Preserving the history of the American Library Association

On LHRT’s Seventy-Fifth Anniversary

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded and began a war in Ukraine. After it commenced, the international library and information community began responding. Specifically, formal public-facing response on the conflict were released by the American Library Association (ALA), Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA), Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), Danish Library Association (DLA), European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA), International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), Library Association of Latvia (LAL), and New Zealand Library Association Inc. (LIANZA). Chronicling and describing the international library and information community’s first public-facing responses addressing Russia’s war in Ukraine is the main objective of this article. Drawing upon a combined policy and thematic analysis of some of these first formal public responses, the article aims are to help account, review, and contextualize the ways in which this community considered the war during its first week and, in turn, reveal areas or issues of convergence or divergence between them. Specifically, it provides a snapshot in time revealing the international library and information community’s immediate perspectives and positions on the war during its earliest stages. For instance, the formal public responses released by the ALA, ALIA, CFLA, CILIP, DLA, EBLIDA, IFLA, LAL, and LIANZA during the war’s first week demonstrates international concern about the conflict and its affects on their Ukrainian counterparts and cultural heritage. Broad thematic convergence surfaces across the responses. Almost all plead for solutions to and resolution of the war. A majority offer solidarity for Ukrainian colleagues and all Ukrainians, support democracy and freedom of expression, asseverate for spreading accurate information about the war, and condemn Russia’s assault. Additional themes appearing in some of the responses include assisting Ukrainian refugees and displaying dismay regarding threats confronting Ukrainian cultural heritage.

Index to Volume 62 Justine Carson Page references in boldface indicate major treatments of a topic. Italic locators indicate photographs. Italic t, f, or n indicates tables, figures or notes. A A-series paper formats, 485–486 Abbate, Janet, 706 Academic libraries, Chinese. See Chinese academic libraries Access to Learning Award (Gates Foundation), 210, 212 Acknowledgments, by W. Boyd Rayward, 289–290 ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), 761 ACLU (Wisconsin) Civil Libertarian of the Year Award, 727 Action Plan for Agricultural and Rural Informatization in China, 49 Activism antigay, 735–736 library, 730–739 Adams, Scott, 690 ADI (American Documentation Institute), 689 Administrative surveillance, 644–645, 646. See also Surveillance Advertising etiquette books, 672–676, 675–676 relationship to Die Brücke, 479–480 source of commercial information, 637 AEG (Allgemeine-Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft), 479 Age of Reason. See Enlightenment Ai Hua Libraries, 164 AIBO Youth Center, 174 Air conditioning systems. See HVAC systems ALA. See American Library Association (ALA) Alingh Prins, Jan, 329–331, 383 Alkalimat, Abdul, 145, 255 All the World’s Knowledge: The Paper Internet, 285 Alle Kennis Van de Wereld, 285 Allgemeine-Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG), 479 American Association of Museums, 604, 607 American Bibliography (Evans), 461 American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, 726–727 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 761 American Civil Liberties Union (Wisconsin) Civil Libertarian of the Year Award, 727 American Documentation Institute (ADI), 385, 689 American Family Association, 731, 735–736 American Institute of Higher Learning, 534 [End Page 773] American Library Association (ALA) attacks by social conservatives, 731–733 Code of Ethics, 742, 772 definition of censorship, 744 Library Bill of Rights, 742, 761, 771 WBCML controversy, 726–727 American Library Association (ALA). Office for Intellectual Freedom, 761, 763 “American Practice in Information Science” (Vormelker), 385, 389 American Society for Information Science and Technology. (ASIS&T) Special Interest Group. History and Foundations of Information Science, 305 Americans for Truth about Homo- sexuality, 749n Americans with Disabilities Act, 571 Amory, Hugh, 457 Amsterdam, Netherlands, 635–636 Amway (China) Co., Ltd., 165 Analogous Spaces: Architecture and the Space of Information, Intellect, Action, Ghent, 2008, 308 Andersen, Hendrik Christian, 531 Anderson, Augusta, 502n Anderson, H.C.L., 543, 546 Announcement for the Standardization of Commercial Activities in Cybercafes and the Strengthening of Security Management, 124 Annuaire de la vie internationale, 316 Annual Meeting of German Librarians (Bibliothekartag), Göttingen, 1928, 351 Anonymous scientific publications, identifying authors, 451–452 Anschluss, 380 Anthropometric classification, criminals, 446–450 Anthropometry, relationship to scientific bibliography and classification, 442–455 Antigay activism, 735–736. See also “Ex-gay” books Apers, René, 533 Appadurai, Arjun, 509–510, 512 Apprenticeship programs, museum, 597, 605–607, 609–610 Apres le Congrès Mondial (Otlet), 380 Archaeological Data Bank Conference, 601–602 Architectural elements. See also Library architecture basements and underground spaces, 537–538 books used as, 536–537 brickwork, 569, 578 historic library buildings, 556–559 terracotta, 568 towers, 532–536 Architecture of Knowledge: The Mundaneum and European Antecedents of the World Wide Web, Mondeneum, Mons, 2002, 308 The Architecture of Knowledge: The Mundaneum and European Antecedents of the World Wide Web, 323 Archives. See also Cultural heritage organizations functional integration with libraries and museums, 613–614, 615–616, 619, 621 of Otlet and La Fontaine, 319–320 Aristocracy, marketing of, 674 ARL (Association of Research Libraries), 689 Armstrong, Edmund La Touche, 544, 546 Armstrong, Henry Edward, 448 Art.sy, 438 Asbestos, 562 ASIS (American Society for Information Science), 696 ASIS&T SIG HFIS, 305 Aslib. See Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux (Aslib) Aslib-FID joint conference, Oxford, 1938. See Joint Conference of FID and Aslib, Oxford, 1938 Aslib Information, 383 Association des Amis du Palais Mondial, 318, 319–320, 321 Association of American Publishers, 727 Association of Research Libraries (ARL), 689 Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux (Aslib), 371, 396, 689 collaboration with BSIB, 468–469 [End Page 774] joint conference with FID, Oxford, 1938, 378–401 Association of the Friends of the Palais Mondial, 318, 319–320, 321 Astrographical Catalogue, 686 Astronomy, bibliographies, 686 Atheneums. See Mechanics institutes Atherton, Pauline, 431–432. See also Cochrane, Pauline Atherton Austin, Derek, 436 Australia federation period, 1880–1900, 542...

