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This bibliography concentrates on literature sources currently published (as in the case of periodicals) or generally published during the past three years. Annotations are provided for periodicals and books, noting strengths of the sources. Selected journal articles, including several pre‐1980 citations, are included without annotations.

Non‐mediated, patron‐initiated inter‐library loan recently became a new component of OhioLINK, a consortium of Ohio academic libraries in both the public and private sectors ranging from major research institutions to community colleges. “Inter‐institutional lending” is used in this article to denote the process by which Miami University Libraries' patrons request items from other OhioLINK libraries. Pre‐implementation speculation, post‐implementation experiences, and control mechanisms showcase how “inter‐institutional lending” is leading to Ohio's dream of a virtual library.

Contracting with a vendor to provide retrospective conversion services is an often considered alternative to an inhouse project. George Washington University's Gelman Library has used several vendors to augment its retrospective conversion project, depending upon the requirements of the project at a particular time. It is from this experience that this paper will seek to answer such questions as: when should a library consider using a conversion vendor; what methodologies are available from them; and what factors should be considered before selecting the vendor?

Growing need for telecommunications information has resulted in the establishment of a specialized Center at George Washington University. Used by students and faculty from several programs at George Washington University, the Center also supports research inquiries from other corporate, governmental and academic libraries in the Washington, DC area.

This case study presents data generated from Miami University Libraries’ participation in LibQUAL+™ 2000‐2001, a national service quality survey for libraries. Miami’s data are analyzed through a series of questions to identify client service needs, evaluate current service levels, and place local results within the broader context of aggregate scores and score norms from all participating institutions. Finally, questions are raised about the extent of LibQUAL+™’s relevance both for libraries that are not members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and for organizational planning beyond traditional library services.

Tourism literature tends to focus on passive tourists, who constitute the majority of tourists today. However, there is a growing number of individuals who overlap their study, work, and business with tourism activities. These independent tourists have created a new segment in the tourism industry, where tourists develop and experience their own tourism activities. However, there is a lack of current research on these independent tourists, especially in terms of how they function in the experience management process and how this can be translated into various new types of offers.

This study investigates the functions, experiences, and behaviors of this type of tourists. Accordingly, this study makes use of purposive sampling, employing direct observation, in-depth interviews, and analysis of personal social media (e.g., blogs). The findings show that while some independent tourists function in a multitude of ways, from searching for ideas to composing, creating, and experiencing their own products, others are less active and tend to piggyback their efforts on those of more active tourists. The study finds that the motivational matrix is highly important for individuals who combine work and tourism. Working persons with a strong motivation for tourism relative to work maintain high levels of commitment, activity, and creativity in the tourism sphere, especially when they face problems with their work. Highly satisfied independent tourists initiate future actions by either revisiting the same destination or leading others to have similar experiences at the same location. Finally, the chapter discusses some methodological lessons learned from direct observation and in-depth interviews and studying social media.

This paper presents an overview of past and present research projects associated with electronic document delivery. The paper briefly outlines the Follet Report and introduces the UK's Electronics Libraries Programme, including the recently funded Focused Investigation of Document Delivery (FIDDO) project at Loughborough University. Four research areas have been identified as follows: resource sharing projects; network communication projects; electronic scanning projects and electronic document delivery systems. Conclusions highlight the major impact that technological developments are currently having on this area, the need for librarians to reassess their role in the information chain, and the need for delivery systems capable of handling different formats and a wider coverage of material to satisfy requests.

Recent emergence of the position of Chief Information Officer (CIO) in higher education has been the source of much debate and speculation. This article describes the results of a recent study on the roles of CIOs in research universities and discusses implications and future trends in the management of information technologies, particularly from the point of view of libraries.

This paper aims to explore a study that examines the role of academic librarians who teach visual literacy within their information literacy curricula.

The author developed a survey that was distributed to five listservs during a three-week period, generating 118 responses from academic libraries. The author subsequently interviewed 16 participants.

The findings reveal that visual literacy is important across all disciplines. However, a majority of academic librarians who replied to the survey stated that they do not teach visual literacy. Only 37.3 per cent of the respondents indicated that they or their institutions include a visual literacy component in their sessions.

The paper identifies the most relevant visual literacy trends, and it includes examples of visual literacy skills and concepts being taught in academic libraries. It provides ideas to develop marketing strategies to increase student enrollment in library workshops.

This study has expanded librarians’ awareness of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. In addition, it explores the teaching of multiliteracies such as visual literacy within the information literacy framework in the academic library. The survey data demonstrate that academic librarians are slowly embracing visual literacy and including it in their information literacy instruction across all disciplines. The study recommends that librarians work on their professional development to become multiliterate to remain relevant within their academic communities.