The focus of this article is to reflect on current and near future issues and trends concerning academic libraries. This includes an overview of the literature on embedded librarianship and a focus on the need for more participatory and collaborative approaches to library services. The core argument is that academic libraries need to continue to…

Faculty librarians who advise undecided students have found the experiences of novice researcher and advisee comparable: Both groups seek to solve a problem or answer a question by finding new information to add to their current understanding and knowledge base. As a result, librarians familiar with needs and stages of the research process may…

This document analysis examined the academic library and the changing role of the academic librarian in higher education. A comparison of the trends and issues reported by prominent librarians in the 20th century was made to those reported in the 21st century. Emphasis was placed on the following decades: 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in the 20th…

This article presents a case of co-designed temporary learning spaces at a Finnish academic library, together with the results of a user-survey. The experimental development of the multifunctional spaces offered an opportunity for the library to collaborate with its parent organisation thus broadening the role of the library. Hence, library can be…

The e-book is raising fundamental questions around the dynamics and habits of reading; the role of books in the academic library; and the role of librarians in addressing new realities of reading and learning. Print and digital texts foster different styles of reading and different ways of thinking and doing research. This paper examines…

What began with a few libraries' early application of ethnographic methods to learn more about user behaviors and needs has grown to become a significant body of work done across many institutions using a broad range of methods. User-centered investigations are increasingly influential in discussions about the shape and future of the research…

The history of academic library involvement in service learning is varied. This paper provides an overview of service learning and the literature on academic libraries' participation in service-learning activities. A vision of service-learning participation is described, as well as the implementation of service-learning activities in two library…

Open Educational Resources (OERs) are online classroom content that can be reused, modified, and shared freely. The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) undertook a project to redesign its undergraduate curriculum using OERs in place of traditional textbooks. UMUC librarians have played a critical role in this project, helping to find…

Information literacy (IL) is a necessary skill crucial for effective functioning in today's knowledge society. This study seeks to explore Israeli librarians' perspectives toward major components of information literacy. Do librarians find there is a need to redefine the concept? Who do they think should teach it? How do they think Web 2.0…

We test whether and how well the presence of an embedded librarian improves the quality of student research. Students in introductory-level courses tend to have very low levels of research skills and experience. Though faculty are frustrated by this lack of skills, both students and faculty tend to have only a peripheral knowledge of the role…

Academic and research libraries have been increasing their efforts for a number of years to demonstrate their contributions to student learning outcomes in support of the institutional educational mission. Whether through one-shot instruction or credited classes, libraries invest a great deal of time and effort in instructional programs. A key…

The changing research and information environment requires a reexamination of library support for research. This study considers research-related attitudes and practices to identify elements indicating readiness or resistance to expanding the library's role in research support. A survey of faculty conducted at the University of Nevada Las Vegas…

2012 was a year of rapid change for education with the advent of MOOCs--Massive Open Online Courses--available for the world to use to learn for free. But what does this mean for the role of the librarian? How has the landscape in education changed, and what are the issues and challenges that librarians now face? This article reviews the position…

The moving image plays a significant role in teaching and learning; faculty in a variety of disciplines consider it a crucial component of their coursework. Yet little has been written about how faculty identify, obtain, and use these resources and what role the library plays. This study, which engaged teaching faculty in a dialogue with library…

As academic libraries struggle to remain relevant when technological advancements and electronic resources threaten to make them obsolete, libraries are learning to re-invent themselves by molding and adapting staff skills to cultivate innovative outreach programs. The Science Outreach Committee of the John D. MacArthur Campus library at Florida…