Preparing for the 21st Century: Academic Library Realignment

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to communicate how an academic library can establish and implement a realignment process to prepare itself to serve users in the 21st century. Design/methodology/approach – The authors employed a case study approach to present the challenges of realigning an academic library. They describe the collaborative and interactive process that OSU Libraries undertook to envision what a 21st century academy library might demand and to realign its units to support this vision. They summarize the positive outcomes of this process and provide an overview of what next steps might be. Findings – A combination of visioning exercises and collaborative study of the appropriate LIS literature were key to establishing the direction that the libraries\u27 realignment would take and the eventual organizational structure the libraries implemented. The realignment activities not only emphasized collaboration among unit heads, but also emphasized the importance of clear communication, ongoing assessment, and connection to the university\u27s overall strategic goals and realignment in order to guarantee eventual success. Originality/value – This article describes a process that most academic libraries could emulate to shift the focus of legacy operations and departments to those that successfully meet the challenges of the twenty-first century academic library

Submitting for publication: from idea to publication

December 1, 2010 Presentation for ACRL e-Learning Webcast Series.Keywords: Academic libraries, Library science, Publication, Journal impact factor

What's next for collection management and managers?

Keywords: Collection managers, Academic libraries, Collection managemen

What’s Next for Collection Management and Managers? Successful Collaboration

Keywords: collection development, collection development collaboratio

What’s Next for Collection Management and Managers? User-Centered Collection Management

Keywords: collection development, library circulation, user-centered collection managemen

Assessing the value of academic library consortia

The value proposition of academic library consortia often focuses on the benefits a member library expects to receive in return for its paid membership in a consortium. This article takes a look at the literature of library and information science as well as the websites of 45 academic library consortia to understand how consortia communicate their benefits, especially in terms of financial value. It initiates a discussion about how academic library consortia could adopt assessment measures that strengthen their value proposition and improve the ways they demonstrate their impact and the impact that their members wield within higher education.Keywords: Financial value, Library consortia, Library assessment, Impact value, Consortial benefit

Called to Safety? Individual and Combined Effects of Safety Climate and Occupational Callings on Aviator Safety Performance

This study examined the individual and combined effects of two potential antecedents to aviation-related safety performance: safety climate and occupational callings. Research exploring the importance of occupational callings to the safety domain is in its nascent stages. The extent that someone is living a calling may explain variance in actual safety performance above that which can be explained by safety climate alone. Survey data from aviators in a flight training program were analyzed to evaluate the ability of occupational calling assessments to inform the potential for safety mishaps within the aviation industry. Results indicate that both safety climate and occupational callings may inform the potential for safety mishaps better than either alone. Occupational callings may be used to augment safety climate assessments in monitoring and improving aviation safety performance