Academic Branch Libraries In Changing Times

Are academic branch libraries going to be extinct in the near future? In these difficult economic times, when collections are digitized rapidly, is there still a need for a separate unit within proximity to the department, school, or college with a subject-based or subject-specific collection? Academic Branch Libraries in Changing Times gives a brief historical overview of the role of a branch academic library. It reviews the current situation from a practitioner’s point of view and suggests solutions for the future. Provides practical and realistic solutions to academic libraries that they can execute in their daily operating cycle Covers a variety of issues from staffing and public services, through to collections and bibliographic instruction Presents a clear analysis of the current situation and suggestions for the future

"The Changing Academic Library is a revision of Budd's The Academic Library: Its Context, Its Purpose, and Its Operation. This book has been completely updated and revised to reflect the dynamic states of higher education and academic libraries. It presents a critical examination of major issues facing colleges and universities and the unique challenges that their libraries must come to grips with. Current practice is reviewed, but it is examined in the broader context of educational needs, scholarly communication, politics and economics, technology, and the nature of complex organizations."--Publisher's description.

This latest volume contains approaches from researchers around the world. The chapters explore such issues as skills-building and other professional development activities, changing demographic profiles of staff, changing modes of resource provision, succession planning, remote work, and planning for Linked Data.

This unique annotated bibliography is a complete, up-to-date guide to sources of information on library science, covering recent books, monographs, periodicals and websites, and selected works of historical importance. In addition to compiling an invaluable list of sources, Bemis digs deeper, examining the strengths and weaknesses of key works. A boon to researchers and practitioners alike, this bibliography Includes coverage of subjects as diverse and vital as the history of librarianship, its development as a profession, the ethics of information science, cataloging, reference work, and library architecture Encompasses encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, photographic surveys, statistical publications, and numerous electronic sources, all categorized by subject Offers appendixes detailing leading professional organizations and publishers of library and information science literature This comprehensive bibliography of English-language resources on librarianship, the only one of its kind, will prove invaluable to scholars, students, and anyone working in the field.

Science Libraries in the Self Service Age: Developing New Services, Targeting New Users suggests ways in which libraries can remain relevant to their institution. This book describes the myriad of new services and user communities which science librarians have recently incorporated into their routines. Where applicable, the book focuses on both researcher needs and the simple economics that emphasize the need for new service development. Science librarians will have to adapt to changing behaviors and needs if they want to remain a part of their organization’s future. As this trend has hastened science librarians to develop new services, many of them aimed at audiences or user groups which had not typically used the library, this book provides timely tactics on which to build a cohesive plan. Provides a list of practical, targeted services which science librarians can implement Presents unified topics previously only dealt with separately (data management services, scholarly communication, digital preservation, etc.) Considers economic and resource issues in developing new services Written by an experienced librarian at a global institution

In the ongoing evolution of the academic library, embedded librarianship has become an important topic of debate across levels and departments. This book delves into the concept, examining everything from theory to best practices. Is the embedded librarian an equal partner in the course, or is the librarian perceived as a "value-added" extra? What is the place of technology in this effort? Is there a line librarians should not cross? Taking into account both theory and practice to discuss multiple facets of the subject, Embedded Librarianship: What Every Academic Librarian Should Know thoroughly examines these questions and more from the perspectives of experienced embedded librarian contributors who have worked in higher education settings. The chapters illuminate the benefits and challenges of embedding, explain the planning required to set up an embedded course, identify the different forms of embedding, and consider information literacy instruction in various contexts. Readers who will benefit from this work include not only academic librarians but any professor who wants their students to be able to do better research in their fields.

Managing Change in Academic Libraries helps academic librarians plan, implement, and manage changes to the fundamental structure of their organizations. It shows readers that in academic libraries the two driving forces behind most change are economics and technology. Declines in funding for education and in the purchasing power of libraries have made it impossible to maintain the status quo, let alone realize growth, in traditional information services and collection development. Add to this downward trend in library economics, the explosion of new information technology and its potential for radically altering communications and knowledge management, and one has the ingredients for some amazing changes in libraries. To help manage these many changes, chapters in Managing Change in Academic Libraries approach change with a mixture of radical and rational ideas. Readers learn academic librarians’views on dealing with change as they read about: an environmental scan which identifies both internal and external forces that are increasing the amount and scope of change in academic libraries technological change and its impact in academic libraries the academic library director’s role as an agent of change how two large library systems managed to change in some very fundamental ways when faced with serious economic and political challenges difficult personnel issues faced by academic libraries as they move into new organizational structures and adopt new management styles the future of traditional reference services in light of rapid developments in computing and networking how to change bibliographic control to better serve the changing expectations and needs of user communities conducting a restructuring study and recommendations for organizational change in a large research library system Each chapter shows academic librarians how they can respond imaginatively and nimbly to economic, political, and technological change that envelopes their professional work life. Academic librarians will refer to Managing Change in Academic Libraries again and again as a survival tool as they meet with challenging and unpredictable changes.

"Institutions of higher education and academic libraries are not the traditional organizations they once were. They are subject to a variety of forces, including shifting and changing populations, technological changes, public demands for affordability and accountability, and changing approaches to research and learning. Academic libraries can no longer establish their excellence and ground their missions, visions, and strategic directions using the old means and methods. Leading Change in Academic Libraries is a collection of 20 change stories authored by academic librarians from different types of four-year institutions. Librarians tell the story firsthand of how they managed major change in processes, functions, services, programs, or overall organizations using John Kotter's Eight-Stage Process of Creating Major Change as a framework for examining change at their institutions, measuring their successes and areas for improvement, and determining progress. In five sections--strategic planning, reorganization, culture change, new roles, and technological change--chapters discuss tackling common challenges such as fear, anxiety, change fatigue, complacency, unexpected changes of leadership, vacancies, and resistance; look at the results of their tactics; and provide effective practices they found. Each section ends with a thorough analysis of the stories within and the most effective tips for leading that kind of change. Leading Change in Academic Libraries can help you establish flexible, nimble, and collaborative decision-making processes, and facilitate the transition from legacy collections-based libraries to forward-looking service-based libraries"--from the ALA website.