Best of
Library-Science

2008

The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind


James Boyle - 2008
    Boyle argues that just as every informed citizen needs to know at least something about the environment or civil rights, every citizen should also understand intellectual property law. Why? Because intellectual property rights mark out the ground rules of the information society, and today’s policies are unbalanced, unsupported by evidence, and often detrimental to cultural access, free speech, digital creativity, and scientific innovation.Boyle identifies as a major problem the widespread failure to understand the importance of the public domain—the realm of material that everyone is free to use and share without permission or fee. The public domain is as vital to innovation and culture as the realm of material protected by intellectual property rights, he asserts, and he calls for a movement akin to the environmental movement to preserve it. With a clear analysis of issues ranging from Jefferson’s philosophy of innovation to musical sampling, synthetic biology and Internet file sharing, this timely book brings a positive new perspective to important cultural and legal debates. If we continue to enclose the “commons of the mind,” Boyle argues, we will all be the poorer.

Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century


Pam B. Cole - 2008
    The first three chapters familiarize teacher candidates with the reading process of teens, discuss teen attitudes toward reading, and examine their interests and reading abilities. The genre chapters (Chapters 4-13) discuss genre characteristics and themes, survey young adult literature within the genre category, and examine relevant young adult literature in terms of style and structure. Each of the genre chapters also includes selections to illustrate methods for teaching reading to all learners - including methods that focus on writing skills - and provides the teacher candidate with additional resources in the field of young adult literature.

Connecting Boys With Books 2


Michael Sullivan - 2008
    In this work, Sullivan digs deeper, melding his own experiences as an activist with perspectives gleaned from other industry experts to help you learn about the books that boys love to read, uncover the signs that point to the reading gap, find creative programming ideas to match boys' interests, and more.

From Lucky to Smart: Leadership Lessons from Quiktrip


Chester Cadieux - 2008
    From the trials of rapid expansion to the groundbreaking introduction of self-service fountain drinks, Cadieux honestly explores the importance of addressing constant changes in the marketplace. He also underscores the importance of recognizing that the people serving the public the store employees are the heart of the organization.

Radical Cataloging: Essays at the Front


K.R. Roberto - 2008
    The contributors, including Sanford Berman, Thomas Mann, and numerous front-line library workers, address topics ranging from criticisms of the state of the profession and traditional Library of Congress cataloging to methods of making cataloging more inclusive and helpful to library users. Other essay topics include historical overviews of cataloging practices and the literature they generate, first-person discussions of library workers' experiences with cataloging or metadata work, and the implications behind what materials get cataloged, who catalogs them, and how. Several essays provide a critical overview of innovative cataloging practices and the ways that such practices have been successfully integrated in many of the nation's leading libraries. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

The Stargazer's Handbook An Atlas Of The Night Sky


Giles Sparrow - 2008
    Illustrated with over 100 of the best astronomical images ever captured and unique state-of-the art computer graphics of photo perfect star maps.

CREW: A Weeding Manual For Modern Libraries


Jeanette Larson - 2008
    

Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action


AASL - 2008
    This practical book answers such critical questions as how do the strands - the skills, dispositions in action, responsibilities, and self-assessment strategies - relate to one another?

Children's Literature in Action: A Librarian's Guide


Sylvia M. Vardell - 2008
    Help is given for the selection and sharing of books in each genre. Each chapter has brief insets of author comments, collaborative activities, featured books, special topics and activities, selected awards and celebrations, historical connections, recommended resources, issues for discussion, and assignment suggestions.The author, a former President of the U.S. Board on Books for Young People, has written an affordable text especially for school and children's librarians and faculty teaching both undergraduate and graduate students who are studying to be school and children's librarians. While similar texts on this subject are designed for teachers, this is an activities-oriented survey of children's literature written especially for students seeking licensure and degrees leading to careers working with children in schools and public libraries. All the pieces are there, the explanations of the genres, introductions to authors and illustrations, and the use of specific titles with their audiences, and the literature is carefully linked to active practice in libraries. Chapters are enriched by brief insets of authors' comments, collaborative activities, selected awards and celebrations, historical connections, recommended resources, issues for discussion, and assignment suggestions.The framework for this text adds a layer of practical application in every chapter for the librarian who shares books with children, plans book-based programs, and collaborates with teachers and families in sharing books and developing literature-based instruction. What does a librarian need to know about how to select and share books in each genre? What are the usual promotion and collaboration activities associated with each genre? This book answers those questions while maintaining its focus on literature for children. Embedded in a genre approach to literature, it has a unique focus on the librarian or future librarian.

