E-Book Program Development Librarian at Columbia University, New York

Columbia University, New York, New York
Salary: Not Specified
Status:Full-time
Posted:10/10/12
Deadline:
E-Book Program Development Librarian
Reporting to the Associate University Librarian for Bibliographic Services and Collection Development, the E-Book Program Librarian will investigate, analyze, and advise on issues relating to all aspects of the Libraries’ e-books program, including licensing, purchase terms and methods, budgeting, discovery and access, usability (functionality, interfaces, platforms, and devices), preservation, and collaboration.  The incumbent will prepare analyses and reports on the current state of the Libraries’ e-book collecting and comparisons with other university library programs.  He/she will monitor and report on technical, business, and other developments in e-book publishing and delivery. Working with a Data Analyst and the Assessment Librarian the Librarian will prepare statistical analyses.  He/she will also participate in policy development and recommend process improvements related to e-book collecting and management.  He/she will coordinate information sharing among library units and staff.   This is a temporary, 2-year position
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SOURCE: http://joblist.ala.org/modules/jobseeker/controller.cfm?rssjobid=20996

Dean of the University Libraries at Adelphi University, Garden City, New York

Adelphi University, Garden City, New York
Salary: Not Specified
Status:Full-time
Posted:09/13/12
Deadline:
Dean of the University Libraries
Adelphi University invites applications for the dean of the University Libraries. Adelphi University is a world-class, modern university with excellent and highly relevant programs where students prepare for lives of active citizenship and professional careers. Through its schools and programs, this co-educational University offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as professional and educational programs for adults. Adelphi University currently enrolls nearly 8,000 students from 45 states and 43 foreign countries. With its main campus in Garden City and centers in Manhattan, Hauppauge and Poughkeepsie, the University, chartered in 1896, maintains a commitment to liberal studies in tandem with rigorous professional preparation and active citizenship. As an integral part of the educational experience, the Adelphi University Libraries are an invaluable resource primarily for students, faculty, staff, alumni and the broader community. Located at the Garden City campus and the Manhattan, Hauppauge and Hudson Valley Centers, they offer an extensive range of print, online and digital materials and services to support academic studies and enhance research. The Adelphi University Libraries’ mission is to play a vital role in the instructional, research, cultural and student life programs of the University by providing high-quality library and information facilities, resources, technology and services in correlation with the mission and vision of the University. Reporting to the provost, the dean of University Libraries oversees all library operations and services, including strategic planning, operational planning and assessment, fiscal preparation and management of a $6.5 million budget. The dean also oversees the library faculty and the libraries’ teaching role within the University community. The next dean will chart a course for the institution to thrive in a period of profound transition for academic libraries and must be entrepreneurial and proactive to ensure the Adelphi University Libraries remain at the forefront of this change.   The successful candidate will have experience enabling her/him to lead in a premier academic setting, including seven to 10 years of senior-level academic library management experience, a familiarity with the library faculty model, and a record of scholarship and publication appropriate to an appointment with tenure. All applications will be held in the strictest of confidence. Screening of candidates will begin immediately. Complete application packets should include a formal letter of interest and a CV.  E-mail applications and nominations to:   Email: adelphideanlibraries@kornferry.com Ken Kring, Senior Client Partner Korn/Ferry International 1835 Market Street, Suite 2000 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Adelphi University is committed to building a diverse workforce and strongly encourages applications from minority and female candidates. Adelphi is an AA/EEO Employer.
Email adelphideanlibraries@kornferry.com to apply for this job.

