In April 2010, the New York State Board of Regents challenged the library community to rethink the State's vast array of library services to ensure that they are aligned with modern expectations and the expanded functions needed in today's society, operate with improved efficiency, and are prepared for the future as an essential and vibrant part…

This article describes the roles of librarians in a research library, particularly in the digital era. Librarians' roles vary from the custodian of resources to providers of a diverse nature of activities ranging from collection development, organization of knowledge, information services, preservation and conservation, and management. Librarians…

Research libraries are taking on a range of new roles in the digital age as they become more deeply engaged in the creation and dissemination of knowledge. While some of these roles are extensions of traditional library activity, others are large new. This book explores some of these emerging functions, and includes several examples of how more…

Storing and curating authentic academic literature and making it accessible for the long term has been a time-honoured task of national libraries. By guarding existing knowledge and facilitating its use to produce new insights, national and university libraries have formed an integral part of the research environment, complementing the roles of…

Presents a history of Project INTREX, a mid-1960s project sponsored by the Council on Library Resources and hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The project's goal was to lay the foundation for research libraries of the 1970s and beyond. Findings show that INTREX failed because of inadequate funding and slow technological…

This paper first argues that the World Wide Web at its best, has been able only to imitate the resources and services of an exemplary research library. It then goes on to examine how academic research libraries can take advantage of their brand identity as market leaders in the information business. The basic concept of brands and branding…

The program of the 128th meeting of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is designed around the notion of examining rapid changes taking place in individual institutions and becoming agile enough to adapt, to manage change, and to learn how to effectively lead libraries through these turbulent periods. The program is divided into three main…

Advances in information technology are forcing librarians and administrators to reinvent scholarly information exchange. The old question of what constitutes a research collection remains, but is transferred to a new medium. This is an opportunity to take advantage of the new possibilities and to correct some previous mistakes in collection…

The 129th meeting of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) focused on anticipating the future of higher education in North America and identifying responses from research libraries that will contribute to emerging agendas for change. An opening session (convened by Nancy Cline, ARL Presiding President) began the meeting. The first session,…

This technical report presents recommendations and plans which are the result of a mission undertaken as part of a project to promote a scientific and technological information service and establish a popular science resource center in Korea. The mission's main emphasis was to help Korean authorities and the United Nations Development Programme…

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) E-Metrics study was designed as an 18-month project in three phases: an inventory of what libraries were already doing about data collection for electronic resources and an identification of any libraries that could provide best practice; identifying and testing data elements that could be collected and…

Reports on a survey of 70 research libraries in Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Results show that libraries are rapidly acquiring automated processing systems, CD-ROM databases, and connections to computer networks. Discusses specific data on system implementation and network services by country and by type of…

Examines investments that will ensure that library information technology (IT) meets future academic needs. Looks back on the introduction of IT to research libraries. Assesses outcomes of IT investments in terms of cost and service benefits, and then focuses on developing new service models. (AEF)

This paper discusses the impact of change on the State Library of New South Wales (Australia), a large public research library charged with the care and continuing use of a documentary heritage. The first section provides background on the State Library, including history, collection, mission, and use. The second section describes library clients,…

Building joint-use libraries to foster new types of learning and collaboration is a growing phenomenon that is of great interest to academic library planners around the world. Noteworthy among these efforts, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in San Jose, California, is a collaboration of a metropolitan university library and a major public…