Higher education institutions in the United States and across the globe, are realizing the importance of enabling internal and external collaborative work, e.g., interdisciplinary research and community partnerships. In recent years, researchers have documented the benefits of organizational collaboration for research including greater efficiency, effectiveness, and enhanced research reputation. In addition, accreditors, foundations, business, and government agencies have been espousing the value of collaboration for knowledge creation and research and improved organizational functioning. As a result of both the external pressures and the known benefits, many forms of internal and external research collaborations have begun to emerge in higher education. At the heart of this change, academic libraries, who have long been models for collaborative work, are increasingly participating in the research process by providing a widening range of research services beyond traditional reference services. Innovative library services, in areas such as bibliometric analysis, research data management, and data repositories, are evolving in response to changes in education funding and policies. These funding and policy changes have also coincided with technological developments to create opportunities for academic librarians to find new roles within their institutions and the research community. There is a growing body of literature examining these changing academic library roles, but few volumes have concentrated on how the nature of collaborative work in libraries is helping to reshape institutional research practices. Academic Libraries and Collaborative Research Services fills that void by providing academic librarians and administrators with case studies and guidance on how academic libraries are establishing their place in this new collaborative research arena in the areas of emerging liaison roles, research data services, open access and scholarly publishing, and professional development programming. The book will also be useful to higher education administrators and institutional research officers looking for information on how to partner with libraries to increase the effectiveness of collaborative research.

The many recent changes in higher and further education mean that it is more important than ever to analyse the needs of academic library users, and both promote and provide the service they require. This constructive book, pervaded throughout by the impact of IT on the learning environment, surveys the influences on today's academic library, and explains how to increase user satisfaction through quality management. The author focuses particularly on users' behaviour in the library, the problems they cause or encounter, and how libraries cope. The book examines the varying needs of undergraduate and graduate, mature and part-time students, overseas students, franchised students, distance learners and other groups with special needs, explaining ways in which these needs can be identified and the service evaluated. One chapter is devoted to research and researchers' information demands. The particular requirements of subject communities and their consequences for academic libraries are also investigated, as well as the requirements of teaching staff and ways in which the library can work with them. The author emphasizes the importance of user education programmes and explains how to promote the library effectively with limited resources. For librarians, heads of services and senior library managers in further and higher education, and those, such as subject librarians, responsible for specific student groups, this book provides a comprehensive and realistic guide to providing and promoting a quality service. Students of librarianship and information management will gain valuable insight from this book into user analysis and improving the performance of information provision.

This book advances the belief that the library--more than any other cultural institution--collects, curates and distributes the results of human thought. Essays broaden the debate about academic libraries beyond only professional circles, promoting the library as a vital resource for the whole of higher education. Topics range from library histories to explorations of changing media. Essayists connect modern libraries to the remarkable dream of Alexandria's ancient library--facilitating groundbreaking research in every imaginable field of human interest, past, present and future. Academic librarians who are most familiar with historical traditions are best qualified to promote the library as an important aspect of teaching and learning, as well as to develop resources that will enlighten future generations of readers. The intellectual tools for compelling, constructive conversation come from the narrative of the library in its many iterations, from the largest research university to the smallest liberal arts or community college.

Looking for tips on how to work towards your overall vision while remaining productive on the frontlines? The book gives you fresh ideas for balancing your managerial duties with day-to-day responsibilities in the academic library. A compilation of ideas from noted leaders in academic librarianship, this book explores a wealth of topics, including budgeting, human resources, facilities, collections, and IT. There is also helpful advice that will help you navigate emerging areas of librarianship, such as blended librarianship, cross-institutional collaboration, and marketing the library. You will learn how to manage, lead, and address specific library areas—all at once. Practical Strategies for Academic Library Managers: Leading with Vision through All Levels is ideal for current professionals with an expanded scope of responsibilities and those who have had administrative duties for some time, but are looking for new techniques for being a better manager. The book includes an introduction written by the editors, who are both associate deans in university libraries. Each chapter is written by a different expert in the field, providing a rich array of approaches and perspectives.

