Academic libraries are facing uncertain times. The international higher education environment is very volatile and academic libraries and librarians can play a major role in helping to strategically position their parent institution within it. In doing so, there needs to be clarity as to what the position of the academic library is with regard to the role and function it has within the university and how library leadership can have pan-institutional influence and impact. There are several ways in which the academic library can position itself and this collection demonstrates many of these. Strategic alignment with the university and its mission is a fundamental part of successful positioning, as is being flexible, adaptable and responsive to changing needs, requirements and expectations. Developments in research support and scholarly communications, as well as super-convergences with other academic support departments, are examples of such responsiveness.
These topics along with other emerging themes, such as library functions and institutional partnerships and collaborations, are all discussed in the book and provide the reader with a rich variety of reflections and case studies on how academic libraries, from across the globe, have addressed their position within their institution.
This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal New Review of Academic Librarianship.
Introduction: Positioning the Academic Library within the Institution: Structures and Challenges
Leo Appleton
1. Positioning the Academic Library within the Institution: A Literature Review
John Cox
2. The "Idea of the University": Positioning Academic Librarians in the Future University
Fiona Salisbury and Tai Peseta
3. Aligning Library and University Strategic Directions: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study of Academic Library Leadership in Australia and the U.S.A
Fiona Harland, Glenn Stewart and Christine Bruce
4. How Do Academic Libraries Adapt Within an Ever Increasing Marketized Higher Education Landscape? A Comparison and Analysis of University Library Mission Statements in Germany and the UK
Lydia Pryce-Jones
5. Shrink to Fit or Prune to Strengthen: Adapting the Strategic Plan in an Academic Library as Response to Environmental Change
Tatiana Sanches
6. Research Support at the Crossroads: Capability, Capacity, and Collaboration
Lucy Lang, Trish Wilson, Katie Wilson and Aubrey Kirkpatrick
7. Evolution of Research Support Services at an Academic Library: Specialist Knowledge Linked by Core Infrastructure
Sarah Brown, Elizabeth Alvey, Elena Danilova, Helen Morgan and Amberyn Thomas
8. Reshaping Academic Librarianship in the Context of Twenty-First Century Scholarly Communications and Information Fluency: A Case Study of the Scholarly Communications Management Team at Imperial College London Library Services
Ruth Harrison
9. Understanding Academics: A UX Ethnographic Research Project at the University of York
Michelle Blake and Vanya Gallimore
10. Developing Academic Engagement: A Qualitative, "Ethnographish" Study of a Devolved Library Structure at the University of Cambridge
Elizabeth Tilley and Helen Murphy
11. The Library Leading: Knowledge Management Supporting Community College Institutional Strategy
Elizabeth Jardine
12. Library as Forum: Building Relationships and Identity Through Faculty Speaker Events
Kathleen Kasten
13. From Service Providers to Collaborators and Partners: A Nondiscipline-Based Approach at a Liberal Arts College
Lijuan Xu and Benjamin Jahre
14. "This is an Opportunity for Librarians to Reinvent Themselves, but it is about Moving Out of their Areas": New Roles for Library Leaders?
Roisin Gwyer
15. The View from Within: A Personal Reflection on Library Strategy Development in Three Academic Libraries
Tim Wales
16. Converging Paths to Common Ground: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Influencing Institution Business
Regina Everitt
17. The Library at Ryerson University: A Case Study in Relationship-Building and Academic Collaboration
Madeleine Lefebvre
18. Putting the Learner at the Heart of Student Experience: The Role of the University Library in a Seven-Year Journey of Superconvergence at Northumbria University, UK
Nick Woolley and Jane Core
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