South Asian Studies Librarian at Columbia University, New York

Columbia University, New York, New York
Salary: Not Specified
Status:Full-time
Posted:08/29/12
South Asian Studies Librarian
Columbia University Libraries Columbia University Libraries & Information Services (CUL/IS) invites applications for a South Asian Studies Librarian who will develop distinctive research collections and deliver innovative instructional and research services to the University and broader scholarly communities.   Requirements include significant experience as a South Asian Studies librarian and an accredited MLS or PhD  or a comparable combination of academic and professional experience; excellent language skills in one or more relevant languages, including Hindi, Urdu, and Sanskrit; and solid knowledge of South Asian studies, scholarship, and publishing; experience in using bibliographic utilities and databases to search non-Roman scripts; excellent communication skills in English and the demonstrated ability to work effectively and creatively in a collaborative and complex environment.   Applications received by October 5 will receive priority consideration. To apply see: academicjobs.columbia.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=56712.
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Nine Reasons to Save Public Libraries

By Emmily Bristol

Credit: Flickr (Creative Commons)

While the War on Women and Chick-fil-A might be getting all the juicy headlines lately, there’s another issue quietly smoldering in the background noise of this election season. It’s buried under all the campaign rhetoric and doom-and-gloom forecasts about the economy.

Our public libraries are not just threatened this election season. They’re fighting for their lives — and with them, the livelihoods and well-being of hard-hit communities all over the country.Library districts in California, Illinois, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, Washington, and more have measures or proposals to slash budgets in 2012. California alone is looking at 50% budget cuts. Where I live, the library district is facing a 30% budget cut, which will close at least two branches. According to the American Library Association, 23 states are looking to cut library budgets in the most recent fiscal year.

But I have yet to see a demonstration to save the libraries. Or read national news coverage about the potential collapse of one society’s most valuable resources. Indeed, it wasn’t by accident that our nation’s founding fathers established the first American lending library.

But the truth is that the state of our public libraries is a kind of litmus test of not only our economic health but that of our democracy, too. After all, libraries are the free, democratization of education, unbiased research, and uncensored enlightenment.

It was President John F. Kennedy who made this plea for the sanctity of our libraries:

"If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public libraries. These libraries should be open to all except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty."

Here are some reasons why our libraries are still the place where we as a nation will achieve our destiny:

1. The house of the 99%: The foundation of democracy is an educated electorate. When the economy is down, it is all the more vital that we the people have access to information, education, news… and now in modern times the internet, computers, and other sources of media tools as well. Libraries do that. For everyone.
2. Libraries build equity: Research shows that depressed neighborhoods and declining communities are not just culturally enriched by libraries. The institutions serve as a community focal point, like a town square, and communities that have that resource rebound.
3. Community hope chest: Libraries don’t just curate the Harry Potter series and lend copies of the latest blockbusters on DVD, they also house special collections based on the needs and unique identities of the communities they serve. The library district where I live houses a special collection on a World War II magnesium plant that helped turned the tide of the war (as well as establishing the second largest city in Nevada). That’s living history that gets lost without a public space to keep it alive.
4. Renewable resource: How much do you save by being able to borrow materials from the library? How helpful is it to have this resource — especially now that even retail bookstores, movie rental shops, and record stores are closing? There’s a calculator for that.
5. Literacy: Studies show (PDF) that children’s literacy is greatly improved by access to summer reading programs and preschool reading programs at public libraries. And children’s literacy is a building-block of adult literacy. When I was in college I interned at a non-profit that worked on illiteracy, targeting at-risk youth. I worked in their summer reading program at an elementary school with one of the lowest rates of economic depression in the state (Oregon). This meant that most of the kids who went to that school were enrolled in summer school — even if they were good students — simply because it was a cheaper alternative to child care. At the end of the program each child got to pick out one brand-new book to keep. For all but just a few of the children, it was the first book they ever owned. Maybe you don’t “own” the books at the library (although, as a tax-payer I would argue we do), but the libraries are a place where the socio-economic realities that push the starting line so far back for so many can be equalized. And that’s like a small miracle in the life of a child who has already had to learn how to be hard in the face of a world that cuts them no breaks. There are very few individuals who could buy every child a book and start them on the road to literacy. (And it’s been shown that access to books in childhood is one of thebiggest predictors of literacy.) But all of us together can buy a kid a building full of books. That is a miracle.
6. Leveling the playing field: Libraries offer vital resources for communities that might not otherwise be served or feel integrated. People learning English (or other languages), the elderly, deaf people, the homeless… the list goes on.
7. Safe space: In some communities, the public library may be the only free space available that is also a safe space. Young victims of bullying, kids who live with domestic violence, LGBT youth, and many more can find a safe place (and often a caring librarian) at the library. I know from personal experience — having spent time camped at my local library when I had no other safe place to go as a teenager.
8. Cultural touchstone: Many libraries showcase art — often by local artists. Likewise, the buildings themselves are often architecturally significant and enhance the beauty and character of the communities they serve.
9. Drop in or drop out: Libraries can also be a place that means the difference between a child’s success or failure in school. Many libraries offer tutoring programs, free classes, as well as access to volumes of information and technology that a kid might not have anywhere else. Believe it or not, even in these modern times there are kids who don’t have computers at home who need to type their papers for school. There are kids who can’t afford the expensive private tutor to get through Algebra. Libraries can make the difference to a kid teetering on the edge. And high school dropout rates have a direct correlation to the health of a community.