Internet Inquiry: Conversations about Method


Annette N. Markham - 2008
    Internet Inquiry: Conversations About Method takes students into the minds of top internet researchers as they discuss how they have worked through critical challenges as they research online social environments. Editors Annette N. Markham and Nancy K. Baym illustrate that good research choices are not random but are deliberate, studied, and internally consistent. Rather than providing single "how to" answers, this book presents distinctive and divergent viewpoints on how to think about and conduct qualitative internet studies.

A World of Letters: Yale University Press, 1908-2008


Nicholas A. Basbanes - 2008
    The Press has published more than 8,000 volumes through the years, scores of bestsellers and award-winners among them, and these books have come to fruition through the efforts of a host of colorful authors, editors, directors, board members, and others of intellectual and literary renown. With an ear always cocked for an interesting tale, one of today’s best storytellers presents an anecdote-rich chronicle of the Press’s first 100 years. Nicholas Basbanes, whom David McCullough has called “the leading authority of books about books,” quickly convinces us that the Press’s history, while bookish, is also lively and fascinating. Basbanes explores the saga behind the acquisition of Eugene O’Neill’s blockbuster play, the all-time Yale bestseller Long Day’s Journey into Night; the controversy sparked in 1965 by publication of The Vinland Map; the origins of the groundbreaking Annals of Communism series, initiated in the wake of the Soviet Union’s demise; and many more highlights from Press annals. Basbanes looks at the reasons behind the publisher’s remarkable financial success, and he completes A World of Letters with a glimpse at the new initiatives that will propel the Press into a second exciting century.

BOOKMATCH: How to Scaffold Student Book Selection for Independent Reading


Linda Wedwick - 2008
    This book shows you how to break away from this approach by using BOOKMATCH, an instructional tool that empowers students through choice and independence while showing them how to strategically and effectively select just-right books. In doing so, you will learn to set up and manage an effective independent reading time in which students truly engage in the practice of reading while building a positive attitude. BOOKMATCH is a tool that is easily incorporated into your existing curriculum and with learners of varying ability levels, and with BOOKMATCH, you'll be able to assist in the independent reading progress made by each student and support their comprehension and self-awareness as literacy learners.

Restoring Order: The Ecole Des Chartes and the Organization of Archives and Libraries in France, 1820-1870


Lara Jennifer Moore - 2008
    In contrast, Moore argues that the organization of archives and libraries in nineteenth-century France was neither steady nor progressive. By following the development of the Ecole des Chartes, the state school for archivists and librarians, Moore shows that conceptions of "order" changed dramatically from one decade to the next. More important, she argues that these changing notions of "order" were directly connected to contemporary shifts in state politics. Since each new political regime had its own conceptions of both national history and public knowledge, each one worked to "restore order" in a different way.

Understanding Children's Books: A Guide for Education Professionals


Prue Goodwin - 2008
    Each chapter reflects on a different theme or genre and their role in educational settings, and recommends ten 'must reads' within each one.

