The Authority File

Is it possible to visualize qualitative data? How do libraries justify their collection, staffing, and other priorities with data? How has that data changed over the last decade, since the ascendance of the turn-away? This episode dives into the different types of data libraries collect and how librarians can use them to inform themselves and justify their decisions to the university’s administrat...

In this episode, Dr. Carol Ember describes how researchers in the U.K. used the extensive ethnographic record in HRAF to form hypotheses about the spread of AIDS through cultural practices involving human saliva. She also elucidates a bit of research she and her late husband, Melvin Ember, along with a political scientist undertook to determine whether the claim that democracies don’t fight each o...

What tools should be in every data vizzard’s toolbox? How do you create a visualization for something like a cost-benefit analysis? What makes for a great graph title? Dr. Stephanie Evergreen and Kristen Tepfer talk data visualization for libraries, and offer foundational ideas for creating great data visualizations.

What’s the difference between value and ROI, and which should an academic library be reporting? Are there best practices for making a case with data? What are the limits of library data, and how can publishers help push beyond those limits? Dr. Carol Tenopir of the University of Tennessee, Dr. Stephanie Evergreen of Evergreen Data, and Kristen Tepfer of SAGE Publishing talk data in libraries, and...

Vocational awe is a term Fobazi Ettarh uses to “[describe] the set of ideas, values, and assumptions librarians have about themselves and the profession that result in notions that libraries, as institutions, are inherently good. 1 ” Though it may seem counter-intuitive that assuming a library is “inherently good” can lead to unproductive ends, Fobazi makes the case for examining the history of li...

Big academic publishers are trying to turn big data on researchers and the research life-cycle into big money. Karen Phillips talks through SAGE’s priorities regarding data (hint: it’s not about collecting reams and reams of it) and how user behavior is making discovery services feel a bit old fashioned. Johan touches on how researchers are interacting with materials on mobile devices, and Richard...

Been hearing buzz about ACRL’s new research agenda, “Open and Equitable Scholarly Communications: Creating a More Inclusive Future?” In this episode, Bill talks with the current chair of ACRL’s Research and Scholarly Environment Committee (ReSEC), Yasmeen Shorish, and incoming chair, Nathan Hall—two ReSEC members involved in creating and promoting the report—about how this research agenda is diffe...

Privacy has long been a core value for librarians. In this episode, Johan Tilstra talks about how privacy can be maintained as library services, access, and discovery become increasingly interconnected via an ever-growing array of technology providers and platforms. In doing so, he describes an early learning experience for Lean Library when it discovered that it was collecting more browser data t...

For students and researchers finding the right article, book, or video, isn’t enough. Gaining access is key. Librarians may come at the question of discover like, well, librarians, instead of thinking through the problem from a student or researcher’s perspective. This week Bill continues his conversation Karen Phillips, Johan Tilstra, and Richard Griscom about taking on the user’s point of view,...

Researchers’ habits have changed. They expect seamless access to every relevant article or book chapter whether they’re on campus or off. And the way they work is changing libraries. Libraries can offer more content than ever before, but when a researcher reads a relevant article, do they even know the library made that access possible? Karen Phillips of SAGE Publishing, Johan Tilstra of Lean Libr...

How can a library motivate faculty to adopt free or low-cost textbooks and course materials? What role can DRM-free titles and journals play in lowering students’ textbook costs? Beth Bernhard of UNC Greensboro and Kelley Squazzo of Project MUSE explore how the libraries at UNCG have answered those questions through an innovative mini-grant program. Beth explains how the idea came about, how the l...

The economy is changing. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 14% of all jobs in OECD countries will will be lost to automation and an additional 32% will likely see “significant changes” due to technology. But technology isn’t the only factor affecting the future of work. In this episode, Iain Williamson from the OECD and Ryan Johnson of Georgetown Univer...

In this first of four episodes focusing on nonprofit publisher Annual Reviews and the ongoing evolution of the organization, Bill talks with Richard Gallagher, the President and Editor-in-Chief, about the organization’s history and how those first reviews came together. They also discuss what goes into a review, how the process has changed over the years, and they begin to look ahead to how openin...