These days, there are a lot of people talking about how nobody reads anymore. But that’s just wrong. People are reading ALL THE TIME. People are on Facebook, on Wikipedia, on blogs… They are using e-readers to read virtual copies of books. They are downloading newspapers to their tablet devices. People still read. And people read books — with pages and paper and bindings — too. But the fact is, there’s all kinds of other stuff besides books that libraries do for people in our community every day. Book programs for shut-ins. After-school and summer programs for youth. Did I mention toddler story time?

But more than that, it may just be the last free space that is truly free and there for everyone — homeless, young, old, rich, poor, and any race under the sun. We are all welcome there. We are all equal there.

Doesn’t that seem like a space too valuable to lose?

More News at :http://ivn.us/2012/08/08/nine-reasons-to-save-public-libraries/

New Vision for New York Public Library

By JENNIFER MALONEY

New York Public Library officials said they would hire new librarians and curators—positions that had been cut over the years—with the cash infusion from a massive renovation plan that has faced withering criticism.

Noah Rabinowitz for The Wall Street Journal

Some of the stacks that are part of New York Public Library's plans for renovations.

The $300 million renovation would take the sting out of years of budget cuts and help the library's vaunted research division survive with an influx from the sale of two Manhattan buildings and the consolidation of three libraries into one, officials told The Wall Street Journal.

The plan would move two to three million of the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman building's five million books to a New Jersey storage facility where many of the library's texts are already kept. And it would open vast new public space in the landmark building on Fifth Avenue that has been primarily the domain of scholars and researchers.

Enlarge Image

Noah Rabinowitz for The Wall Street Journal

A view of Bryant Park from the library.

In selling the changes to a skeptical public, library officials said they acknowledged some missteps as they rolled out information about the renovation but stood by the plan. They said the renovation was necessary to maintain the institution as a world-class research center.

"The worst case scenario is, I think we die," said Ann Thornton, director of the library's research division. "I think we die as a research library.…We would have to stop collecting. We'd become a museum."

The library revealed the new details to The Wall Street Journal as it continues a public campaign to stem heated criticism of the plan since it was revived in February.

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Noah Rabinowitz for The Wall Street Journal

Stacks that are part of plans for renovations.

While some scholars support the plan, others have said the changes could turn a place for serious research into something less than that—an "Internet cafe," as some called it.

They say the plan calls for the relocation of too many books and say they are skeptical of the library's promise to provide 24-hour delivery service for off-site books. They also lament the staff reductions the library's research division has seen in repeated budget cuts since 2008.

The detractors have included a wide range of the literary world, from Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa to Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman. The plan was mocked on Garrison Keillor's public radio program, "Lake Wobegon." A public forum on the issue is scheduled to be held Tuesday at the New School.

"We are afraid that the plan represents a transformation of the library in ways that will undermine its classic research function, and pay more attention to superficial aspects of public use of the building and cafes and meeting rooms," said Joan Scott, a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., and an author of a protest letter signed by nearly 750 scholars and writers.

The disapproval from the literary and academic world has rankled library officials.