PurposeAims to provide highlights from the American Library Association (ALA) 2005 Midwinter meeting.Design/methodology/approachProvides a brief report of the meeting held in Boston, MA. in January 2005.FindingsOutlines how the Public Library Association (PLA) debuted blogging at this meeting and provides a summary of the ever popular ALA Technology Showcase – the highlights of which included shared networks, library data mining and audio archives. Concludes with highlights from various Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) meetings and discussions and a detailed report on the Standards Interest Group.Originality/valueA report of interest to library and information management professionals.

Encyclopedia of is an award-winning five-volume set from SAGE Reference, awarded Best Reference 2005 award from the Journal along with an Outstanding Award from the American Library Association's Booklist journal. It represents the first attempt to bring an authoritative reference resource to the many faces of disability. More than 500 world-renowned scholars have written over 1000 entries, in a clear, accessible style, with the desire to bring all students, researchers, and interested readers closer to the daily experience of disability. The first four volumes cover disability in an A to Z format, including a reader's guide, comprehensive bibliography and index. Volume five contains a wealth of primary source documents in the field of disability, everything from photographs to correspondence to excerpts from movie scripts, and more. Sample entries are available to download from the resources section of the website - click on sample chapters and resources to see more. Encyclopedia of is a must-have reference for all academic libraries, large public libraries and any social science, medical, legal, or governmental reference collections. Non-governmental organizations, charitable foundations and law firms will also want to add this set to their collections. The senior editors for this book include: Jerome Bickenbach, Queen's University; Scott Brown Dudley Childress, Northwestern University Medical School; Joseph Flaherty, Univeristy of Illinois at Chicago; Allen Heinemann, Northwestern University; Tamar Heller, Univeristy of Illinois at Chicago; Christopher Keys, University of Illinois at Chicago; David Mitchell, University of Illinois at Chicago; Trevor Parmenter, University of Sydney, Australia; Mairian Scott-Hill, Marsh Hills Cottage; Tom Shakespeare, University of Newcastle; Sharon Snyder, University of Illinois at Chicago; and, Henri-Jacques Stiker, University of Paris. The key themes in this book include: Conditions; Therapies; Biographies/History; Laws; Policy; Consumer Organizations/Advocacy; Definition/Concepts; Movement; Ideology; International Developing Countries; Cultural Differences; Professional and Lay Cultures; Interventions; Prevention; Identity and Representation; Products/Technology/Assisted Devices; Social Political; Universal Design/Architecture/Physical Environment; Outcomes/Efficacy; Cross Cultural/Cross National; and, Journals/Resources. Gary L Albrecht is Professor of Public Health and of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