In the world of scholarly publishing, keep buying up pieces of the publishing infrastructure to streamline workflows and contain costs. Mergers and acquisitions abound. At the same time, Big Deals squeeze library budgets a bit more every year with locked-in price increases. The tension between publishers and librarians has been mounting for years, but only recently have Wiley, Elsevier, and Spring...

Brian Gray, and his colleagues, spearheaded innovations in the Kelvin Smith Library’s approach to First Year Experience programming at Case Western Reserve University. Originally, librarians visited classrooms in a traditional outreach campaign, but with only ten librarians and between eighty and ninety 17-student “First” seminar sections, the library staff was quickly overwhelmed. That’s what led...

This week, many of you will trek to Cleveland for the ACRL conference. This episode highlights just a few of the many attractions in Cleveland, like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and lets you know how to connect with Bill and the Authority File while you’re at the conference. We’ll be recording episodes live on the show floor, so if you’re going to be in Cleveland, be sure to listen to this epis...

In the final of four episodes focusing on nonprofit publisher Annual Reviews and the ongoing evolution of the organization, Bill talks with Richard Gallagher, the President and Editor-in-Chief, about Subscribe to Open, a pilot program that enlists subscribing libraries to help open up journal content. They also discuss Plan S, and Richard offers a few ideas for smaller publishers who are thinking...

In the third of four episodes focusing on nonprofit publisher Annual Reviews and the ongoing evolution of the organization, Bill talks with Richard Gallagher, the President and Editor-in-Chief, about Knowable Magazine, digital publication that’s free to read and reuse (CC BY-ND), and brings a journalistic lens to the organization’s expert content. They discuss how it serves as a bridge between Ann...

In the second of four episodes focusing on nonprofit publisher Annual Reviews and the ongoing evolution of the organization, Bill talks with Richard Gallagher, the President and Editor-in-Chief, about the organization’s desire and efforts to move to an open access publication model. The first journal test case was the Annual Review of Public Health, and Richard discusses the remarkable uptick in u...

With this episode, Choice is pleased to wrap up a semi-regular series of interviews with OAT-winning authors. The  Outstanding Academic Titles (OATs for short) are an annual list of the best academic titles reviewed by Choice. The 2018 list is just out and available in our January 2019 issue and online at  ChoiceReviews.org . In this series, Dr. Randolph Cornelius, professor of psychological scien...

With this episode, Choice is pleased to continue a semi-regular series of interviews with OAT-winning authors. The  Outstanding Academic Titles (OATs for short) are an annual list of the best academic titles reviewed by Choice. The 2018 list is just out and available in our January 2019 issue and online at  ChoiceReviews.org . In this series, Dr. Randolph Cornelius, professor of psychological scie...

With this episode, Choice is pleased to continue a semi-regular series of interviews with OAT-winning authors. The  Outstanding Academic Titles (OATs for short) are an annual list of the best academic titles reviewed by Choice. The 2018 list is just out and available in our January 2019 issue and online at  ChoiceReviews.org . In this series, Dr. Randolph Cornelius, professor of psychological scie...

With this episode, Choice is pleased to debut a semi-regular series of special interviews with OAT-winning authors. The  Outstanding Academic Titles (OATs for short) are an annual list of the best academic titles reviewed by Choice. The 2018 list is just out and available in our January 2019 issue and online at  ChoiceReviews.org . In this series, Dr. Randolph Cornelius, professor of psychological...

For this mini-series, Bill chats with Mary Ellen Davis, ACRL’s executive director about the upcoming ACRL conference in Cleveland Ohio, Project Outcome, and the ACRL’s efforts around Equity Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). Episode 70 starts with some must-sees at the ACRL conference, like Alison Bechdel (Bechdel? The Alison Bechdel!?), silent disco-ing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and just wh...

For this mini-series, Bill chats with Mary Ellen Davis, ACRL’s executive director about the upcoming ACRL conference in Cleveland Ohio, Project Outcome, and the ACRL’s efforts around Equity Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). In this episode, Bill and Mary Ellen discuss the ACRL’s recent action to adopt EDI as a core commitment. Mary Ellen articulates exactly what the ACRL board has committed to, what...