Libraries at academic institutions have been involved in research data management services (RDMS) for more than ten years. Institutions have adapted their service models in response to funder, journal, and federal mandates that have consequently increased RDMS demand. However, institutions that hope to start or grow their services may have…

This paper provides a historical literature review of the subject librarian position. The subject librarian position was originally created to support patrons in specific subjects. Since the position's creation, a subject librarian's foundational duties have consisted of collection development, reference, instruction, and liaison. Though liaison…

This paper provides a snapshot of United States academic libraries in 2020 and explores longitudinal trends in staffing and expenditures for 1996 to 2020. The authors merged and analyzed academic library data from the National Center for Education Statistics from over 4,000 postsecondary institutions. Characteristics are explored by region and…

This study examines cooperative collection development (CCD) for area studies and foreign language collections at Association of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries, based on a 2020 survey. Respondents provided details about cooperative collection initiatives (CCIs) at their libraries and their attitudes toward CCD. Most respondents had a favorable…

Current literature outlines the importance of--and strategies for--collecting student life material in institutional archives but does not address the inclusion of this material within collecting statements. This study examines publicly available collecting statements from Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions' university archives,…

This article presents the results of an online survey of access services departments at academic libraries on the responses implemented during the initial stage of COVID-19 in March-May 2020. The 33-question survey was completed by 121 respondents. The article identifies policies and procedures adopted by access services departments during the…

This article seeks to understand the current state of the field of special collections library administration in the United States. Using a dataset gathered through publicly available information about special collections directors from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), Independent Research Libraries Association (IRLA), and the Oberlin…

Using cross-institutional survey data from 407 first-year college students, differences in information literacy preparation and academic library experiences between community college students and students at four-year institutions are examined. Results show that first-year community college students are more likely to be novice library users,…

One of the most enduring and controversial metaphors to describe the academic library is this: "The academic library is the heart of the university." For 150 years, librarians have both embraced and rejected this metaphor in equal measure. For some, the metaphor is old, dusty, and ignorant of contemporary library practices; for others,…

Faculty development is a key priority for academic institutions in the United States. Often, centers for teaching and learning lead this work, but increasingly, librarians provide professional development for their teaching faculty colleagues. This study examines academic librarians' leadership of faculty development initiatives at their…

Academic libraries invest thousands of dollars in assistive technologies (AT) for enhancing the delivery of information services to disabled patrons. However, offering AT might not result in their use by the patrons who need them, thereby leading to a service divide. The analysis of qualitative responses, including more than 1,400 quotations,…

The PhD by retrospective published work remains an under-researched area within doctoral education. Introduced into the United Kingdom (UK) in 1966, this variant of PhD is one of several models of doctoral qualification that exist across the globe that include published research in the final submission. Although the retrospective model is an…

The academic library plays multiple roles in the university, making even a nuanced analysis of service numbers inadequate for assessing the complexity of the library's value and contributions to the university's mission and success. This exploratory study uses social network analysis and a unique interlibrary loan (ILL) data set to examine…

As the volume of academic library value research has continued to increase, the resulting literature has grown complex and sprawling. This article takes stock of this body of work, using a review of the published research literature and an analysis of its organization and structure. This investigation reveals that the research on library value…

This article explores two considerations in the push toward joint "LAM" (Library, Archive, and Museum) programs of education and research: the organizational proximity of departments and schools of library and information studies (LIS) and museum studies (MS); and the degree to which individual scholars of LIS and MS share publishing…