w He ^ re write this article in early October 2008, coincidentally same time that American Library Association (ALA) has, since 1982, designated a Banned Books Week. This is a time, says ALA, to remind Americans not to take [a] precious democratic freedom for granted?the freedom of unrestricted access to and regardless of communication medium used, content of work, and viewpoints of both author and receiver of information (ALA, 2008, 1, 3). The ALA's expressed intent for Banned Books Week is to draw attention to First Amendment rights but also to the power of literature...and...to danger that exists when restraints are imposed on availability of in a free society (ALA, 2008, 5). Censorship occurs when published or shared works, like books, films, or art work, are kept from public access by restriction or removal from librar ies, museums, or other public venues. Though challenges or outright censor ship in our school libraries or classrooms often transpire out of noblest of reasons?most often with idea of protecting young people from some thing that someone finds offensive?the ALA sees attempts at censorship, nonetheless, as attempts to restrict someone's right to read, view, listen to, and disseminate constitutionally protected ideas (ALA, 2007, Who Attempts Censorship? section). We find such censorship of reading or viewing of mate rials in middle and high school classrooms disturbing and unjust to rights of both students and teachers.

A Review of:
 Oltmann, S. M. (2019). Important Factors in Midwestern Public Librarians’ Views on Intellectual Freedom and Collection Development: Part 1. The Library Quarterly, 89(1), 2-15. https://doi.org/10.1086/700659
 Abstract
 Objective – The article sought to explore whether librarian attitudes regarding intellectual freedom conform to the stance of the American Library Association (ALA).
 Design – Electronic survey.
 Setting – Public libraries in the Midwestern United States.
 Subjects – Subjects were 645 collection development library professionals employed in public libraries.
 Methods – An electronic survey was distributed to public library directors in nine Midwestern states and was completed by the library professional primarily responsible for collection development. The survey focused on community information and probed the participants for their stances on several intellectual freedom topics. 
 Main Results – The survey was sent to 3,018 participants via each state’s librarian and had a response rate of 21.37%. The first section of the survey focused on broad strokes statements representing the ALA’s stance on intellectual freedom for public libraries. The results revealed widespread agreement on these issues. More than 88% of participants agreed with statements like “public libraries should provide their clients with access to information from a variety of sources.” Despite strong agreement among participants, particular demographic characteristics were more likely to lead to disagreement with all statements including working in rural communities and not holding a master’s degree in library science.
 The next section of the survey focused on how strongly participants’ personal beliefs conformed to the intellectual freedom statements in the ALA’s Library Code of Ethics. Again, there was widespread agreement, with 94.9% of participants indicating that they agreed with the statement “we uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library materials.” Only one participant disagreed with the statement “it is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction.” When asked whether the ALA’s stance on intellectual freedom ever conflicted with their personal beliefs, 39.8% of participants indicated that it did, 22% were unsure, and 40% had never experienced conflict. Participants holding a master's degree in library science and librarians in large cities were less likely to experience conflict between their personal beliefs and the ALA’s stance on intellectual freedom. In the free text comments, several participants indicated that they experienced conflict when the ALA’s stance did not reflect their personal beliefs or community values.
 Conclusion – While the overwhelming majority of respondents indicated that they agreed with the ALA’s stance on intellectual freedom, a minority of participants experienced some conflict. Respondents indicated that personal belief could create conflict when librarians committed to intellectual freedom were required to make choices in their professional work that conflicted with their own views. Conflict could also arise when collection choices made to support intellectual freedom were not supported by patrons in the community.

Review(s) of: Strategic Planning for Results, by Sandra Nelson for the Public Library Association. PLA Results Series. Chicago: American Library Association, 2008. 312 pp. US$65.00 (ALA members US$58.50). Soft cover ISBN 13: 978083835736.

Life writing in the profession has been a constant genre, as a search through standard bibliographies and databases will verify.1 The years spanning the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have occasioned a num ber of biographies and autobiographies of notable figures in American librarianship. As colleagues have retired in this pivotal period, the temp tation to look backward, to offer an explanation or perspective, or to make an apology?most efforts to establish significance?has seldom seemed more attractive than now. Among those lives recently celebrated autobiographically are Bill Eshelman, David Kaser, and Paul Wasserman.2 The scholarly biographies of Melvil Dewey (1851-1931) by Wayne Wiegand and of Louis Shores (1904-81) by Lee Shiflett have also appeared.3 Among these works, Kenneth Kister on Eric Moon is unique. Kister and his publisher regard Eric Moon (b. 1923) as the most significant personage in the American library profession in the last half of the twentieth century. The narrative of his life, in eighteen chapters and buttressed with sixty-three black-and-white photographs, is well told. It includes Moon's youth in Southampton, wartime service in Asia, student years at Loughborough, early professional experience at British libraries, escape to Canada and then on to Library Journal, activism in the library profession, leadership at Scare crow Press, presidency of the American Library Association (ALA), and retirement to Florida. Additional tidbits from Moon's inner thoughts about people, events, and trends and especially his roman tic life make this an arresting tale. Few contemporary biographical works present the detail and complexity of a life as does this nearly five-hundred-page, large-format work.

