Join us for an in-person two-hour session on the management of electronic resources in Alma. Miiya Holmes, Senior Customer Education Trainer at Ex Libris, presenting remotely, will focus on acquiring and activating electronic resources, as well as claiming and renewing materials. Immediately following the Ex Libris presentation, PASCAL staff will hold an hour-long hands-on working session to address additional questions and put into practice what has been discussed.
Note: This is a preconference event held in conjunction with the 2026 PASCAL Member Conference. Registration for the full conference is separate and is not required to participate in this session.
This session builds on the first two sessions in this series on Acquisitions Infrastructure and Physical Resources Acquisition Ordering, Receiving, and Invoicing.
Registration is required. The presentation portion of this session will be recorded.
About the Alma Acquisitions Training Series:
PASCAL is hosting a four-part acquisitions training series in May and June, facilitated by Miiya Holmes, Senior Customer Education Trainer at Ex Libris.
Part 1: Acquisitions Infrastructure | Thursday, May 14, 2026, 1:00pm -3:00pm Part 2: Physical Resources Acquisition Ordering, Receiving, and Invoicing | Thursday, May 28, 2026, 10:00am -12:00pm Part 3: Electronic Resources Acquisition and Activation | Thursday, June 11, 2026, 1:30pm -3:30pm **Part 4: Electronic Resource Cost Per Use | Thursday, June 18, 2026, 1:00pm -3:00pm All staff at SLSP participating libraries are welcome to participate in any or all sessions. For those new to acquisitions, full participation—either by attending live or by viewing the posted recordings—is strongly encouraged, as each session builds on the previous one.
**Part 4: Electronic Resource Cost Per Use will be held during the PASCAL Member Conference Virtual Day. Registration for the conference is separate and is not required to participate in this session.
If you are in Columbia Thursday evening, come join us for good vibes and German food at the local Bierkeller! This will be a casual pay-on-your-own meet-up to socialize ahead of the conference. Located on the riverfront, Bierkeller features both indoor and outdoor seating, as well as a full menu of food and beverages, including non-alcoholic options.
Thursday June 11, 2026 5:00pm - 7:00pm EDT Bierkeller600 Canalside St Suite 1009, Columbia, SC 29201
Join USC iSchool director Lyda Fontes McCartin in an informal discussion to share your observations about new professionals entering the field - what they're bringing to the work, and where you notice gaps between graduate education and day-to-day practice. This session will inform curriculum development, mentorship strategies, and the ongoing dialogue between the MLIS program and the practitioners who hire and supervise its graduates. Come ready to talk candidly!
Libraries spend considerable time, money, and effort strengthening their collections for the benefit of their constituents, and rightly so. However, it is now an old adage that a single library alone cannot meet all needs. Yet we sometimes forget. With a strictly local focus, we neglect something that could make our collections even stronger – our connections. This presentation will focus on how we can strengthen both our collections and our connections through shared print.
Tina Baich is the Director of Eastern Academic Scholars’ Trust (EAST), a nonprofit organization dedicated to securing the print scholarly record in support of teaching, learning, and research. Prior to joining EAST, she spent 19 years at IUPUI University Library, starting as a Graduate... Read More →
University museums and academic libraries are frequent collaborators. More recently, museums are becoming part of the library organization. Stemming from a review of the literature and interviews with library leaders who oversee museums, this presentation will offer insights into the circumstances by which colleges or universities might situate museums under library administration, and what they are doing with them. A categorization of the types of relationships that exist, reporting models, and the advantages and disadvantages of such a model will be discussed. Attendees will participate through Mentimeter surveys and a small tabletop exercise.
