Skip to Main Content

Topic: Libraries

Blog Post
October 20, 2021

The A*CENSUS II: All Archivists Survey is Live

The A*CENSUS II: All Archivists Survey launched this week! This is the first broadscale survey of individual archivists and memory workers in the United States in 17 years. Nearly six thousand archivists participated in the original A*CENSUS in 2004, and the overwhelming response allowed the findings to be leveraged across the field in a myriad of ways. For institutions and professional organizations, the data informed the design of new curricula and the assessment of educational offerings; for archival institutions, the…
Past Event
November 10, 2021

Nicole Betancourt at 2021 Southeastern Library Assessment Conference

Nicole Betancourt will present during the 2021 Southeastern Library Assessment Conference on strategies that libraries have used successfully to encourage participation in institutional assessment efforts during the pandemic. For more information on the session and registration, please visit this link. See abstract below: Session: Lessons learned, and here to stay: Pandemic assessment marketing strategies for the “new normal” During the pandemic, libraries have been challenged more than ever to recruit faculty and students to participate in institutional assessment efforts,…
Past Event
October 13, 2021

Licensing Privacy: Views from Library Leadership

Danielle Cooper presents for Licensing Privacy project

On October 13th, Danielle Cooper will present at a webinar titled, “Licensing Privacy: Views from Library Leadership”. Danielle will share findings from interviews with library leaders about how privacy concerns inform their negotiations and agreements with vendors. To attend the webinar , please register here. For more information, please visit this site. The abstract is below: This webinar shares findings from interviews with library leaders about how privacy concerns inform their negotiations and agreements with vendors. Danielle Cooper,…
Blog Post
October 5, 2021

Censorship in Prisons

Recording from the San Francisco Public Library's Banned Books Event Now Available

Last week was Banned Books Week, an annual event meant to celebrate the freedom to read and draw attention to censorship and other threats to free expression. As a report by the free expression advocacy group PEN America points out, America’s prisons are the locus of the country’s largest and most extensive censorship regime. While the free and unencumbered access to literature is a challenge for all incarcerated…
Past Event
October 6, 2021

Living Through the Pandemic: Priorities and Organizational Models

Oya Y. Rieger presents during AAHSL Webinar

On October 6, Oya Y. Rieger will present during a AAHSL Webinar that will present results of the AAHSL/Ithaka S+R Study, “Academic Health Sciences Libraries: Structural Models and Perspectives,” and how health sciences libraries have pivoted during the pandemic to adapt services and respond to the evolving research, clinical and academic needs of our users. For more information, please visit this site. …
Past Event
October 13, 2021

Academic Libraries and Racial Justice Workshop with Ithaka S+R

Christine Wolff-Eisenberg and Jennifer Frederick at Long Island Library Resources Council

On October 13, Christine Wolff-Eisenberg and Jennifer Frederick at will offer a workshop on library strategies to diversify the field with the Long Island Library Resources Council. They will share recent research  from a recent national study of library directors as well as large-scale analyses of library strategic plans and job descriptions. Attendees will participate in  reflection exercises, including an activity where they will interrogate their own strategic plans for strengths and shortcomings. For more information, visit this site. …
Past Event
November 11, 2021

Kurtis Tanaka at the 2021 National Conference on Higher Education in Prison (NCHEP)

Kurtis Tanaka is presenting at two sessions during the 2021 National Conference on Higher Education in Prison (NCHEP). The conference will take place from November 11-14. An Untapped Resource: Why and How to Partner with Your Institutional Library Speakers: Rebecca J. Bott, Education Justice Project; Josh Honn, Northwestern Prison Education Program; Kurtis Tanaka, Ithaka S+R Higher education in prison programs routinely struggle to provide incarcerated students with timely, equitable access to library materials and services. This meeting will…
Past Event
October 7, 2021

New Directions in Scholarly Publishing

Roger Schonfeld presents during Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) virtual panel

On October 7, Roger Schonfeld will join other panelists to discuss new funding opportunities for researchers and librarians. The panel will discuss how “how authors— especially early career authors—are required to navigate this new funding landscape, how librarians must consider new mandates and requirements from funding agencies while supporting the interests and needs of researchers within their respective institutions, and how funding as we know it is dynamically changing the landscape of academic research.” For more information, please visit this…
Past Event
November 4, 2021

Are Big Deal cancellations a big deal for OA publishers?

Oya Y. Rieger and Danielle Cooper Present at 2021 Charleston Library Conference

On November 4, Oya Y. Rieger and Danielle Cooper will present at the Charleston Conference on the results from their research report on the impacts of ‘Big Deal’ cancellations on discovery and access to journal content. For more information, please visit this site.  Abstract The recent Ithaka S+R Research Report ‘ What’s the Big Deal – How Researchers are Navigating Changes to Journal Access’ provided an in-depth analysis of researcher perceptions of the impacts of ‘Big Deal’ cancellations on…
Blog Post
September 9, 2021

How Can the Library Best Support Student and Institutional Success?