Through ALA projects in Latin America, American librarianship progressed, step by step, from conceptualization to implementation as the model to be followed by the Latin American countries in modernizing not only their library practices but their societies in general. The development of library practices was fundamental to the pursuit of a "modern" society. In fighting fascist propaganda, the United States has portrayed itself at least since World War II as a "modern" model whose prosperity and economic growth were important achievements but achievable only in a democratic society.

Academic Library Residency Programs and Diversity Julie Garrison (bio) Since the 1940s, academic and research libraries have offered post-masters' residency programs (called internships, residencies, or fellowships interchangeably) to provide professional training and mentoring for new librarians entering academic library careers. Those who participate in residencies tend to appreciate the experience and find that it supports individual career growth. They report gaining useful knowledge, marketable skills, and professional connections. They also derive benefits from growing their networks, participating in professional-level work and meaningful projects, and experiencing the academic library culture.1 By the early to mid-1980s, residency programs began focusing on recruitment of minority librarians. Initially, these programs were inspired by affirmative action, a United States government policy that supported members of disadvantaged groups who had suffered discrimination. More recently, residency programs shifted to addressing the desire to grow a workforce more representative of society in general.2 Despite these efforts, however, change has been slow.3 Residents and Librarians: Still Predominantly White In 1997, Julie Brewer surveyed 230 prior post-master's residents. The majority of survey participants were white women, overrepresenting "the older, larger residency programs in government libraries." Only 19 of the 109 respondents stated they had taken part in a program "targeted to racial and ethnic minorities."4 Another survey of residency programs in 2013 more narrowly focused on evaluating residencies for librarians of color. It explored "the general structure of residencies, such as the number of residents in a cohort, efforts to promote diversity, and professional skills." Of the 68 who responded, nearly 40 percent (26) were white, and 84.8 percent identified as female.5 While the number of respondents from racially or ethnically diverse backgrounds in both surveys was small, each suggested that residencies attracted individuals who would not have otherwise considered academic librarianship as a career choice and succeeded in retaining professionals in library-related positions. [End Page 405] An examination of American Library Association (ALA) demographic data and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) information indicates that the library profession remains predominantly white (86.7 percent according to the ALA in 2017, 87.8 percent per the BLS in 2019) and overwhelmingly female. While diversity has improved since the 2006 ALA membership report, in which 89 percent of members identified as white, the needle has scarcely moved toward building a more representative profession.6 A review of who received master's degrees in library and information science suggests that graduates have not increased in diversity either. A comparison of 2011 and 2017 graduation rates reported by the Association of Library Information Science Education (ALISE) shows that the percentage of Hispanic graduates doubled (6.2 percent in 2017 compared to 2.96 percent in 2011), but those from other racial groups increased by less than 1 percent. Given that fewer individuals graduate from LIS programs, the number of underrepresented minorities entering the profession remains nearly static. One caveat to these data is that both years report a relatively large pool of "unknown" and "international" students, and in 2017 an additional 2 percent (150) identify as "two or more races."7 The ACRL Diversity Alliance In 2014, when Jon Cawthorne became dean of libraries at West Virginia University (WVU) in Morgantown, he attempted to breathe new life into residency programs by forming the Diversity Alliance, a group of academic libraries that pledged to offer residencies to underrepresented groups. In addition to establishing a new institutional residency program at WVU, Cawthorne recruited like-minded institutions to do the same, growing a network of residencies aimed at supporting professionals from diverse backgrounds in "getting the experience they need to be successful in the academic library world." In 2016, the Diversity Alliance partnered with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) to further expand its reach and broaden residency opportunities.8 For decades, ACRL had studied and analyzed opportunities for adding to the mix of ethnic and racial groups in the library profession. It had developed guidelines and stated its commitment to diversity in its strategic plans. It had produced reports with recommendations for advancing diversity efforts, and it had embraced the goal of recruiting a more representative workforce within academic libraries. The ACRL...

