Excellence in the Stacks

Jacob Hill is the reference and instruction librarian for the award-winning A.C. Buehler Library at Elmhurst College. He has recently presented and published content on plagiarism-detection software, mobile resource access, and reference desk communication applications. Jacob is currently investigating college/secondary education liaison program partnerships. Susan Swords Steffen is the director of the library at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois. With over 30 years of experience in college libraries, she has spoken and written extensively about library innovation and has taught at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University as an adjunct faculty member.

"The editors provide a summary at the end of the case studies, with conclusions discussing common themes and trying to answer questions such as what sets some libraries apart from others and what excellence actually means." --The Australian Library Journal, Vol. 63, No. 2, 2014

• List of figures and tablesForewordAbout the editors and contributorsPrefaceChapter 1: Measuring the “excellence” of librarianship at Earlham College Abstract:Measuring “library excellence” through numbers: the MISO SurveyQuestioning “library excellence”Chapter 2: Graduate services at the Newman Library Abstract:IntroductionThe national urban fellows: developing best practices through a target populationNewman Library’s credit coursesChapter 3: The evolving liaison model at Mount Holyoke College Abstract:Situating the College and LITSSeparate departments and parallel liaisons: project-based collaborationsMerged department with parallel liaisons: collaboration on a daily basisMerged department with single, blended liaisons: toward a (high-)performing teamChapter 4: Fast-forward: the transformation of excellence Abstract:Back to basicsMaking the argumentA paradigm is hard to changeContinuing challengesLessons learned?Chapter 5: In unison with our communities and with each other: striving for excellence in college librarianship Abstract:Individual and organizational developmentPartnerships and collaborationsSupport for learning and teachingChapter 6: Looking outward: partnerships and outreach at Hollins University Abstract:IntroductionThe challenges of today’s academic environmentThe outward-looking library; or, why it is natural and beneficial to play well with othersAbout Hollins University and the Wyndham Robertson LibraryStudents: working as a teamThe faculty: partnering by providing solutionsAdministrative departments: find common interestsConclusion: partnering across the campusChapter 7: The A.C. Buehler Library at Elmhurst College: handcrafted academic library services Abstract:A culture of information literacyEngaging the campusLibrarians as facultySustaining excellence through innovationHow the A.C. Buehler Library practices innovationNurturing librarians: Kyle Jones reflects on his pathway to the professionConclusionChapter 8: Success through community: engagement at Grinnell College Libraries Abstract:A brief introduction to Grinnell CollegeWhy focus on engagement?Engaging students as teachersEngaging students as curatorsEngaging students through eventsEngaging with diversityEngaging students in library decision-makingConclusionChapter 9: Excellence at Champlain: spending Groundhog Day in the Kuhlthau model Abstract:An outlierMaking every book countEmbedding instruction in the liberal artsMatching the missionFostering innovation and autonomyLiving with uncertaintyAfterword: academic library value and the college libraryIndex