Afternoon Session 1: Comparing Innovative Services Across Library Types

Session Moderator: Dr. Sung Un Kim

EBooks and Interlibrary Loan in the U.S. Public Libraries, by Xiaoai Ren, Valdosta State University

In the annual Public Libraries in the United States Surveys (2003-2013) and the biennial Academic Libraries Surveys (2000-2012), there is an increasing trend of eBook holdings and library electronic resources expenditures. In the same time period, an increase in interlibrary loan activities was also observed in public libraries. Interlibrary loan activities remain stable in academic libraries. The survey data show that average eBooks holdings and expenditures are much higher in academic libraries than in public libraries. Many studies have been done to explore eBook licensing and interlibrary loans and offer practical solutions for eBook lending in academic libraries. Few studies have been done in public libraries. This study explores eBook interlibrary loan activities in public libraries in the United States. Survey questionnaires were distributed to randomly selected public libraries that have certain numbers of eBook holdings and interlibrary loan activities. Questions focus on the current eBook interlibrary loan best practices, issues, and obstacles in American public libraries. Findings from this study will fill in the research gap of eBook interlibrary loan activities in public libraries and identify the unique challenges and solutions for public libraries when comparing the results to findings for academic libraries.     

Lessons Learned from the Public Library, by Faith Ward, Garrison Forest School, and Miriam DesHarnais, Towson University

In this session two former public librarians will explore how we’ve incorporated specific public librarianship best practices into our K-12 school library and academic library work. We will specifically highlight strategies for using data to shape collection management, financial decision-making, and use of library space. This session will also emphasize the benefits of customer service as a central value that can inform all aspects of library management. Possible starting points will be given for translating select public library initiatives, principles, and processes to your own university, school, or other library setting.

Afternoon Session 2: Tools for Knowledge Access and Management

Session Moderator: Dr. Youngok Choi

Discovery Tool Throwdown, Round 2: How National Defense University Chose Its Discovery Tool, by Kari Anderson and Kathleen Kern, National Defense University

Librarians have long wished for a single user-friendly interface with which their patrons could search for the resources they need across all the available sources.  Research since the introduction of discovery tools shows that they do not always live up to their promise, especially for graduate student and professional users. The discovery tool that the National Defense University implemented a few years ago was no longer returning good results based on our libraries’ collections and our patrons’ specialized needs. Because our unique curriculum often requires our patrons to look beyond the aggregated databases, we really needed an effective tool. Our solution was to test our discovery tool and a rival tool in a head-to-head competition.  Reference librarians tested both tools with questions, developed together with the systems team, that used comparable criteria to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each tool. The responses were recorded in a side-by-side table that clearly tabulated the pros and cons of each and made it easy to determine a clear winner.

SharePoint for Library and Knowledge Management, by Anita Kinney, US Access Board; Ramona Howerton, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; Nancy Faget, Food and Drug Administration; Herman Daou and Carol Jacobson, Defense Technical Information Center.

This panel explores how three Federal agencies use SharePoint to manage information systems and resources. Attendees will learn about how SharePoint can help automate traditional library tasks such as inter-library loan, as well as hear from a librarian in a non-traditional position about using SharePoint for project management tasks. At the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), a SharePoint site is created for each project and the document libraries are used to store files related to each project phase. The agency's Project Management Resource Center, an information resource available to others in the agency, is also hosted on Sharepoint. At the National Science Foundation (on contract with Martek Global Services), SharePoint is used to track library usage statistics and other in-house transaction information, automate routine library functions, , and maintain an operating procedures knowledgebase. At the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), SharePoint reduces inefficiencies and redundancies. It is used to track reference requests, library metrics, and as a knowledge base for the librarians. Additionally, the panel will discuss potential 508 compatibility issues with SharePoint applications.

Afternoon Session 3: Social Media Across the Spectrum

Session Moderator: Dr. Sue Yeon Syn

Archiving Social Media: A Twitter Case Study by Amy Wickner and Megan O’Hern, University of Maryland

The George Meany Memorial AFL-CIO Archive, a 2013 gift to the University of Maryland Libraries, is an important collection documenting the history of labor in America. Its scope and research value are immense, and current efforts focus on making more of the collection accessible to researchers. However, the AFL-CIO's impact on labor in the United States did not end with this donation. The organization continues to play a significant role in social, political, and economic issues, and its conversations with constituents now take place in large part through social media. The AFL-CIO and its member organizations post on blogs, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and more. Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) at the University of Maryland are making incremental progress towards a fully-fledged born-digital archives program. Emerging tools for preserving complex social media have prompted us to consider capturing and preserving the AFL-CIO's Twitter feed. This project is an opportunity to enrich an important collection with new types of records; continue building a growing born-digital program by experimenting with new tools and media; provide an archival use case for locally built social media preservation tools; and demonstrate an appraisal approach that relates  collecting strategies to new forms of records.

Retaining Cultural Authority: The Dilemmas of Social Media Use in Promoting Digital Cultural Heritage Collections, by Stan Trembach, University of South Carolina

This presentation discusses the ways in which the rapid proliferation of Web 2.0 technologies and tools has greatly expanded cultural institutions’ capacity to enhance access to their collections and services and at the same time promote user engagement and participation. Drawing on numerous examples from professional practice, this research also introduces a variety of scholarly sources to support the argument that a thoughtful approach to the use of social media in cultural institutions can ensure their long-term sustainability and success in the dynamic 21st century. The author provides a critical analysis of the challenges and opportunities inherent in major social media platforms for audience development and engagement. Particularly interesting is the ability of social media to solicit user-generated content and thus play a significant role in opening up the dialog between user, object, and museum. Therefore, social media research and analysis are vital for understanding how users perceive and interpret human cultural heritage. Additionally, this research outlines some of the pressing issues and practical solutions associated with the use of social media in the cultural and information sectors, particularly regarding user privacy, identity, and accountability, along with museum cultural authority and authenticity of cultural objects.

An investigation of user activities in CDC Facebook Page during Ebola outbreak and ordinary periods, by Sue Yeon Syn, Catholic University of America

This study investigated the CDC Facebook Page to understand how users’ activities are different depending on situations, particularly when seeking health information. The CDC Facebook Page was selected as it was the government organization to respond to the Ebola outbreak and was one of the major authority sources for the updates of status in the U.S. The data includes post and user activities, such as shares, likes, and comments, and was collected for from July 1, 2014 to January 31, 2015 based on the time of the Ebola outbreak events in the U.S. The data in the previous year was collected for the same time period, from July 1, 2013 to January 31, 2014, for comparison. The findings showed that users engaged more actively during the Ebola outbreak, and the types of engagement differed depending on the situation. It was also found that users engage based on the content of the posts, not necessarily by the types of posts. Moreover, the findings are consistent with prior studies in that social media users expect to acquire professional and personalized information on health-related issues.