Benchmarking Library, Information and Education Services: New Strategic Choices in Challenging Times provides the foundations of ongoing research in the development of collections and services. The book contributes to practical outputs of general benefit to the sector, including customers, clients or stakeholders, offering ideas for how to identify comparative strengths and weaknesses and improve or enhance present practices regardless of how well institutions currently perform. The centerpiece of the book is a description, report and analysis of a major international QB exercise that culminates in a set of good practice statements. The benefits of the QB methodology are applicable to individual institutions. Because of the current global turbulence, individuals, leaders and whole institutions are keen to learn more about what is happening and how they can develop sustainable solutions to both immediate challenges and longer-term scenarios. These include an analysis of third sector organizations, e-libraries, marketing information services, vocational training in higher education, the creative arts, and the role of partnerships in organizational openness. - Discusses qualitative benchmarking and it's core tenets - Helps readers understand the experiences of others and compare their own experiences to learn and adapt practices - Presents tactics readers can use to identify their organization's professional identity, value and purpose - Provides an idea of what the future state of library, education and public services will look like

Becoming a solo librarian may be a daunting prospect. From collections to cataloguing, classifying to copyright, whether the individual is a solo librarian, within a small team with limited help, or working in a larger library or information hub, the range of tasks involved will remain the same. Whilst being a solo librarian does have its fair share of challenges that can include juggling multiple tasks and time management, marketing and embracing the ever-changing technologies and upcoming social media channels, and effectively managing the feeling of being isolated, there are also many advantages. With the author having been through the education process and gained work experience, information professionals will have already picked up many transferrable skills and identified some key aspects when it comes to accessing, using, and running a library. By being intellectually curious, embracing ever-changing technologies, enjoying learning and knowledge creation, and working alongside non-library colleagues, it is likely that information professionals are organised, can manage their time effectively, enjoy helping others by sharing and promoting library and information services, and will stay engaged as a team of one. As a solo librarian herself and a book not being available on the topic, she has decided to write one – which covers the lessons learnt, and templates created in order to assist others) that find themselves in a similar role &/or a small team with limited help. This Internationally applicable and practical handbook will follow a yearly planner and shows a timeline of key activities that happen throughout, in this instance, an academic year and include the following examples: - Acquisitions, cataloguing, updating library guidance (before academic year start - September) - Student and Staff Inductions (September/October) - Quarterly Business Review to review updates and library usage (Oct – Dec) - Library cover over student/staff holiday period (Dec) - Quarterly Business Review (Jan – Mar) - Quality standard(s) re-accreditation (April) - Research methods/study skills webinars (April) - Library cover over student holiday period (April) - Quarterly Business Review (April –June) - Copyright Audit (May) - Copyright Academic Rollover (June) - Quarterly Business Review (July –Sept) - Yearly e-Library review (July) - Financial Review (July) - Student Survey Results (July) - Library cover over student holiday period (August/September) Appendices will include a condensed version of 'Lucy the Librarian top tips for successful solo librarianship' (Note: Chapter 4 of the publication will expand on key elements and provide contextual examples) as well as providing templates and guidance notes that will be made available to download and used to aid those working in information, knowledge, libraries and related disciplines, whether based within the UK or around the world. The idea behind this practical handbook, therefore, is to provide guidance and templates to cover: - Understanding the roles and responsibilities of a solo librarian - Identifying library user needs, - Benchmarking, - Forming a clear structure – for Physical and Online Libraries, - Acquisitions and financial management, - Classification and cataloguing, - Archives and records management, - Copyright (incl. Referencing and Plagiarism), Intellectual Property, and Licensing, - Communications and promotion, - Where to access further Information, Advice, and Guidance, and more.

This book explores the role of musicians in the call for peace in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As Russia’s unprecedented invasion of Ukraine progresses, musicians there, and around the world, join talents in concerts to voice their protest and show solidarity against the universally condemned conflict. They play and sing for peace, calling for solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Performing artists have been at the forefront of a global response to express outrage against the Russian invasion. Benefit concerts seek to raise funds to be directed toward the humanitarian crisis that has affected the daily lives of innocent people, including hundreds of thousands of orphaned and wounded children. Artists-activists come together to praise Ukrainians’ struggle for self-determination, democracy, and freedom with music performances and engage in opportunities to use their platform to assist those affected by the conflict, calling for an immediate end to the war.

In an economic climate where cuts are becoming the norm, a boutique library service may seem a contradiction. In some academic libraries the trend is still towards centralisation programmes or offering generic services. However, the student as the customer now has an even greater vested interest in the learning process as their financial commitment increases and they are demanding better services. Personalised library services are tailored with a specific clientele in mind and will provide the enhanced service demanded by today's students. These services need not cost more money; but they do require inventive and customer-facing staff. They celebrate and promote collaborative ventures along with excellent communication and marketing. This book unpacks the boutique model and is full of practical advice, supported by a unique set of case studies reflecting international practice including Australian, American and Russian and UK library services.

. Data in the report is based on a survey of 55 North American law libraries drawn from law firm, private company, university, courthouse and government agency law libraries. Data is broken out by size and type of library for ease in benchmarking. The 120+ page report covers developments in staffing, salaries, budgets, materials spending, use of blogs & wikis, use of legal directories, the library role in knowledge management, records management and content management systems. Patron and librarian training, reimbursement for library-related education and other issues are also covered in this latest edition.

Of main findings -- List of tables -- Participants -- 1. Intro -- 2. Staff -- 3. Capital budget -- 4. Materials spending -- 5. Grants -- 6. Collection digitization -- 7. Personnel changes -- 8. Technology investment -- 9. Intra-library employee communications -- 10. Relations with consortiums -- 11. Workstations and information literacy -- 12. Relations with college or institutional subsidiaries in foreign countries -- 13. Open access and digital repositories -- 14. Books and journals.

This guide provides library directors, managers, and administrators in all types of libraries with complete and up-to-date instructions on how to evaluate library services in order to improve them. It's a fact: today's libraries must evaluate their services in order to find ways to better serve patrons and prove their value to their communities. In this greatly updated and expanded edition of Matthews' seminal text, you'll discover a breadth of tools that can be used to evaluate any library service, including newer tools designed to measure customer and patron outcomes. The book offers practical advice backed by solid research on virtually every aspect of evaluation, including quantitative and qualitative tools, data analysis, and specific recommendations for measuring individual services, such as technical services and reference and interlibrary loan. New chapters give readers effective ways to evaluate critical aspects of their libraries such as automated systems, physical space, staff, performance management frameworks, eBooks, social media, and information literacy. The author explains how broader and more robust adoption of evaluation techniques will help library managers combine traditional internal measurements, such as circulation and reference transactions, with more customer-centric metrics that reflect how well patrons feel they are served and how satisfied they are with the library. By applying this comprehensive strategy, readers will gain the ability to form a truer picture of their library's value to its stakeholders and patrons.