American Library Association Annual Conference Research Articles

Emerging Leaders: Welcoming Students to ALSC

The American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leaders (EL) program enables newer library workers from across the country to participate in problem-solving work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. As a part of the program, participants work in groups on a research project and display the result of their work during the ALA Annual Conference.

Report of the ALCTS Electronic Resources Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA, January 2020

The ALCTS Electronic Resources Interest Group (ERIG) held its ALA Midwinter 2020 meeting Saturday, January 25, from 1 to 2 p.m. The meeting consisted of three presentations related to electronic re...

Editorial

I have two important pieces of news to share. The first is that my term as the Library Resources and Technical Services (LRTS) Editor ends next year. I will chair my last LRTS Editorial Board meeting at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago in June 2021. A search committee will be formed and will look for the next LRTS Editor. My term officially ends in December 2021 so that there will be overlap between the new editor and me. This will enable a smooth transition between editors, and I will mentor the new editor. If you are interested in serving as the LRTS Editor, please apply. Or if you know someone who is interested, nominate that person (I was nominated). It is a rewarding experience and I have worked with many amazing people during my years as the LRTS Editor. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity. I am considering my next steps after my term has concluded.

Best Practices from World Libraries Photo Gallery Project: Engaging Global Libraries

This article reports on the “2019 Best Practices from World Libraries” Photo Gallery Project initiated by the International Connections Committee (ICC) of the International Relations Round Table (IRRT) at the American Library Association (ALA). The project was inspired by a 2018 ALA-IRRT Emerging Leader’s project, Toward Increasing Engagement of International New Professional Leaders in ALA Activities, which followed a survey study developed to explore IRRT’s ability to engage its international members. The article shares the project planning process and the key actions taken to build a virtual and physical gallery for the 2019 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC, as well as highlights example programs from the project which demonstrate how libraries around the world are building stronger communities. Finally, the authors consider how the project may be improved upon and further developed in the future.

Serials Spoken Here - Reports of Conferences, Institutes, and Seminars

This column includes reports on sessions from the American Library Association Midwinter Conference 2019, with a report on how libraries can be part of a shared community with developers and users through the use of future of libraries, is open (FOLIO) library services platform and a report reflecting on future technological developments. Additionally, conference reports from the 14th Annual Electronic Resources & Libraries Conference, which includes reports on implementing troubleshooting training programs for public services staff and using budget cuts as an opportunity to generate goodwill. The remaining reports are from American Library Association Annual Conference 2019, which includes a report about the parallels between managing campaigns and managing an integrated library system (ILS) migration, how to improve a collection development plan with resources about Cheyenne and Arapaho people, and an exploration of the challenges of hosting student and faculty journals.

Ending the Silence: Utilizing Personal Experiences to Enhance a Library Mental Health Initiative

This article summarizes a panel presentation given at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Washington D.C. (June 22, 2019). The panel consisted of Sabrina Thomas, research and instruction librarian at Marshall University; Leah Tolliver, director of wellness programs and the Women’s and Gender Center at Marshall University; C. Michelle Alford, senior library IT consultant at Marshall University; and Kacy Lovelace, research and student success librarian at Marshall University. Tenikka Phillips, EAP coordinator at Cabell Huntington Hospital, worked extensively on the project but was unable to take part in the panel presentation. The following is a conversation between Sabrina Thomas and Kacy Lovelace discussing how their own personal experiences with mental health challenges and trauma served to enhance the mental health initiative in their academic library.

Report of the ALCTS CaMMS Cataloging and Classification Research Interest Group (CCRIG) Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

The Cataloging and Classification Research Interest Group (CCRIG) met at the American Library Association Annual Conference on Sunday, June 24, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. Hosted by Co-Chairs Rebecca Nous a...

