Higher Education in the Internet Age Libraries Creating a Strategic Edge

Subjects:

• Education » Higher Education
• Library & Information Science » Issues & Trends

Reviews:

• [C]ontributes to the literature on the role of libraries in higher education, and it should be particularly useful for library school students and beginning librarians. It also reminds them of the importance of academic librarians as partners with faculty and administrators in learning, research, and community engagement.
  —Library & Information Science Research 2007
• Far too often, presidents, academic vice presidents and others campus leaders fail to take advantage of the contributions their campus libraries can make toward achieving institutional visions and priorities. In this age of information, libraries can and should be one of the primary strategic tools. By highlighting the extensive and successful use some campus leaders have made of library resources and personnel, the authors hope to inspire others to see their libraries strategically.
  —CAUT Bulletin January 2007
• Breivik and Gee make a strong case that the library should be made a full partner in the institution's missions of teaching, research, and service, arguing that the benefits the library can bring are undeniable. The authors also decribe additional value an institution can derive from the library's involvement in other areas of the college, such as administration. Finally, they give the reader insight into who the librarians are, where they may fit on the organizational charts, and the funding challenges and possible solutions that can be pursued.
  —Educause Quarterly 2006
• Written by a university president and a college librarian, this text explores strategic use of library resources and personnel. Topics include (for example) improving research productivity, supporting administrative priorities, and finding alternative sources of funding. This fully updated and revised edition of the authors' earlier book, titled Information Literacy: Revolution in the Library (1989), features new material dealing with the challenges of today's information-overloaded culture.
  —Reference & Research Book News August 2006

• Endorsement From Andrew A. Sorensen
  President, University of South Carolina: Breivik and Gee have provided us with a wonderfully thoughtful analysis of the complex issues facing college and university libraries in the IT era. The transformation in our institutional missions wrought by the Internet can be overwhelming. But their comprehensive yet practical guide to dealing with the burgeoning problems this revolution presents is especially helpful. I recommend it highly.
• Endorsement From Alan E. Guskin
  Distinguished University Professor, Ph.D. Program in Leadership and Change, and
  Director, Project on the Future of Higher Education
  University President Emeritus, Antioch University: The book is a wonderful overview of the present realities and future potential of college and university libraries. What I find most important is that the book challenges university leaders to consider the transformational role that libraries can play in enhancing the learning of students and the work of faculty in a period of fiscal constraints and increasing expenses. This is a book for people who care about the future of our colleges and universities and aspire to be leaders in them--whether as presidents, provosts, faculty members or middle level administrators. In an age in which technology will impact all aspects of university life, libraries of the future (and the present) will be the center of learning and research--not just symbolically but practically. This book provides important guideposts to this future.
• Endorsement From Tom Kirk
  Library Director
  Earlham College: ...This volume is not just a reworking of [the authors'] earlier work. Rather it is a re-examination of the role of the academic library in light of the technological changes and our understanding of the teaching and learning role of libraries that have occurred over the past sixteen years. The authors make a thorough and persuasive argument for ways in which academic libraries can play a more vital institutional role. The scholarly writing, with deep appreciation and reference to the vast literature on academic libraries, is crisp and clear. It is a joy to read such professional writing! This volume is likely to become a standard manifesto for the role of the academic library for some time to come. Every library director should make sure that her or his provost and president see this book. And the director will likely learn something about how to frame the issues as they work with senior academic administrators and faculty.

Table of Contents:

• Preface
• Excerpt from 1989 Preface
• Taking a New Look at Libraries and the Internet, with Commentary from Ralph A Wolff, Executive Director, Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities Western Association of Schools and Colleges
• The Information Society and Higher Education
• Reforming Instruction, with Commentaries from Barbara L. Cambridge, Senior Program Officer, National Council of Teachers of English and Oswald M.T. Rattery, Associate Director, Middle States Commission on Higher Education
• Improving Research Productivity
• Enhancing Service to the Community, with Commentary from Louis S. Albert, President, Pima Community College
• Supporting Administrative Priorities
• Libraries in Transition, with Commentary from Gordon W. Smith, Director, Systemwide Library Programs, Office of the Chancellor, California State University
• Collections and Access
• Leadership for the Changing Library
• Funding Alternatives
• Making a Difference within the Information Society, with Commentary from Camilla P. Benbow, Dean, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University
• Appendixes
• A. Selected WASC Criteria for Review and Accompanying Guidelines
• B. Prologue and Major Recommendations of the Carnegie Foundation's Report on Colleges
• C. Selected Resources for Incorporating Information Literacy into the Curriculum
• D. Promoting Information Literacy through Class Assignments: How Faculty Can Help
• E. The Prague Declaration: Towards an Information Literate Society
• F. Guiding Principles for Budget Reduction
• Index