Investing in the Researcher Experience

Last week’s ACRL and STM conferences demonstrated that libraries and publishers have a renewed desire to understand the researcher experience and embrace the scholarly information practices that will define our future.

Guest Post — Low Cost Textbook Alternatives: Worth the Effort?

When a University of Utah professor grew frustrated with the slim textbook offerings available to students of Arabic, she turned to the library for help. The result was the collaborative creation of a new and radically cheaper text — that got much higher ratings from students than the old one had. How did we do it?

Isn’t Leakage Good for Libraries?

Leakage has strengthened libraries’ negotiating position with respect to content providers. The emerging syndication model syndication offers libraries the opportunity to provide dramatically improve the research experience for their users — with a number of risks as well, including the prospect of substantially reducing their leverage at the negotiating table.

Guest Post — The Library is the Brand

Libraries provide vital digital services to their host institutions. If these services carry clear library identity branding, it strengthens the library’s position in the university and enables it to secure the budget and political capital necessary to do its work.