Library history per se has evolved from a highly specialized scholarly endeavour to a field open to a wider range of subjects and orientations. This discussion examines the library history bibliographies officially compiled for the American Library Association's Library History Round Table, the official and professional association for the history of libraries. The bibliographies for the years 2005 to 2009 were examined for type of publication and subject orientation and examined visually for content. The recent state of library history is discussed in terms of disciplinary orientations and methodological perspectives as well as to ascertain various intellectual vectors that library history is exhibiting. Far from being a narrowly conceived interest, it has embraced subjects that transcend library history, including the history of reading, publishing, intellectual life, and other phenomena affecting libraries as institutions and as sites of intellectual, cultural, and societal exchange.

PANEL: THE MILDRED L. BATCHELDER AWARD Notes on the Award Committee and Collection Karen Nelson Hoyle As the chairman of the Mildred L. Batchelder Award Committee in 1978, covering books published in 1976, I was acutely aware of the ground rules established by the Board of the Children's Services Division of the American Library Association. Our committee followed these carefully, and many fine books were ruled ineligible because they had been co-printed and published in England before the U.S. publication , appeared originally in a periodical rather than a book, or were deemed poorly translated. We checked the date of publication and consulted with language experts who could compare the American English translation with the original language. While the Children's Book Council had sent a memo to all publishers of children's books about submitting nominees , and there was an announcement in Publisher' s Weekly, we still checked American Book Publishin: Record to be sure that every possible book was cons «ere . After careful deliberation , we decided that there were not three books to place on the membership ballot, as required, so there was no CSD vote that year. Because the rules changed the following year, however, people looking at the list of award books might not realize that no book published in the United States in 1976 is listed. The American Library Association archives are at the University of Illinois. The Mildred L. Batchelder Collection , however, is at the University of Minnesota Libraries' Children's Literature Research Collections and has the original and the American translations of all the final nominees. The award has been given to six books translated from German, and to one or two titles in other languages. Translators have sent their materials -- working drafts, typescripts, correspondence -- to the collection, too, so researchers can learn about methods of translation. Two substantial studies have been made about the Mildred L. Batchelder Award. One is by Barbara Sproat who used the Children's Literature Research Collections, and the other is by Joan Stidham Nist. An article published in Bookbird , XIII: 2 (1976), further describes the materials in the University of Minnesota collection. Karen Nelson Hoyle, Curator Children's Literature Research Collections University of Minnesota Libraries Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. The Evaluation and Selection Process Sharon M. Scapple The topic of this investigation centers on the question, what are the evaluating criteria used in the selection of the Mildred Batchelder Award? First presented in 1968, it is given to the American publisher of the most outstanding children's book originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country and subsequently published in English in the United States. The award, in the form of a citation, is presented annually by the Association for Library Service to Children (formerly, the Children's Services Division of the American Library Association) . The award honors Mildred L. Batchelder whose work as a children's librarian and former secretary of the Children's Service Division for thirty years has had "international and lasting effect. "1 It was so named for Mildred Batchelder 's dedication to introducing quality literature of all languages to young people. In purpose, the award is designed to encourage international exchange of quality children 's books by recognizing publishers of such books in translation in the United States. Mildred Batchelder points to the significance of the award: When children of one country come to know and love the books and stories of many countries, they have made an important beginning toward international understanding. To know the classic stories of a country creates a climate, an attitude for understanding the people for whom that literature is a heritage. When children know they are reading, in translation, the same stories which children in another country are reading, a sense of nearness grows and expands. Interchange of children's books between countries, through translation, 32 ...

