‘Library Matters Libraries Matter’ Category
Library Matters / Libraries Matter: Infrastructure Part One
During a recent instruction session for an FTS course, I asked students what they think of when they think of libraries. I do this in most of my introductory courses and responses are always interesting. Students mention the usual suspects, like books, study spaces, and access to computers. Some of them look forward to napping […]
Library Matters / Libraries Matter: Open Access
Welcome back to our Library Matters / Libraries Matter blog series, where we share insights into the issues, questions and opportunities libraries consider on a regular basis. This week, we’re celebrating Open Access Week at the Library, joining a community of researchers, publishers and librarians who advocate for removing barriers to scholarly publications. Open Access […]
Library Matters / Libraries Matter: A Beautiful Mess
A few weeks ago, I stood in front of the newest group of POL 200: Analyzing Politics students, who were joining me in the library classroom for a semester-long library lab. “Research is conversation,” I told them. “Whenever we do research, we are listening to conversations that are interesting to us, figuring out how the conversation […]
Library Matters / Libraries Matter: Net Neutrality
Update: Net Neutrality is back in the news. Democrats in the US Senate just forced a vote on a resolution to reverse Chairman Ajit Pai’s change in internet regulations, a change that some internet service providers and all of the big telecomm corporations favored but a majority of citizens in both parties opposed. The bill […]
Library Matters / Libraries Matter: Day of Facts Reflection
Last year, the Gustavus Library participated in the #DayofFacts campaign via our blog and social media. Some of our tweets even went viral! (Well, viral for us.) On the anniversary of the event, we are reposting last year’s blog post about the day itself – and the reasons that facts continue to remain important. On […]
Library Matters / Libraries Matter: IMLS
Like many professional organizations, libraries are famous (notorious?) for their use of acronyms: ILS, RDA, OCLC, ACRL, ALA….The list goes on and on. (No, seriously, it does!) One of the most important acronyms, and one that has been in the news recently, is IMLS, which stands for the Institute of Museum and Library Services. IMLS […]
Library Matters / Libraries Matter: #MeToo
As major allegations of sexual assault and harassment conducted by politicians, entertainers, CEOs and others have unfolded over the past weeks, the #MeToo movement has spread across social media. Using the #MeToo hashtag, women and men are speaking up about their experiences of sexual assault. Some shared specific stories. Others said, “It happened to me, […]
Library Matters / Libraries Matter: Textbooks and Interlibrary Loan
As part of the Library Matters / Libraries Matter blog series, we’re covering some of the pressing issues and concerns we consider on a regular basis. Today’s topic is borrowing and lending course reading materials across libraries. The price of textbooks – and course reading materials in general – can be considerable, especially on top […]
New Blog Series! Library Matters / Libraries Matter
“What do you think of when you hear the word library?” I ask a group of new students, prompting them to think about how the library can support them during their college careers. “Books!” is the unequivocal answer. They’re not wrong. Libraries still have books, and those books continue to occupy a central place in […]