This is the second article in a two-part SWOT analysis of academic libraries. The purpose of this research is to guide strategy development, decision making and advancement of positioning by identifying and analyzing the key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats impacting academic libraries. Its premise is that an understanding of these…

This piece introduces the Des Moines University Library's Research and Scholarly Communication Peer Associate Program, focusing on the curriculum of a five-day summer institute developed for graduate medical and health sciences students and rooted in a critical information literacy framework. The authors outline the institute's philosophy and…

Hmong Americans' postsecondary completion rates remain low when compared to other Asian ethnic groups. As the Hmong population continues to grow, so does the need for intervention to increase the total number of postsecondary graduates. Many Hmong Americans are first-generation college students and continue to face challenges and barriers that…

This article seeks to understand the current state of the field of special collections library administration in the United States. Using a dataset gathered through publicly available information about special collections directors from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), Independent Research Libraries Association (IRLA), and the Oberlin…

This case study analyzes seven years of data on Course Reserves, a service that allows instructors to provide to their students instant access to readings without either the instructor or the student needing to find access on their own. We sought to identify trends in academic discipline, data format, semester, and faculty member. Using Tableau to…

Demonstrating academic libraries' contribution to institutional outcomes and strategic initiatives can be challenging, particularly in determining what library activities can be consistently and accurately assessed in ways that empirically demonstrate library value and impact. To address this challenge, the Indiana University Bloomington Libraries…

Introduction: Open access to digital research output is increasing, but academic library policies can place restrictions on public access to libraries. This paper reports on a preliminary study to investigate the correlation between academic library access policies and institutional positions of openness to knowledge. Method: This primarily…

In this qualitative case study, we conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 16 Pennsylvania State University librarians who hold, or are considering pursuing, a doctoral degree. Through a thematic analysis using NVivo, we found that the benefits of earning a doctorate included gaining credibility, building relationships with teaching…

Technology is an ever-evolving topic at the forefront of conversations in education. For example, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) has highlighted the need for further discussion on its use in advanced learning. Within institutes of higher education (IHEs), students prepare for digital literacy and ever-changing technology tools. Due to the…

As the sole librarian responsible for online instruction, there are many challenges and opportunities when developing a program almost from scratch. This case study will examine how an individual online instruction librarian developed a tool to conduct an environmental scan of a dormant online instruction program and utilized this tool to begin…

Accurate documentation is important in all library areas, especially as workflows change quickly to adapt to new technologies, policies, and practices. Many library faculty and staff use online tools and in 2019, the author conducted a survey to learn if and how colleagues use internal LibGuides to maintain accurate internal documentation. This…

This article analyzes the UK's first "read and publish" journals agreement. The Springer Compact Agreement pilot ran from 2016 to 2018. The authors outline the methodology and data sources used to undertake a detailed analysis of the agreement. This includes the number of open access articles published, the number of author opt-outs and…

This paper examines the loss of culture as a possible effect of the neoliberalisation of education, especially higher education. The paper opens with a brief comparison between the humanistic education founded on the idea of culture (i.e. Bildung) and its modern-day neoliberal form, with the help of José Ortega y Gasset's reflections on the…

This article explores academic libraries that have gone beyond using the traditional survey or focus group methods of soliciting student input, specific to library design projects. The goal for each library was to engage students in space design projects in innovative and hands-on ways that would maximise the potential for gaining their design…

This paper will use circulation data to explore usage trends for physical textbooks in an academic library over a sustained period of time. Conclusions will be drawn from the analysis to determine the usefulness of aging physical textbook collections in academic libraries and inform recommendations for efficient models of lending and management.