Academic library book displays often rely on predictable themes, yet inventive approaches can significantly enhance engagement and discovery. Book displays can serve as strategic tools for promoting collections, supporting curriculum, and fostering intellectual curiosity beyond targeted research needs. This presentation examines best practices for designing effective academic library displays that align with institutional goals, disciplinary themes, campus events, while also looking at nontraditional themes. Library displays should invite curiosity and interdisciplinary thinking. Examples include concept-driven, question-based and data inspired themes. The presentation will also discus strategies for developing original themes, curating materials across formats, and designing displays that encourage exploration. Hopefully attendees will leave with adaptable ideas for creating displays that will reimagine the academic library.
During this time of unprecedented levels of censorship in South Carolina's public, school, and academic libraries, library leaders have identified the critical need to create a South Carolina Intellectual Freedom manual. While such a manual has existed in the past (1992!) and was utilized on a statewide level, a new iteration has not been issued in many years. The purpose of this manual is to unite library workers across the state in best practices, supportive guidelines, and methods for combating censorship. It will also provide a foundation for the ethics of intellectual freedom that can be used for advocacy and education purposes. Library Advocacy leader Virginia Cononie and past SCASL president Jamie Gregory have edited an updated draft and are seeking member input and feedback. Please attend this session if you are interested in learning more, previewing the draft, and providing feedback.
Struggling with the chaos of electronic resources work? Three experienced librarians share their battle tested strategies for managing time, taming e-mail inboxes, and organizing complex collection data. Attendees will take away practical tips for using your calendar, managing email, and creating a centralized hub for all your electronic resources information.
Master of Science Library Science, UNC Chapel Hill Master of Arts in Educational Theatre, New York University Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Education, East Carolina University
As libraries confront increasing restrictions imposed through publisher and aggregator licensing, a growing national movement is emerging to reclaim access and preservation through the law. Drawing on work with the eBook Study Group (ESG), this keynote examines how states are coming together to advance coordinated legal strategies that push back against restrictive licensing regimes imposed on libraries that undermine their mission. By leveraging copyright exceptions, contract law, consumer protection statutes, procurement policies, and other tools, libraries can turn constraining frameworks into opportunities. This keynote highlights how collective legal action is helping libraries fulfill their enduring mission in today’s digital landscape.
Kyle K. Courtney is a lawyer, librarian, and nationally recognized expert in copyright and information policy, with extensive experience at the intersection of law, libraries, and education. Currently the Executive Director of the Social Law Library, he previously served as the Director... Read More →
Even prior to the COVID-19 shutdowns of 2020, streaming video usage on college and university campuses was rapidly increasing. Kanopy's early patron-driven acquisition (PDA) model offered clear benefits for end users but posed significant budgetary challenges for collection librarians. Coastal Carolina University Libraries adopted Kanopy's Smart PDA program, which established sustainable budget guardrails while continuing to provide robust access to streaming video content for patrons.
This talk will cover partnership and collaboration between myself as an instruction librarian and a division of my college that I liaison with. I worked with an instructor to develop curriculum for, and teach a course dedicated to developing students' information literacy skills through research, constructing citations, and formatting. This talk will address three points: collaboration across two divisions of the college, impact of the course on students, and impact for the college overall. Anecdotes from the development and active teaching of the course will serve as examples of the collaboration required to create it, and its impact on students and the college.
Understanding how students use the library is essential to refining services and resources, but more holistic assessment also requires examining those who do not engage and the reasons behind their lack of use. At Coastal Carolina University, an annual Library Impact Study compares the academic performance of students who use library facilities, services, and resources with those who do not. While this study yields valuable insight into user outcomes, it does not fully capture the experiences, perceptions, or needs of students who are not identified as library users. To address this gap, non-users were surveyed about study habits, space preferences, and their sense of belonging in library environments. Integrating usage data with feedback from non-users provides a more comprehensive understanding of student behavior and engagement, illustrating how library spaces and services contribute to student success while identifying opportunities to expand the library's reach and effectiveness.