Perspectives from a National Survey of Community College Library Directors

For the past three years, Ithaka S+R has explored how student-facing service departments—including academic libraries—are organized, funded, and staffed at community and technical colleges across the country. As part of this ongoing IMLS-funded Community College Academic and Student Support Ecosystem (CCASSE) research initiative, we surveyed community college library directors this past February. Today, I’m pleased to announce the publication of our findings from that national study. In Library Strategy and Collaboration Across the College Ecosystem…
Research Report
September 9, 2021

Library Strategy and Collaboration Across the College Ecosystem

Results from a National Survey of Community College Library Directors

How can the library be best positioned to continue enabling student and institutional success? The Community College Academic and Student Support Ecosystem research initiative seeks to examine how student-facing service departments—including academic libraries—are organized, funded, and staffed at community and technical colleges across the country. In February 2021, we surveyed 321 community college library directors to provide the community with a snapshot of current service provision, leadership perspectives on the impact of COVID-19, and challenges faced in making decisions and…
Past Event
November 3, 2021

Roger Schonfeld at 2021 Charleston Library Conference

On November 3, Roger Schonfeld will discuss with other other panelists how to design library services that reach library users outside of library-preferred workflows  For more information, please visit this link. Abstract “How do libraries add value for patrons increasingly working outside library-preferred workflows (e.g. searching via Google Scholar), and accessing the library’s collection off-campus? This is a question of profound relevance to all library stakeholders – librarians, publishers, and patrons alike – and one that must be addressed…
Blog Post
August 17, 2021

Advancing Strategy through Staffing

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Library Leadership Roles

Following the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, we have seen a notable rise in academic libraries’ public commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and even more so following the social justice protests of summer 2020. These include drafting statements positioning the library in opposition to hate crimes and police violence and shifting resources towards new programs and services that address the needs of a wider variety of patrons. Overseeing these initiatives—and…
Blog Post
August 4, 2021

New Questionnaire for the Ithaka S+R Faculty Survey 2021 Now Available

We’re excited to announce that we have now finalized updates for the 2021 edition of the Ithaka S+R Faculty Survey, which we will be fielding nationally and with a number of college and university partners this fall. As with previous cycles of the survey, the instrument will explore the research, teaching, and publishing practices and perspectives of scholars at four-year colleges and universities. We have also expanded several areas of coverage within the questionnaire to cover instructional support services,…
Blog Post
August 2, 2021

Leading Community College Libraries During the Pandemic

Library Directors Share Their Experiences 

Community colleges and their students have faced enormous challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two-year colleges serve especially diverse student populations, including a high percentage of students of color, first-generation students, working students, and student parents, many of whom have been disproportionately impacted by the social, economic, and public health effects of the pandemic. Community colleges have made considerable efforts to meet student needs, despite having fewer resources than most four-year colleges and universities…
Blog Post
July 26, 2021

SAA 2021 Annual Meeting

What to Watch For

Next month, archivists from across the country will convene virtually to discuss emerging and ongoing issues in the field at the Society of American Archivists (SAA) Annual Meeting, ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2021: Together/Apart. This year’s meeting will take place from August 4 to 6 (with some pre-conference activities earlier in the week) and will showcase 10 live sessions and 20 pre-recorded sessions with live Q&As. The conference will feature keynote speakers, general sessions, networking opportunities,…
Past Event
August 5, 2021

Makala Skinner at SAA’s ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2021

On August 5 and 6, join Makala Skinner to learn more about the A*CENSUS survey, which is a large scale census of archivists. The details for each session are below: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM EDT on Thursday, August 5 Conversation Lounge: Research and Innovation @ SAA: A*CENSUS II SAA has received funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to conduct a major research initiative: the second large-scale census of archivists. A lot has changed…
Blog Post
July 20, 2021

Making Streaming Media Sustainable for Academic Libraries

Launching a New Cohort-Based Collaborative Project

There has been an explosion of interest in streaming media marketed for educational purposes in recent years, and the shift to remote instruction during the pandemic has further accelerated that interest. This growing significance is also reflected in its overall share of library collections budgets: recent Ithaka S+R research found that streaming media currently represents about five percent of those budgets and that academic library directors across a diverse array of institutions project that this…
Blog Post
July 14, 2021

Why Survey Testing is Essential

Preparing to Field the US Faculty Survey 2021

Ithaka S+R is gearing up for our eighth launch of the US Faculty Survey this fall. This national survey has yielded longitudinal data on scholarly research and teaching behaviors across a variety of institutional and disciplinary contexts on a triennial basis since 2000. To maximize the value of this initiative for higher education leaders, scholarly societies, academic libraries, and publishers who have come to rely on these data, especially in light of the…
Past Event
August 19, 2021

What’s the Big Deal? How Researchers Are Navigating Changes to Journal Access

Oya Y. Rieger and Danielle Cooper Present at ASERL

In a webinar for ASERL on August 19 at 2:00 pm (EDT), Oya Y. Rieger and Danielle Cooper will present their findings on researcher behavior and perceptions on strategic decision-making about Big Deal journal subscriptions. For more information and to register, please follow this link. The abstract is available below. Abstract The dominant mode by which research libraries have provided maximum journal access as broadly and efficiently as possible—subscription bundles or “Big Deals”— is giving way to new…