Ohio University Libraries - The Business Blog

I do try to keep my other interests and avocations off of the PCC Libtech blog but sometimes my life has other plans. While looking for video blogs I discovered another librarian who uses video in his site, Library Voice.com.

Chad Boeninger and writes about how technology in libraries can and should be of service to the patrons.


Chad is also in charge at the Ohio University Library Business blog where he locates content and material to help students and faculty make sense of these financially constraining times.

One of the challenges that Chad has to face is working with reduced acquisition fund budget. He has to cut books and subscriptions in order to slash $85,000+ out of the budget.



For those of you who have taken Library 101, Library 103 and Library 104 this is the working example of not only weeding materials but also facing the fact that you no longer own a current copy of the information; it is online in a subscription based system.

That may work when the library system can pay the vendor subscription fees but if money get tight you not only loose current information but access to past history and materials as well.

It is a tough balance. In a prior video, Chad goes step by step on the reasons for canceling certain materials and invites the faculty for input.

This is a good opportunity to get insight on an academic library and real world decisions that have to be be made. As I go deeper into the blog there are screencasts that explain research skills, consumer trends, the current marketplace and those things that would support the goals of the library.

I hope that by visiting these sites it will give context to the impact that budget cuts have on libraries and patrons. It is also a good place to get an insight on how to be of technological service to staff and patron.

MeritAid - Scholarship Money Made Easier to Find

There are billions of dollars in scholarship money available. The problem is accessing legitimate places to find those scholarships that are looking for you. I'm testing out a new service called MeritAid.



On the Internet you do have to be careful, there are a lot of flim-flam operations and rip-offs about finding scholarship information. What MeritAid does is gather your information and find schools that match up to your interests.

In addition they will also show you a list of the schools in a certain geographical area that you might be interested in attending. By clicking on the name of the school you can see how much it cost to attend, the acceptance rate and the amount of aid the school could supply.



In addition, you can see if there is funding for freshmen, sophomore, transfer or graduate students. You can filter the result to show just those scholarship that apply to your situation.


In this example from UCLA there is the Blue and Gold scholarship and the UCLA Regents scholarship that is available for transfer students. You do have to register with the site. There is also a place for you to set up your profile so that the more details that you provide the better the potential match between you and the institution.

This is a relatively new service, it is still in Beta but for those of you looking to go on to Library School or to continue your education elsewhere this is an effective way to find out if you can afford the school and if you can obtain scholarship or grant based assistance.

As always you should read the terms of service. The site will share your information with schools but it states that it will not personally identify you. You will also have the option of declining invitations from schools that would like you to attend there place of learning.

I have no desire in going into debt to complete my education. That may not be realistic but it is my primary goal for now. I will continue to evaluate if this site can help me locate a school that I can afford and has the ability to assist me without the use of student loans. I'll keep you posted.