Ah, Libraries: How I Love the Smell of... Electronic Access?!

In the olden days, we Baby-Boomers would walk into our university or college libraries and pause just long enough to take in that wonderful smells of high grade cowhide leather and aging papyrus before rushing off to study. There was something about opening any leather bound edition of anything and being transported by the smell to some distant land, not unlike Charles Swann in Marcel Proust’s famous French novel, A La Recherché du Temps Perdu, Remembrance of Things Past.

Bullied by Budgets, Pushed by Patrons, Driven by Demand: Libraries and Tantalizing Technologies

Libraries are caught in the middle—between static or shrinking budgets on one hand and ever-expanding user needs on the other. How did we get here, and where do we go from here? This paper will offer two perspectives: Part I will present survey results about changing Library purchasing habits in light of changing formats, access, business models and user demands. Data from a previous survey on this topic will be compared and updated. Pricing trends and possible futures will be discussed. Part II will briefly trace the history of libraries’ roles in scholarly communication and connecting learners with knowledge. From there, we show an example of phasing in a patron-driven / demand-driven and short-term loan e-book program, complete with incorporating these tools in library instruction, research, and portable device loadability for field work.

Brave New World, 2050: The Implications of Shifting to Electronic Collections

This futuristic article discusses the shift in academic and research libraries to electronic collections in the context of information access, costs, publication models, and preservation of content. Certain factors currently complicate the shift to electronic formats and challenge their widespread acceptance. Future scenarios spanning skill ecosystems, technologies and workflows, and societal implications are explored as logical outgrowths of present circumstances.

Redefining the Academic Library Managing the Migration to Digital Information Services

Academic libraries are faced with a daunting series of challenges brought on by the digital revolution. In an era when millions of books, articles, images, and videos available instantaneously via the web, libraries across all institutional types are experiencing declining demand for their traditional services, built around the storage and dissemination of physical resources. At the same time, new demand for digital information services and collaborative learning spaces promise new areas of opportunity and engagement with patrons. A rapid and orderly transition to “the library of the future” requires difficult trade-offs, however, as no institution can afford to continue expanding both its commitment to comprehensive, local print collections as well as new investments in staff, technology, and renovations. This report illustrates how progressive academic libraries are evolving in response to these challenges, providing case studies and best practices in managing library space, staff, and resources.