Archives

• November/December

  Vol. 58 No. 8 (2022)

  Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 8 (November/December 2022) “The Current and Evolving Landscape of Bibliometric Tools and Technologies,” by Laura Bredahl.

  While bibliometrics has been around for decades, with the recent development of new bibliometric tools, there has been a surge in interest in bibliometric services at academic institutions in North America. Navigating this rapidly evolving landscape can be a challenge for academic institutions as they attempt to determine which tools and skill sets will best meet their needs. This issue of Library Technology Reports, “The Current and Evolving Landscape of Bibliometric Tools and Technologies” (vol. 58, no. 8), will help guide decision makers and practitioners in their selection and use of current bibliometric tools and related systems, and it will offer some insight into future directions.

• October

  Vol. 58 No. 7 (2022)

  Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 7 (October 2022) “The Current Landscape of Electronic Resources Access Issues,” by Ashley Zmau and Holly Talbott.

  In this issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 58, no. 7), “The Current Landscape of Electronic Resources Access Issues,” we discuss the current landscape of electronic resources access issues through the lens of the prevailing access tool employed by academic libraries: the discovery service. The report outlines the technical components through which library end users gain access to electronic materials through the discovery system environment and describes the common points of failure within them. The report also discusses the troubleshooting techniques and tools through which access issues are identified and diagnosed. The report closes with a discussion on new technological developments in library discovery and access, highlighting the new opportunities for access failure, as well as the initiatives aimed at mitigating these issues.

• August/September

  Vol. 58 No. 6 (2022)

  Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 6 (August/September 2022) “Improving Access to and Delivery of Academic Content from Libraries,” by Aaron Tay.

  While academic libraries have traditionally focused on discovery, helping users to seamlessly access resources available behind a paywall is becoming equally important. The emergence of Sci-Hub into the public eye has led not only to more academic piracy but also to the discovery that academic users were using Sci-Hub for the sheer convenience of not needing to authenticate. This and other reasons have led to the suspicion that there is a need to improve and streamline the processes for users to authenticate and access resources available behind paywalls.

  While the traditional solutions are IP authentication and federated access, we now have a slew of possible alternatives or improvements. These include initiatives like SeamlessAccess and GetFTR as well as the emergence of new third-party tools known as access broker browser extensions, such as Lean Library and LibKey Nomad.

  Google has also been working toward a solution dubbed Campus Activated Subscriber Access (CASA), while the rise of content syndication partnerships between publishers like Springer Nature and ResearchGate gives the possibility of authentication using researcher profiles.

  This issue of Library Technology Reports, “Improving Access to and Delivery of Academic Content from Libraries,” will walk the interested nontechnical librarian through understanding the fundamentals needed to plan for these new developments.

• July

  Vol. 58 No. 5 (2022)

  Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 5 (July 2022), “Designing Information Literacy Tutorials: Tips, Techniques, and Trends,” by Yvonne Mery

  Even before the pandemic, many librarians were teaching online via video or interactive tutorials. But how do we know if our tutorials are any good? This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 58, no. 5), “Designing Information Literacy Tutorials: Tips, Techniques, and Trends,” explores how librarians can create engaging and effective tutorials that are aligned with how this generation of students learns. The report starts with how to design better tutorials by using newer, agile instructional design models and implementing adult learning theories. The next chapter takes a deep dive into one trending and successful approach: microlearning. Chapter 3 discusses accessibility and universal design. Next, we take a look at getting feedback from our users, and we wrap up with a look at some helpful e-learning tools librarians need to create better tutorials.

• May/June

  Vol. 58 No. 4 (2022)

  Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 4 (May/June 2022), “US Census Data: Concepts and Applications for Supporting Research,” by Frank Donnelly

  More than just a ten-year count, the US census is a collection of high-quality, geographically detailed, and free and open datasets that describe the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the nation on an ongoing basis. This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 58, no. 4), “US Census Data: Concepts and Applications for Supporting Research,” provides readers with a crash course on the census: learn about the concepts on which the census is organized, the key datasets, accessing data online and through scripts via APIs, and considerations for using GIS, historical data, and microdata. Librarians will gain knowledge they can use for assisting members of their communities with census data and will see how the census can be used for library planning and research.

• April

  Vol. 58 No. 3 (2022)

  Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 3 (April 2022), “Thinking Differently about Library Websites: Beyond Your Preconceptions,” by Laura Solomon

  In this issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 58, no. 3), we’ll look at the common preconceptions of library websites and web design and work toward understanding what makes a useful, relevant library website that is user-friendly.

• February/March

  Vol. 58 No. 2 (2022)

  Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 2 (February/March 2022), “Patron Engagement and Marketing Products and Services for Public Libraries,” by Marshall Breeding

  This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 58, no. 2), “Patron Engagement and Marketing Products and Services for Public Libraries,” provides an overview of the technology products currently available to support library outreach and marketing strategies. In response to public libraries’ interest in proactive marketing of their programs, services, and collections, a variety of new products have been introduced. Each takes a different approach in providing libraries with sophisticated tools to support marketing campaigns or other initiatives to strengthen engagement with their communities. Many involve harvesting data and producing analytics and visualizations that aim to provide insight into the strategic performance of the library and the effectiveness of its marketing efforts.

• January

  Vol. 58 No. 1 (2022)

  Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 1 (January 2022), "Library Engagement Platforms," by David Lee King 

  This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 58, no. 1), “Library Engagement Platforms,” introduces library engagement platforms, explains what types of interactions take place while using them, and illustrates why libraries need to utilize them to connect with their customers. These interactions take place using a variety of communication channels, including e-mail, text messages, and mobile phone notifications. The end goal of a library engagement platform isn’t the messaging; it’s engaging with that customer and moving them to respond and interact, or engage, with the library.

• November/December

  Vol. 57 No. 8 (2021)

  Library Technology Reports vol. 57, no. 8 (October 2021), "Using the Toward Gigabit Libraries Toolkit," by Carson Block 

  The Toward Gigabit Libraries (TGL) toolkit was a project originally funded by a Laura Bush grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The initial phase took place from 2015 to 2018 and included on-site visits to test the toolkit in real-world applications. An important focus of the grant was that the toolkit should work for all libraries but should be especially helpful to rural, tribal, and underfunded libraries. A second grant was awarded in 2020, and while somewhat hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic, a new project (called Gigabit Libraries and Beyond) is underway to further refine the toolkit to expand reach to tribal and rural libraries and explore how the toolkit may be used in “tech desert” urban areas. This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 57, no. 8), “Using the Toward Gigabit Libraries Toolkit,” presents ideas for using the resources of the toolkit and gives examples of how libraries have used it in troubleshooting or training.

• October

  Vol. 57 No. 7 (2021)

  Library Technology Reports vol. 57, no. 7 (October 2021), "Library IT Management in Times of Crisis," by Jason Bengtson 

  Crisis and disaster can strike at any time. During times of crisis, IT departments become even more vital parts of the organization by empowering libraries to recover and respond to challenges. At such times technology concerns, as well as leveraging technology to ameliorate the effects of a crisis, should be a major focus for libraries. This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 57, no. 7), “Library IT Management in Times of Crisis,” will describe different crisis effects, ways in which technology can assist in responding to them, and issues for library technology managers to be aware of.