a new direction. In the post-Gorman era, she re-established member confidence, generated [...]

Ithaka has just come out with a report on university publishing that librarians should read. It’s not just about university presses, but discusses how institutions of higher learning handle “the communication and broad dissemination of knowledge” – and yes, libraries are part of it. According to the report, and it’s no surprise, “the lines between [...]

Still using the tools of the past in your library instruction? Spending perhaps a tad too much time lecturing to students? Perhaps wowing them with PowerPoint slides as a warm up to your point and click search demos? Well, you may be a tool of the educational past as well. At least that’s according to [...]

The University of Kansas is taking a get-tough approach to copyright. Violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is against the law. If you are caught downloading copyrighted material, you will lose your ResNet privileges forever. No second notices, no excuses, no refunds. One violation and your ResNet internet access is gone for as long [...]

The library has been eerily quiet now that most students have left campus for the summer. I miss being interrupted numerous times a day, students working on their laptops, and the sound of books being checked in and out. So, when do they come back? I took a step back and thought about it, and [...]