The Social Transcript: Uncovering Library Philosophy


Charles B. Osburn - 2008
    Conversely, theories relative to the operation of libraries, rather than relative to why its operations are necessary in the first place, are exceedingly abundant. Not surprisingly, fundamental misunderstandings are shared among public, scholar, and librarian about what the library is and why it exists. Adapting the work of Kenneth Boulding, Osburn presents a cogent, well substantiated explanation of why the library refuses to cede its position as a cultural icon; and how it not only continues but flourishes throughout the trials and errors of civilization.The written record of the human race, as we find it in the great libraries, is a precious heritage of communication and profoundly affects the content of what we have to communicate about. Indeed, we stand on the shoulders of the past through its records. --Kenneth Boulding.On the one hand, the concept of a library reflects a rational social process, its genesis and survival the result of each succeeding generation embracing the same core values as the one before. At the same time, practice in the library is bounded by both the experiences and expectations of the public, and our choice and treatment of topic in our scholarly and professional literature. Not surprisingly, fundamental misunderstandings are shared among public, scholar, and librarian about what the library is and why it exists.Adapting the work of Kenneth Boulding, Charles Osburn presents a cogent, well substantiated explanation of why the library refuses to cede its position as a cultural icon; and how it not only continues but flourishes throughout the trials and errors of civilization.

What Every ESL Student Should Know: A Guide to College and University Academic Success


Kathy Ochoa Flores - 2008
    It is a compilation of advice, experiences, suggestions, strategies, and learning theories collected over many years of teaching this population.What Every ESL Student Should Know was written to help English language learners be successful in community college and college classrooms—specifically, how to prepare students for expectations and behavior within the classroom and how to help them to be good students, how to participate in class, what to expect from the class, and what to do to learn English. Learning strategies and language theories are presented in brief.This text is ideal for orientations or pre-college workshops for international orimmigrant students.

Navigating Legal Issues In Archives


Menzi L. Behrnd-Klodt - 2008
    The book contains 22 chapters that are divided into 4 major sections corresponding to functional areas of archival and public history work:-legal framework (especially useful for its orientation to the structure of laws and litigation, how to work with lawyers, and how to be a good client):-acquiring and securing ownership to collections;-access (e.g., privacy, student, health, presidential, and public records); and-copyright and intellectual property.Each chapter begins with a short bulleted list stating "Why this topic is important" and "Who will find the chapter particularly useful."The book includes many sample legal documents, forms, policies, and guidelines (e.g., mission statement, collections policy, subpoena examples, deeds of gift, restrictions, copyright expiration table, deaccession and loan forms, and releases for users requesting copies from a repository). An explanation of the legal issues in each is provided along with the curatorial and cutltural objectives at stake.

Web 2.0 for Librarians and Information Professionals


Ellyssa Kroski - 2008
    Using an easy-to-understand writing style, author Ellyssa Kroski provides librarians and information professionals with a detailed look at the latest and hottest technologies. She provides innovative, real-world examples of libraries which are using these technologies to enhance their online presence, showcase services and increase patronage - as well as helpful, illustrative screenshots. Whether to create a book review blog, social bookmark collection, subject specific RSS feed, or a specialized search engine, librarians will find this guide invaluable for promoting their services in a digital age and attracting even the most tech-savvy of patrons.

Designing the Digital Experience: How to Use Experience Design Tools Techniques to Build Web Sites Customers Love


David Lee King - 2008
    From helping customers quickly find information and make their purchases to clearly communicating needs and interests, this resource will not only develop consumer loyalty but will encourage them to spread the word about the sites they frequent. Focusing on the three key areas of structure, community, and customers, designers will enable clients to focus on their own goals rather than on difficulties in navigating. Also included are tips on how to generate conversations with blogs, wikis, and podcasting to create a personal touch.

Basics of Genealogy Reference: A Librarian's Guide


Jack Simpson - 2008
    Increasingly, major genealogy resources are available online at libraries through subscription databases or free on the internet. As a result, librarians face the overwhelming task of helping a large audience of genealogists cope with an ever growing flood of new resources.This book offers novice and experienced reference librarians an introduction to tried-and-true genealogy techniques and resources. With the help of four case studies, Simpson outlines a basic starting strategy for conducting genealogy research. Later chapters deal specifically with genealogical librarianship: how to conduct a reference interview, continuing and professional development, and basic resources every collection should have. Charts, screen shots, and examples of public documents are also included; while a series of appendices present the case studies in their entirety.

Information and Liberation: Writings on the Politics of Information and Librarianship


Shiraz Durrani - 2008
    The book documents the struggle for progressive and relevant information policies and practices over a period of 25 years in Kenya, Britain, and other countries. The book records also the vision, struggles and achievements of many progressive librarians and activists to develop a system and a society which can meet the information, social and cultural needs of all, particularly those marginalised by forces of capitalism and imperialism.

