Envisioning Future Academic Library Services: Initiatives, Ideas and Challenges

There are huge challenges facing the library and information science profession owing to the rapidly changing environment in which it exists. Librarians need to be 'blended professionals' who can take all their professional skills and experience, and adapt them to different business models, strategic challenges and communities of practice. This topical edited collection will stimulate strategic and innovative thinking and question the status quo. It will be a 'must read' for leaders and future leaders of the profession, who will be challenged to align library services with the changing demands of the academic community and the work environment. Edited by a thought leader with an international reputation, it will bring together renowned authors from across the globe who are breaking traditional moulds and boundaries in a way that will have a profound impact on the way libraries and library services are conceptualized in the years to come. They represent the key links in the knowledge chain: authors, publishers, academics, community knowledge creators, librarians and institutions. The five most compelling messages the book will contain are: Engage in and support elearning and social networking Be involved in institutional knowledge and information management strategies Support students and academic staff in the virtual learning space as well as in the library and on the web Be prepared to acquire, manage and make accessible information that is not traditionally the province of the library New paradigms for leadership will be necessary. Readership: This book is essential reading for all library managers and educators who wish to add real value to their organization by thinking strategically and informing decision making at organizational level. It will also be of great value to academic administrators and government policy analysts involved with learning and teaching.

Table of Contents:
Foreword - Dame Lynne Brindley Introduction: We create the future! - Sue McKnight 1. Waiting for the barbarians: seeking solutions or awaiting answers? - Derek Law 2. The delete generation: how citizen-created content is transforming libraries - Penny Carnaby 3. Libraries as places: challenges for the future - Andrew McDonald 4. Web 2.0: redefining and extending the service commitment of the academic library - James G Neal and Damon E Jaggars 5. Second Life and libraries: boom or bust? - P Charles Livermore 6. Some new business ideas in the HSS publishing space: what may librarians expect? - Frances Pinter 7. Loosely joined: the discovery and consumption of scholarly content in the digital era - Paul Coyne 8. Knowledge management, universities and libraries - Helen Hayes and Philip G Kent 9. Libraries and the management of research data - Martin Lewis 10. The leadership of the future - Liz Wright 11. Adding value to learning and teaching - Sue McKnight 12. In search of the road ahead: the future of academic libraries in China - Michael Robinson

About the Author :
Sue McKnight is the principal of Sue McKnight Consulting. She holds professional librarianship qualifications, a Bachelor of Business, a Master of Public Administration and her PhD focused on organizational development. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (UK), the Higher Education Academy (UK) and the Australian Institute of Management. She was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship by the HEA for her services to support student learning. Prior to running her own consultancy, Professor McKnight was Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning Resources) and University Librarian at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Previously, she was Director of Libraries and Knowledge Resources at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom. Prior to that, she was Executive Director of Learning Services at Deakin University, Australia. She was chair of the Academic and Research Libraries section of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions from 2005-2009. She has also been an active member and the Australian Library and Information Association. She chaired the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) eBooks working party.

Review :
"This is an extremely good and highly relevant book for academic librarians." "Covering a broad range of topics, this edited volume will appeal to information professionals who are interested in the future direction, challenges and opportunities for library and information services in higher education. Its 12 easily digestible chapters address a range of issues, including information-seeking behaviour, online support for library users, Web 2.0 technologies, new business ideas in publishing, knowledge management, leadership of the future, library buildings, managing research data, partnerships with academic departments and even the future of academic libraries in China." "The book is aimed at library leaders and managers in the main; however it is also valuable reading for academic library staff as well as library educators...The title of the book suggests it is aimed solely at academic libraries; however I would suggest that the ideas and concepts behind the book are likely to be of interest beyond the walls of academic institutions."