Associate University Librarian, Coastal Carolina University
Jennifer Hughes has been employed at Kimbel Library, Coastal Carolina University for over 20 years. Most of her experience has been in Access Services, and she currently serves as the Associate University Librarian. Jennifer received her MLIS from the University of South Carolina... Read More →
This session demonstrates how to transform lengthy, disengaging information literacy courses using AI as a collaborative tool under librarian guidance. Learn a replicable, iterative process for AI-assisted course redesign that positions librarians as architects and AI as the construction crew. Discover strategic bot stacking with multiple AI models including Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Codestral - to capitalize on each tool's unique strengths. Explore effective prompting techniques that evolved through hands-on experimentation and see concrete before-and-after examples of course transformation. This presentation addresses common concerns about AI in academic settings while demonstrating how human expertise, pedagogical integrity, and professional oversight ensure AI amplifies rather than replaces librarian knowledge. Ideal for both AI novices and experimenters ready to modernize their information literacy instruction with confidence. Attendees will leave with "Starter Prompts" to modify their own course content and create interactive activities using generative AI tools.
Two academic librarians share their experiences implementing a holistic approach to academic librarianship on their small, rural college campus. Inspired by "whole person" librarianship and public librarians, we adapted user services, spaces, and resources in our library. This approach centers our users' needs as developing scholars AND human beings while emphasizing staff well-being. Acknowledging limitations and nurturing healthy collaborative networks (on and off campus) are critical to this work. We borrow traits of public and K12 libraries to plan services, spaces, and resources that address students' basic needs before and during traditional outreach, instruction, and research services. We aim to nurture a sense of "homeness" and belonging in the library to encourage student self-determination and the creation of organic social networks. Presenters will share our philosophy, relevant research, and how we implement this approach in our own niche space. We will share tips and lessons learned through this process.
Assistant Librarian (Instruction and Outreach), USC Lancaster
Instruction & outreach librarian at a rural 2-year campus. I have a background in special collections and academic libraries and love discussing creative programming and whole-person librarianship. If you need a break from library land, I'm always willing to talk about geeky topics... Read More →
One of the strategic goals of the University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) library is to enhance connections within the university and for local communities to demonstrate the library's value and its contribution to student success. Toward this goal, the library hosted its first Douglass Day event in collaboration with the university's community-focused lifelong learning unit, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). The library also worked with the faculty leadership for African American History Month (AAHM) to engage students in the Douglass Day event to increase their knowledge and understanding of Frederick Douglass, and the importance of transcribing primary source materials to create a historical record of the experience of African Americans in the United States. The library was able to rapidly respond to their request for assistance with little lead time. Also, the librarians involved the student employees in the USCB Makerspace to develop unique, creative resources for the event that demonstrated the value of the USCB librarians, and the Makerspace to the university and local community.
Master of Science Library Science, UNC Chapel Hill Master of Arts in Educational Theatre, New York University Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Education, East Carolina University
The data librarians at USC, Clemson, and Coastal Carolina, recognizing common challenges faced by researchers across their respective institutions, initiated a collaborative effort to provide coordinated statewide research data training during Love Data Week 2026, with future collaboration in the works. What began as a series of cross-institutional discussions has developed into a partnership that enhances capacity, reduces individual burden, and strengthens connections among academic libraries throughout the state. Participants will discover how to identify potential partners, establish initial connections, and navigate the complexities of cross-institutional collaboration - from aligning calendars and institutional priorities to coordinating diverse expertise and resources. The presentation will share concrete approaches for building trust among collaborators, creating equitable participation structures, and leveraging each institution's unique strengths.
Using a four-stage framework (Identify, Locate, Evaluate, and Produce), librarians overhauled an existing in-person one-credit course, into two online courses (accelerated and full semester) with the goal of demystifying the research process for undergraduate students. The course guides students from topic selection and formulating a research question through to a final project where students "teach" the process themselves. By presenting a (mostly) structured research framework, the course empowers students to navigate information overload, identify credible sources, and produce academically rigorous work. The goal is student success in any research project and across all disciplines, whether in their undergraduate coursework or beyond in their calling or workplace.