The Teen-Centered Writing Club: Bringing Teens and Words Together


Constance Hardesty - 2008
    Teens have primal urges to create and to connect. Now you can tap into those urges with the help of this comprehensive, step-by-step guide to creating a teen writing club in the school or public library. Featuring creative writing activities, with detailed planning advice, coaching tips, and culminating in performance/publishing ideas, this book makes it easy for you to create a place where teen writers connect with one another through words--written, spoken, sung, or even howled. Grades 6-12

Intellectual Development: Connecting Science and Practice in Early Childhood Settings


Dave Riley - 2008
    In reality, research shows that these activities are actually learning tools that promote children's intellectual development.Why do we sort blocks and sing nursery rhymes with children, and what do they learn from these activities? Intellectual Development answers these questions and investigates the link between the best practices in early childhood education and the science of child development. This book will help teachers answer the question “Why do we do what we do?”Chapters cover language and literacy development, early number learning, and musical and artistic development. The book also contains information on early learning standards, practice tips, and recommended readings.

Questioning Library Neutrality: Essays from Progressive Librarian


Alison Lewis - 2008
    They are a selection of essays originally published in Progressive Librarian, the journal of the Progressive Librarians Guild, presented in the chronological order of their appearance there. These essays, some by academics and some by passionate practitioners, offer a set of critiques of the notion of neutrality as it governs professional activity, focusing on the importance of meaningful engagement in the social sphere.

Cataloging of Audiovisual Materials and Other Special Materials: A Manual Based on AACR2 and Marc 21


Nancy B. Olson - 2008
    Not surprisingly, such materials constitute an increasingly vital part of any library's collection, and a particular and ongoing challenge to its catalogers.For over two decades, Cataloging of Audiovisual Materials and Other Special Materials has served as the place to go for catalogers of nonprint materials around the world. Individual chapters deal with cartographic materials, sound recordings, videorecordings, graphic materials, three-dimensional artifacts and realia, and kits; all of which are substantially updated; while two additional sections, Electronic Resources and Serials, have been completely rewritten.Each chapter begins with a discussion of the general problems a particular media presents, followed by a statement of applicable AACR2 rules and an overview of existing Library of Congress rule interpretations. Facsimiles of source material, with appropriate coding/tagging, subject headings, and call numbers appear throughout.

Scorecards for Results: A Guide for Developing a Library Balanced Scorecard


Joseph R. Matthews - 2008
    What if we told you the same principle works for libraries?The Balanced Scorecard is a performance measurement tool first popularized by Robert Kaplan and David Norton (who also penned the foreword to this book) in a 1993 Harvard Business Review article. It involves matching a variety of measures with one or more expected values--from each of four perspectives (financial, customer, internal process, and organizational readiness)--tracking results, and analyzing any variance between them. As in baseball, organizations come away with both a snapshot of the present and a sense of where they are headed.Evaluation expert Joe Matthews has taken this basic model and, in six carefully illustrated steps, shows how any public library, regardless of size, can more effectively focus its resources, assess strategic impact, and in so doing better serve its community.

Google Scholar and More: New Google Applications and Tools for Libraries and Library Users


William Miller III - 2008
    This book discusses how libraries can go beyond Google's basic search and Scholar functions to expand services for their patrons. Respected authorities reveal the expanding variety of new Google applications developed in the past few years, many of which have not received wide attention and are as yet not often used in libraries. Applications explored include Google Co-op, Google News, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, Google Calendar, and Google Talk.This book also discusses different important aspects of the company's expansion of functions, such as the failure of the Google Answers experiment, the broad variety of free Google applications that librarians can use to collaborate, and the success of Google's Blogger, among others. A helpful chronology of Google's growth is provided, as well as comparative analyses between various Google functions and other functions that are currently available. The book is extensively referenced. This book is an invaluable resource for academic librarians, public librarians, school librarians, library science faculty, and special librarians.This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Library Administration.