As I put pen to paper to write this column (yes sometimes the ideas still start that way for me), the ghosts and goblins are at the door. Perhaps that's not such a strange metaphor for this column because the idea of support staff certification is one that, like Halloween ghosts, has visited the American Library Association (ALA) in the past, only to disappear from view again and again. ALA has been discussing a certification program for library support staff for more than twenty years. BACKGROUND AND HISTORY OF ALA INVOLVEMENT IN CERTIFICATION In 1991, in Issue Paper #1--the first of ten issue papers reporting on the World Book-ALA Goal Award Project on Library Support Staff (LSS)--Kathleen Weibel wrote that, of library paraprofessionals or support staff has been proposed as a means of recognizing those who have attained a certain level of knowledge or skill. (1) Throughout Weibel's issue papers and in much of the literature on support staff certification that follows, there is a focus on certification for support staff that seems to hinge on the issue of certification as achievement-based, and not on the advantage libraries could gain from certification that is patron or service based. What do users gain when support staff are well trained? Why certification? How to accomplish it? Competency statements for librarians are one way of measuring performance against a set standard, but development of those competencies is a complicated issue. The literature reveals that while there are examples of competency documents, little has been written about the process of developing a competencies document. Competency documents completed following Weibel's issue papers were really a blend of existing standards and local practices that could be adapted to other libraries and not competency based. From 1985-1989 I served as a member of the State Library of Iowa--Continuing Education Certification Advisory Committee--that outlined the path for certification of public librarians for the State of Iowa. (2) This advisory committee worked with Debra Wilcox Johnson, who was then at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to develop a program of certification for public librarians that has been continually adapted and is still in use today. (3) In 2001, the Iowa State Library began the process of identifying competencies for both support staff and professional staff, beginning with collection development competencies for bibliographers and followed by competencies for reference. In 2001, a committee of four began the task of developing competency statements for the bibliographers at Iowa State University (ISU). These competencies were then used in a variety of ways: to serve as guidelines for training new librarians, to serve as yardsticks to measure the progress of continuing librarians, and to direct the need for additional training and guidance of individual bibliographer growth. (4) After the collection development competencies were completed, competencies for reference professional staff were constructed. Following this I developed competencies for use with reference support staff. The State of Iowa and ISU are not alone in their attempts at developing certification or competencies. Two RUSA members have been selected; I will serve with Jeannie Alexander from the Bucks County Free Library in Pennsylvania, as members of the ALA Support Staff Certification Project Task Force that will serve as an advisory board to study support staff certification as a national issue. ALA created the task force to develop competencies for support staff that can be used in all types of libraries so that the ALA-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) can best serve library users at all levels in all types of libraries. For those of you who feel that training for support staff somehow devalues your MLS, I would say that developing competencies is not about a degree but about service to our users. …

I had the opportunity to view the work produced by the American Library Association's (ALA) Emerging Leaders at the 2008 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim. While I was impressed overall with the quality of work produced by these rising stars, I was drawn to the research that one group presented as a poster session. This project related to identifying best practices of innovative business libraries and business centers. Since I believed that these findings would be of interest to a broader audience, I invited the group to submit an article on their project for this occasional column.--Editor Leslie Burger, 2006-07 American Library Association (ALA) president, initiated the Emerging Leaders program. This program provides an opportunity for new librarians to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. Emerging Leaders participate in problem-solving workgroups, network with peers, and gain an inside look at the organizational structure of ALA. Beginning in December 2007, our workgroup from the 2008 Emerging Leaders program took on a project sponsored by the Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) of RUSA. The goal of the project was to create a guide to excellent creative business libraries and business centers to provide examples of innovative and best To better understand the current practices of business libraries and business centers, we conducted a Web-based survey to identify innovation and best practice. The findings from the survey are discussed in this article. Note that we have used the term library to designate both business libraries and business centers. LITERATURE REVIEW Given that none of the authors are business librarians and lacked in-depth knowledge about business librarianship, we began with a broad literature review. Our review of the literature on business librarianship expanded to include current practices, innovative practices, marketing, and collaboration. We found a paucity of literature on current practices and nothing concrete on best Abels and Magi reported on current practices and trends in twenty top business school libraries. (1) While their research focused on academic libraries, their findings apply to other types of business libraries as well. They found that, despite the organizational structure of these academic business libraries, the needs of patrons drive the delivery of services and resources. Listening to patrons' needs and implementing changes to meet those needs are important for continued success. However, budgetary restrictions or constraints may play an important role in the delivery of services and resources. Abels and Magi identified the following trends: * Library websites offer access to a variety of services and resources * Library websites provide access to a variety of commercial online databases * E-mail reference service is increasing in popularity and use * User education sessions focus on topics instead of specific resources * Interactive online tutorials may become more prevalent but will remain as supplements (rather than replacements) to classroom instruction * Reference desk hours will most likely remain stable in the short term, but will likely decrease over the next five years * Materials budgets will reflect more spending on serials than on monographs Abels and Magi also found that a demand exists for in-person reference service. But they acknowledged that the emergence of new technology will require business school libraries to adjust their practices. (2) A follow-up or duplication of this study would be interesting, since Abels and Magi published their findings in 2001. The goal for this project was to create a best practices guide applicable to various types of business libraries and centers (academic, public, and corporate). More specifically, the task was to identify innovative The question therein lies, what is innovation and how is it defined? …