There’s a saying that the squeaky wheel gets the oil. In the case of the recent Engineering Village (EV) update, this could be restated as the forthright librarian acquires the ability to reorder the facets. But action-reaction doesn’t begin to describe the ongoing partnership among librarians and Elsevier’s product managers.....Read more

Library Connect is pleased to bring you videos and presentations from a very special library leadership series, featuring librarians who hold executive positions at some of the world’s leading institutions of higher education. Covering a wide range of current library issues, their July 2012 talks included new models of service, reinventing the library, consortial acquisition in the US, the value of eBooks, and engaging university leadership and faculty.....Read more

I have taken to carrying my iPad with me where I know I will see students and can provide “reference on the run.” The difficulty is planning the most opportune times for both my walks and the students’ availability.....Read more

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In April 2012 Perm National Research Polytechnic University (PNRPU) completed a five-year project to develop an electronic library (EL). The goals of the project were to substantively improve the quality of data support for the educational and scientific-pedagogical activity of our university, and ensure access to academic and methodical literature for students in the extension department and in the distance-learning faculty of educational technologies. The following stages describe the project’s evolution. Stage 1 – Staff development for library employees....Read more

Drexel University in Philadelphia has begun experimenting with a new collaborative learning environment underpinned by technology and digital content. The 3,000-square-foot Learning Terrace fosters cooperation and self-learning among students, while providing access to the traditional services and expertise of the university’s library staff.....Read more

The University of Turin libraries launched an E-book Pilot Project as a means of addressing gaps in the provision of e-books and determining the best way forward for future e-book efforts. At the outset of this project, the libraries were not providing access to many e-books, and apart from some experimentation with e-book trials, library staff had few e-book management skills. E-books were relatively unknown to our patrons and e-reading device lending had never been tested before. As a result, users were not asking librarians for e-book content.....Read more

In 2010, the University of Kansas Libraries developed a pilot project to purchase print books using a demand-driven acquisition (DDA) program. Library users can request a purchase through a record loaded in the library catalog. The library rush orders the book and notifies the patron when it arrives, usually within five business days. E-books became the obvious next choice for inclusion in the DDA program, but with two differences from print books.....Read more

It was my pleasure and privilege to be able to attend the annual Medical Library Association Annual Meeting in Seattle in May. In addition to the many individual tracts, there were excellent plenary sessions that I highlighted in the Library Connect blog and more than 100 librarians attended Glen Campbell’s Publishing Ethics lunch presentation (Campbell is Elsevier’s Executive Vice President, Global Medical Research Journals).....Read more

The Elsevier Foundation is seeking new grant proposals for the 2012 Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries program. The deadline for proposals is June 24, 2012. Grants will be awarded in December 2012 and provide one-, two- and three-year awards between US $5,000 to US $50,000 per year for a total of $100,000. The Elsevier Foundation will accept proposals from May 1 through June 24 (apply online).....Read more

Librarians know that the container of the print publication has been supplanted by online access to individual articles. It was time Library Connect addressed this issue on our website by placing your articles front and center. The new Library Connect website brings a host of wonderful resources together, including our LC blog, and makes them easier to find via topic, resource type and organic search.....Read more

During five seminars held last November, more than 174 librarians and related attendees came together to discuss creation and dissemination of information from India’s scientific community, and to learn more about and share library best practices. Bhubaneshwar ....Read more

The Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries program awards grants to libraries for improving access to and use of scientific, technical and medical information. The 2011 library grant recipients, announced in January 2012, address real developing world issues through the use of STM information resources. The Elsevier Foundation funded $150,000 of new grants including:....Read more

South Ural State University (SUSU) is one of the largest universities in the Urals, Russia, and was categorized as a national research university in 2010. More than 55,000 students are enrolled in SUSU and its affiliates in the cities of Chelyabinsk and Tyumen. In addition to supporting the university’s mission to develop and implement innovative educational and scientific programs, the library plays a key role in preserving the university’s intellectual heritage.....Read more