Since the late 1970s, the access services librarian or equivalent position has become commonplace in academic libraries, and degreed professionals have been sought for these positions since the beginning. In 2009, David McCaslin, California Institute of Technology, examined the place of access services in American Library Association-accredited…

This article takes a broad view of the evolution of collecting behaviors in a network environment and suggests some future directions based on various simple models. The authors look at the changing dynamics of print collections, at the greater engagement with research and learning behaviors, and at trends in scholarly communication. The goal is…

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which three academic libraries in the Southeastern United States could be considered diverse. This was a multi-site, mixed methods study. It examined the climate and culture of the libraries, which was assessed through two methods; the first, through survey responses from full-time faculty…

University libraries worldwide are reconceptualising the ways in which they support the research agenda in their respective institutions. This paper is based on a survey completed by member libraries of the Queensland University Libraries Office of Cooperation (QULOC), the findings of which may be informative for other university libraries. After…

A small, private academic library took the risk of moving from a traditional integrated library system to adopting a system "in the cloud." This case study presents the setting, history, and local needs of the library, including staffing challenges, and explains the decision-making rationale and process. A description of the library's transition…

There is growing concern that a variety of factors threaten the sustainability of academic libraries: developing and preserving print and digital collections, supplying and supporting rapidly changing technological and networking infrastructure, providing free services, maintaining growing costs of library buildings, and lowering libraries'…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") is a quarterly report from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). This issue includes the following articles: (1) Rebalancing the Investment in Collections (H. Thomas Hickerson); (2)…

In January 2008, the Belk Library & Information Commons at Appalachian State University combined the Access Services staff members of the Circulation and Lower Level Service Desks with the Reference and Instruction team as part of a library-wide reorganization effort. The new team balanced what had been a staff-dominated Access Services team…

It has become widely recognised across the academic and research libraries sector that special collections and archives play a key role in differentiating each institution from its peers. In recognition of this, Research Libraries UK (RLUK) established the workstrand "Unique and Distinctive Collections" (UDC) in support of its strategic…

This study examines the evolving roles and responsibilities of entry-level academic reference positions, as stated in recent job advertisements posted on the American Library Association's JobLIST Web site and other sources. Findings from a content analysis of these advertisements indicate that current entry-level reference positions in academic…

This paper provides background on planning and organizational culture change in libraries and describes a grassroots planning process taking place at the Ohio State University Libraries. Now in its third phase, the process aims to create a long-term plan for the organization while fostering a more collaborative, innovative culture.

The J. D. Williams Library at the University of Mississippi launched a pilot program during the 2010 National Novel Writing Month, hosting related events to determine community demand and how such efforts could be quantified. Using participant-submitted word counts and the event's own tools, researchers were able to ascertain that such events had…

This article describes a case study that best illustrates the value of student workers in university libraries, focusing particularly on how this kind of creative endeavor benefits everyone involved--the library, the students, the faculty, and at the end of the project: the university community. (Contains 1 table.)

This study compares the overall spending trends and patterns of growth of Academic Libraries with Public Libraries, K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and hospitals in the period of 1998 to 2008. Academic Libraries, while showing a growth of 13% over inflation for the period, far underperformed the growth of the other public institutions…

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of academic librarians on two topics: the delivery of services to students and faculty in a time of rapid technological changes and an organizational structure appropriate for delivering services to students in a time of rapid technological changes. Several researchers agree that to…