Given the continuing cataclysmic shift in the economic landscape in the last few years, librarians have been forced to reevaluate not only the traditional services that they offer but also their continued existence and relevance to their academic institutions. Given the ‘new normal’ of tighter constraint on personnel and materials budgets, librarians now are compelled to find new ways of offering services and forging new relationships with departments and programs outside the traditional library setting.

This volume highlights a number of projects being implemented in academic libraries including: rethinking the entire concept of a library, redefining physical space for new collaborative uses, adapting entrepreneurial techniques to acquire funding, creating new research tools and improving services, forging new consortial partnerships, allying more closely the mission of the library with that of the institution, and adapting public library programs to academic libraries. By re-examining the purpose of an academic library under continuing financial duress, librarians can ensure that their libraries will continue to have relevance to higher education.

This book was published as a special issue of College & Undergraduate Libraries.

Contents

1. Introduction Kevin B. Gunn and Elizabeth D. Hammond 2. New Wine, New Wineskins Joseph McDonald 3. Other People’s Money: Adapting Entrepreneurial Techniques to Build Capital in Challenging Economic Times Robert Farrell 4. Library Staff Development: How Book Clubs Can Be More Effective (and Less Expensive) than Traditional Trainings Sara D. Smith and Quinn Galbraith 5. The NYU Survey Service: Promoting Value in Undergraduate Education Jason B. Phillips, Samantha A. Guss, and David M. McGarry 6. Engaging the Campus Community Through New Roles and New Relationships: The McMaster University Library Postdoctoral Fellowship Program Jeff Trzeciak, John MacLachlan, and Noah Shenker 7. Cool Collaborations: Designingr Library Experience Robert Fox, Cathy Carpenter, and Ameet Doshi 8. The Third Place: The Library as Collaborative and Community Space in a Time of Fiscal Restraint Susan E. Montgomery and Jonathan Miller 9. Strategically Leveraging Learning Space to Create Partnership Opportunities Tomalee Doan and Hal Kirkwood 10. Hitching Your Wagon to the Right Star: A Case Study in Collaboration Lea Susan Engle 11. Delivering Information Literacy Instruction for a Joint International Program: An Innovative Collaboration Between Two Libraries Jiselle Maria Alleyne and Denyse Rodrigues 12. Building a Shared Digital Collection: The Experience of the Cooperating Libraries in Consortium Dora Wagner and Kent Gerber

Author Bio

Kevin B. Gunn is Coordinator of Religious Studies and Humanities Services at The Catholic University of America Libraries in Washington, DC.

Elizabeth Dankert Hammond is Dean of University Libraries, Mercer University. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Ms. Hammond...