This exploratory and qualitative study examined the appraisal practices of archivists in university special collections, including how archivists define appraisal, decide what to keep and discard, apply a collection policy in their decision process, and contend with problematic aspects of the practice. The first part of this study examined the…

Over the past twenty-five years, many academic libraries have shifted from print to digital collections. One consequence of this change has been the increased use of a library's website to access books, journals, and databases in a digital format. Thus, library space, once used to house print material, is now available for other purposes, creating…

There is little literature on what community college library deans must do to transform the community college library into an integral part of modern community colleges. Using a qualitative approach, this study examines the roles and responsibilities of an effective leader in a community college library. Semi-structured interviews with six Texas…

This descriptive qualitative study explores undergraduate students' experiences of physical academic libraries to identify possible connections between physical academic library environments and students' affective experiences. Drawing on a combination of theoretical perspectives focused on how humans understand, navigate, and respond to space and…

This dissertation explores the intersections of neoliberalism, learning analytics, and middle management within academic libraries. Utilizing a qualitative collective case study methodology, it examines how nine women-identified academic librarian middle managers at U.S. public research institutions interpreted and responded to the integration of…

Caring for others is integral to what makes us human. We have all experienced the care of others that has helped us to survive and thrive, and in turn, others rely on us for care. A pedagogy of care, based on a feminist ethics of care, recognizes the centrality of care in our lives and thus its relevance for education. This pedagogy encourages…

The American Library Association (ALA) provides accreditation for master's programs in librarianship across the United States, helping provide skilled professionals in many types of libraries and information centers. The ALA Core Competencies are established for all professional librarian roles. As such they are broad and cover much more content…

Community college libraries provide retention support for students navigating through their coursework. This research consists of interviews with 10 out of 18 library directors in New Jersey. This study takes a sizable positive step in determining how an academic library supports retention since a library director is uniquely qualified and able to…

The problem undertaken in this study was the impact of the COVID-19 on academic-library directors at small, private, liberal-arts institutions in Wisconsin. The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic closures on collection development and reference interviews. The participants were seven academic-library…

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of academic digital archives on scholarship and university status. Digital archives have played roles in strengthening scholarly research and developing innovative fields of study. This is especially prevalent in the rise of digital humanities and making work available through digital libraries and…

This study examined how academic library deans and directors make sense of the experience of leading through the COVID-19 pandemic. Adaptive leadership served as a theoretical framework. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten academic library leaders from a variety of institutional contexts. Transcripts were analyzed using Interpretive…

This study aims to discover the current value and role of the contemporary community college library for community college executives. This dissertation informs librarians about how libraries will be able to thrive on the contemporary community college campus. The study draws on the literature and utilizes a mixed methods study approach to develop…

The MLIS curriculum gap and nonteaching academic librarian's teaching identity development comprise the problem under investigation. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological analysis was to examine the meaning of nonteaching academic librarians' experiences in north and northcentral Florida with information literacy (IL) instruction, and…

This study used a qualitative case study method to explore the position of a subject librarian in a large academic library in the United States using the subject librarians at Brigham Young University as the case. In the first phase of the study, all Brigham Young University subject librarians were given the opportunity to participate in a…

Open educational resources (OER) provide college students with course materials on the first day of class, ensuring an equitable learning experience for all. The concept of OER has been around for almost 20 years, yet many faculty and librarians are just now becoming aware as more and more statewide initiatives are introduced. The adoption of OER…