Creating Research Infrastructures in the 21st-Century Academic Library: Conceiving, Funding, and Building New Facilities and Staff focuses on research infrastructures, bringing together such topics as research and development in libraries, dataset management, e-science, grants and grant writing, digital scholarship, data management, library as publisher, web archiving, and the research lifecycle. Individual chapters deal with the formation of Research & Development teams; emerging scholarly forms and new collaborative approaches to knowledge creation, dissemination, and preservation; managing small databases requiring the same level of support as large databases: metadata, digital preservation and curation, and technical support. Motivation for such services is provided in a chapter that considers how assessment and data now drive decisions and new services in higher education in general and academic libraries in particular and how statistical data can help to tell stories, make decisions, and move in new directions. Conceptualization of the research process also receives attention through the presentation of a research lifecycle in the university environment with the library as an integral partner and leader. Also, a topic that is increasingly important: the library as publisher, with new institutional repositories tied to journal creation, curation, and management is examined with a discussion of the workflow and expertise necessary for the library to be successful and responsive to the research needs of its institution, and become a leader in providing publishing services to its faculty. A related topic, Web archiving in libraries is explored in a chapter that includes discussions on the process of establishing buy-in and legal permission, the policies and procedures, and the technology necessary for its success. All of these efforts require funding and chapters are included that address this need: finding funding outside of the university for support of the library is now a necessary and vital part of academic libraries: guidelines and steps for how to write a grant and be successful at obtaining outside funds. A second chapter deals with the problem of developing a grant-seeking culture in the library, what some of the barriers are to the grant-writing process and how to create a reward system for a grant-writing culture. The volume concludes with two case studies related to implementing research data management services at two liberal arts colleges. They demonstrate that the integration of data management services for undergraduate and faculty research in liberal arts colleges is just as important as it is for the large research universities, and that new service models should be incorporated so that all librarians and library staff participate in this integration in their duties and responsibilities. It is hoped that this volume, and the series in general, will be a valuable and exciting addition to the discussions and planning surrounding the future directions, services, and careers in the twenty-first-century academic library.

How do college students really conduct research for classroom assignments? In 2008, five large Illinois universities were awarded a Library Services and Technology Act Grant to try to answer that question. The resulting ongoing study has already yielded some eye-opening results. The findings suggest changes ranging from simple adjustments in service and resources to modifying the physical layout of the library. In this book Duke and Asher, two anthropological researchers involved with the project since the beginning, Summarize the study's history, including its goals, parameters, and methodology Offer a comprehensive discussion of the research findings, touching on issues such as website design, library instruction for faculty, and meeting the needs of commuter and minority students Detail a number of service reforms which have already been implemented at the participating institutions This important book deepens our understanding of how academic libraries can better serve students’ needs, and also serves as a model for other researchers interested in a user-centered approach to evaluating library services.

Gain access to the latest and most savvy research techniques for academic librarians with this robust guidebook written by industry leaders involved in setting national standards for the Institute of Research Design for Librarianship. Staying on top of professional trends in academic library research can help turn any librarian into an expert researcher. This practitioner's guide arms librarians with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively conduct research to enhance professional practice and perform successful inquiries. It discusses current practices of academic librarians; details the process of successfully planning, implementing, and publishing a study; and provides professional and personal development to improve research competency. Written by professionals at the upper echelon of their field, Enhancing Library and Information Research Skills comprises seven chapters that break down the research process and focus on individual steps in performing effective research. The book teaches academic librarians how to develop a research question based on a practical problem, determine the scope and objectives of a study, and select proper research design and methods. Readers will also understand how to identify resources to support the study, set a timeline for data collection and data analysis, write a dissertation, and identify the proper venue for publication/presentation.

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.