"It really couldn't be further off the mark, quite honestly," said Neil Rudenstine, chairman of the library's board of trustees. "I can only assume that there's been a very, very considerable misunderstanding...It's up to us to try to correct it."

Anthony Marx, the library's president, said officials would fan out this summer to speak at community boards in the boroughs it serves: Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island. And they are continuing to meet with scholars and researchers.

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Noah Rabinowitz for The Wall Street Journal

Inside of the stacks at the library.

"We need to make clear to everyone that research at the New York Public Library remains a top priority," he said. "I think we've tried to be clear about the benefits for researchers as well as the benefits for millions of New Yorkers…We have to make smart decisions about the resources we have. We aim to create the single greatest library facility in the world."

Dr. Marx and other officials said the selling of two buildings—the Mid-Manhattan Library and the Science, Industry and Business Library—would generate $10 million to $15 million per year in operating budget savings.

The library has faced budget and program cuts in recent years. Since 2008, the library's research division has seen a 20% drop in curatorial positions. Since 2009, the acquisitions budget has dropped to $11 million from $15 million.

With the new cash, Ms. Thornton said she hopes to hire subject experts to curate the Latin American collection, the humanities collection and the oral history collection at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Meanwhile, the aging Schwarzman Building doesn't have the climate controls necessary to preserve the three million volumes currently held in the stacks under the storied Rose Main Reading Room, officials said.

And the Mid-Manhattan Library is crumbling, literally. Library officials said they would erect scaffolding around its facade this week or next to prevent pieces from falling onto the sidewalk. Keeping that building open would require a renovation estimated at $150 million—a figure equal to the funding New York City has pledged toward the Mid-Manhattan's relocation to the Schwarzman building.

Library officials said an unfortunate misunderstanding led to the further alienation of a scholar who has blasted the library for lack of transparency.

An outspoken critic of the plan—author and longtime Schwarzman building user Caleb Crain—had been invited to join an advisory panel, but after he asked for permission to write about the meetings on his blog, he was told he could no longer participate. The advisory panel members decided the meetings should be confidential and that journalists shouldn't be allowed to observe, Ms. Thornton said.

Stanley Katz, a Princeton professor and an author of the protest letter, said he still had questions for the library, including how the renovation would generate more operating funds and why the money couldn't be obtained through fundraising.

"My puzzlement has increased as I've learned more," said Dr. Katz said.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304192704577406601428081194.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Library Lends Out E-Readers

By JENNIFER MALONEY

The Queens Library on Thursday will become the first public library system in New York to lend e-readers, a shift that underscores how libraries are adapting to help patrons keep up with technology.

All three of New York's public library systems—the Queens Library, the Brooklyn Public Library and the New York Public Library, which serves Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx—already lend e-books to patrons who read them on their own e-readers, computers and mobile devices.

Now the Queens Library is launching a pilot program making 50 Nooks—e-readers made by Barnes & Noble—available for check out at its Central Library in Jamaica.

Each will be preloaded with 25 e-books in one of five genres: children's literature, teen books, mystery, romance, and best sellers. Fifty works of classic literature also will be loaded onto each device.

"It's what libraries do," said library President Thomas Galante. "They loan people things to access information."

In the past several years, that has come to mean providing access to computers with broadband Internet, and offering free Wi-Fi. Now, it means helping people who can't afford to buy an e-book, Mr. Galante said.

Officials at the Brooklyn and New York public libraries said they are considering lending e-readers as well.

In the Queens Library's pilot program, any patron with a library card and a photo ID can check out an e-book for 21 days, with the option to renew twice. No deposit or credit card is required. The devices will be locked; patrons won't be able to browse or download any online content.

Mr. Galante said ultimately, the library hopes to offer proprietary e-readers that are linked to the Queens Library's e-book offerings the way, for example, a Kindle provides access to Amazon's e-book offerings. He said he has been in discussions on the subject with e-book manufacturers and content providers, but the necessary technology is not yet available.

Write to Jennifer Maloney at jennifer.maloney@wsj.com

A version of this article appeared April 12, 2012, on page A21 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Library Lends Out E-Readers.