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Elsevier

Books in Library and information science

Supporting librarians, information professionals, and researchers, this portfolio covers digital libraries, information retrieval, and data management. It features technological innovations, cataloging standards, and user-centered services that enhance access, preservation, and knowledge dissemination.

  • Libraries for Users

    Services in Academic Libraries
    • 1st Edition
    • Luisa Alvite + 1 more
    • English
    This book reviews the quality and evolution of academic library services. It revises service trends offered by academic libraries and the challenge of enhancing traditional ones such as: catalogues, repositories and digital collections, learning resources centres, virtual reference services, information literacy and 2.0 tools.

  • Project Management in Libraries, Archives and Museums

    Working with Government and Other External Partners
    • 1st Edition
    • Julie Carpenter
    • English
    Aimed at practitioners and managers, this practical handbook provides a source of guidance on project management techniques for the academic and cultural heritage sectors, focusing on managing projects involving public sector and other external partners. Issues under consideration and illustration include: different approaches to managing projects and how to select appropriate methods; using project management tools and other applications in project development and implementation; ensuring the sustainability of project outcomes and transferability into practice; realistic monitoring methodologies and specification and commissioning evaluation work that has real value.

  • RFID for Libraries

    A Practical Guide
    • 1st Edition
    • M. Paul Pandian
    • English
    Many modern technologies give the impression that they somehow work by magic, particularly when they operate automatically and their mechanisms are invisible. A technology called RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), which is relatively new, has exactly this characteristic. Librarians everywhere are closely watching RFID technology. Advances over using bar codes on library materials, RFID tags are being touted as a way to radically redesign how library materials are handled. But it is expensive. The tags are vulnerable to wear and tear and the technology is not fully developed. It's unclear what sort of return on investment (ROI) it provides. While it is common for libraries to now have information technology expertise within their organizations, RFID may appear unfamiliar. RFID for Libraries: A practical guide examines what RFID technology is and how it works. The book reviews the development of computer technology and its effects on library operations over the last couple of decades. Further examination features the applications of RFID technology in libraries. An assessment of current implementations in libraries and the lessons learnt provides suggestions to overcome the issues faced. Concluding chapters look into the future to see what developments might be possible with RFID in libraries. Benefiting from the rich experience the author has gained during recent implementation of RFID based system for his library and the important title aids the library and information community in understanding RFID technology from a library perspective.

  • From Lending to Learning

    The Development and Extension of Public Libraries
    • 1st Edition
    • Rónán O'Beirne
    • English
    From Lending to Learning provides a theoretical overview and practical guide to the functional area of delivering learning services within public libraries. It traces the development of public library service delivery and critically appraises the inherent tension between offering an educational-focused or leisure-focused library. The current and future policy directions are explored against the backdrop of the emerging learning society. A general overview of recent developments in learning theory is followed by an insight into the learning landscape. The issues and practicalities of setting up a learning environment within a public library are dealt with in a clear and straightforward fashion. The book concludes with an assessment of the emerging web 2.0 technologies and gives an insight into how the whole area of social networking might shape the future.

  • Ontologies, Taxonomies and Thesauri in Systems Science and Systematics

    • 1st Edition
    • Emilia Currás
    • English
    The originality of this book, which deals with such a new subject matter, lies in the application of methods and concepts never used before – such as ontologies and taxonomies, as well as thesauri - to the ordering of knowledge based on primary information. Chapters in the book also examine the study of ontologies, taxonomies and thesauri from the perspective of systematics and general systems theory. Ontologies, Taxonomies and Thesauri in Systems Science and Systematics will be extremely useful to those operating within the network of related fields, which includes documentation and information science.

  • Imagine Your Library's Future

    Scenario Planning for Libraries and information Organisations
    • 1st Edition
    • Steve O’Connor + 1 more
    • English
    In this information age it is widely recognised that, in order to maintain relevance and to gain a competitive edge, libraries and other organisations in the business of information must continuously assess their roles, collections, services and perhaps most importantly, their business practices. Scenarios are a way of predicting and describing a future three to five years away while strongly engaging one’s community in choosing the future which is preferable. The horizon in which assessments about future roles change is growing shorter and shorter. While it is almost clichéd to state that change is the only constant, differing scenarios of what libraries might be allow all of us to contemplate futures we might otherwise not allow. Drawing on extensive experience in libraries in different parts of the globe, the authors provide a rich analysis of planning, managing and implementing change in information organisations through scenario planning. Through extensive practical applications, both actual and theoretical, the authors provide a strong background understanding and direct the reader through a planning process that is both readily applicable and innovative for all information organisations, irrespective of their size or client base.

  • Practical Open Source Software for Libraries

    • 1st Edition
    • Nicole Engard
    • English
    Open source refers to an application whose source code is made available for use or modification as users see fit. This means libraries gain more flexibility and freedom than with software purchased with license restrictions. Both the open source community and the library world live by the same rules and principles. Practical Open Source Software for Libraries explains the facts and dispels myths about open source. Chapters introduce librarians to open source and what it means for libraries. The reader is provided with links to a toolbox full of freely available open source products to use in their libraries.

  • New Approaches to E-Reserve

    Linking, Sharing and Streaming
    • 1st Edition
    • Ophelia Cheung + 2 more
    • English
    Aimed at academic library practitioners, this book describes how e-reserve services can evolve and adapt to the changing virtual learning environment of higher education. New approaches discussed include: the integration of subscribed, free, and copyrighted resources within course management systems; innovative employment of open URL link resolvers to connect e-reserve with library e-resources and services; video streaming within course documents; and the creative use of bibliographic software to produce customized reading lists. New Approaches to E-Reserve includes detailed descriptions and extensive step-by-step illustrations in order to provide readers with the tools needed to implement the techniques covered within. These combine to offer practical insight into common issues faced by academic institutions worldwide. In addition to an overview of practices and an update on new developments in e-reserve, a discussion of strategy, policy and organizational change extends this book’s relevance to a much broader theme: the strategic management of current and future technological changes in tertiary education.

  • Facelifts for Special Libraries

    A Practical Guide to Revitalizing Diverse Physical and Digital Spaces
    • 1st Edition
    • Dawn Bassett + 2 more
    • English
    Libraries/informatio... centres are continuously evolving to keep up with rapid changes in information gathering, processing, and distribution. Corporate and non-profit special libraries face special challenges in revitalizing their physical space and providing efficient access to digital content. This book provides solo-librarians or special library managers with practical advice as to revitalize their libraries both in the physical space and the digital space. The book uses case studies, surveys and literature review to provide practical, innovative and evidence-based information to help special librarians develop information centres that will remain relevant to their organizations.

  • An Overview of the Changing Role of the Systems Librarian

    Systemic Shifts
    • 1st Edition
    • Edward Iglesias
    • English
    This book presents a series of case studies from systems librarians all over the world. It documents how the profession has changed in recent years with the introduction of new web technologies services such as hosted databases that are supported by vendors rather than in-house, as well as shifts in technology management. New skill sets are constantly being added as systems librarians become much more versed in dealing with service providers outside the library as well as training and supporting their traditional constituencies.

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