The academic library profession is being redefined by the shifting research and scholarly landscape, the transformation in higher education, and advances in technology. A survey of librarians working in Canada's research-intensive universities was conducted to explore new and emerging roles. This study focuses on librarians' activities in:…

James Neal begins this essay with the introduction of the 1996 paper, "Choosing Our Futures," by calling it a provocation, and a call to arms for the academic library community to challenge complacency and move forward toward fundamental change. Neal writes here that in the context of extraordinary economic pressures, the early…

The authors compared Web usability definitions, collected from library professionals at academic institutions of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) through online surveys in 2007 and 2012, to determine whether library practitioners' perspectives had altered as information technologies evolved during this time. The authors applied three…

This special issue of "portal: Libraries and the Academy" grew out of a discussion about the need for speculative, creative space within the library and information science (LIS) literature.1 While venues for exposing important research and illuminating case studies are plentiful, the LIS literature lacks an obvious platform on which to…

The 129th meeting of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) focused on anticipating the future of higher education in North America and identifying responses from research libraries that will contribute to emerging agendas for change. An opening session (convened by Nancy Cline, ARL Presiding President) began the meeting. The first session,…

This paper focuses on the responsiveness of libraries to user needs within the context of a changing academic environment. First, the character of the changes in the academic environment and the consequences of them for the relationship between scientific information and users are elaborated. Then, the kinds of responses needed for the adequate…

Academic libraries are at a crossroads, facing increasing competition from other student services within their institutions and from commercial entities that duplicate their services. Examining some broader trends in education leads to suggestions as to how libraries might re-examine legacy services and assumptions and consider new directions.…

The Council on Library and Information Resources' (CLIR's) College Libraries Committee began its study of the innovative uses of technology on college campuses in the spring of 1998. A letter was sent to heads of libraries of colleges and mid-sized universities in the United States encouraging librarians who felt their institutions had used…

As a result of a Technology Retreat sponsored by the Maricopa Community Colleges (Arizona) in 1988, action/research groups were formed to explore the various challenges of implementing instructional technology effectively. This interim report reviews the work of the groups, with a summary report from each, as follows: (1) "Alternative Funding…

To prevent further erosion of their monographs budget and to allow for a modest number of new serial subscriptions to support changing curricular and research needs, librarians at Bowling Green State University (Ohio) decided to cut serial subscriptions and to subsidize article delivery from a commercial document delivery vendor. Discusses the…

Discussion of the future of research libraries and changes in international scholarship focuses on the acquisition and distribution of foreign-language and area-studies materials. Experiences at the University of Pittsburgh are highlighted, including planning principles. (LRW)

Presents: "Research on Libraries/Librarianship in 1998"; "Assessment of the Role of School/Public Libraries in Support of Education Reform"; "Number of Libraries in the United States, Canada, and Mexico"; Highlights of NCES Surveys"; "Library Acquisition Expenditures, 1997-1998: United States Public,…