Report of the Session “Open Education Resources (OER): Where Libraries are and Where We are Going,” Co-Sponsored by the ALCTS Collection Management Section (CMS) Collection Development Librarians of Academic Libraries Interest Group and the ACRL Distance Learning Section. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

Report of the Session “Open Education Resources (OER): Where Libraries are and Where We are Going,” Co-Sponsored by the ALCTS Collection Management Section (CMS) Collection Development Librarians of Academic Libraries Interest Group and the ACRL Distance Learning Section. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

Report of the ALCTS Collection Management and Electronic Resources Interest Group (CMERIG) Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

Report of the ALCTS Collection Management and Electronic Resources Interest Group (CMERIG) Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

Report of the ALCTS Scholarly Communications Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

The ALCTS Scholarly Communications Interest Group invited three speakers to discuss their institutions’ approaches to collecting open access content in a session titled, “Curating Open Access Conte...

Report of the ALCTS Role of the Professional Librarian in Technical Services Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

Report of the ALCTS Role of the Professional Librarian in Technical Services Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

American Library Association Annual Conference 2016

American Library Association Annual Conference 2016

Evaluating Your DPN Metadata Approach. A Report of the ALCTS PARS Preservation Metadata Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

The ALCTS Preservation Metadata Interest Group (PMIG) met during the 2018 ALA Annual Conference on Saturday, June 23 with an attendance of 34 people. The program began with a short business meeting...

Report of the ALCTS Acquisitions Section (AS) Acquisitions Managers and Vendors Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

The ALCTS Acquisitions Section (AS) Acquisitions Managers and Vendors Interest Group meeting at the 2018 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana consisted of ...

Report of the ALCTS Technical Services Workflow Efficiency Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

The ALCTS Technical Services Workflow Efficiency Interest Group (TSWEIG) held its meeting at the American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans. The session began with a short busine...

Collaborative Partnerships in Digital Preservation. A Report of the ALCTS PARS Digital Preservation Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

Collaborative Partnerships in Digital Preservation. A Report of the ALCTS PARS Digital Preservation Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

Report of the ALCTS Continuing Resources Section College and Research Libraries Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

Report of the ALCTS Continuing Resources Section College and Research Libraries Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

Report of the ALCTS Technical Services Managers in Academic Libraries Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

Report of the ALCTS Technical Services Managers in Academic Libraries Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 2018

Book Review: Coding with XML for Efficiencies in Cataloging and Metadata

Written as a follow-up to an Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) pre-conference held during the 2015 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, Coding with XML for Efficiencies in Cataloging and Metadata is an excellent introduction to the potential of Extensible Markup Language (XML) and related technologies in creating efficiencies in library cataloging and metadata work. As stated in the volume’s introduction, this guide will be most useful to those with some familiarity with XML or Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). However, this is not a requirement as the first chapter introduces XML in a way that will bring most newcomers up to speed. Catalogers will likely benefit most from this volume given that the majority of examples involve MARC 21 bibliographic data. However, metadata managers more broadly will also find value here, particularly in sections on XML Schema Definition Language (XSD), Extensible Stylesheet Language for Transformation (XSLT), XPath, and XQuery. Coding with XML does not purport to be a comprehensive reference for all XML work in libraries, but more of “a tutorial on its subject” (3). This is certainly true—each section provides an approachable and thorough introduction to a particular technology rather than an exhaustive list of features. There is also a useful list of resources at the end of the book for readers who want more information and more in-depth examples.

Reports of Conferences, Institutes and Seminars

This quarter’s column offers several reports from the Electronic Resources & Libraries Conference held in Austin, Texas, on March 4–7, as well as coverage of sessions from the American Library Association Annual Conference, which took place in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 21–26. A handful of reports were also collected from the Library Publishing Forum in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 21–23; Ex Libris Users in North America (ELUNA) in Spokane, Washington, on May 1–4; Acquisitions Institute at Timberline Lodge in Oregon on May 19–21, and finally the NASIG conference in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 8–11. Topics covered include electronic resource tracking, trials, and troubleshooting; equity and diversity in acquisitions; technical services workflows; systems migrations; and library publishing pedagogy and open access.