Quality and the Academic Library: Reviewing, Assessing and Enhancing Service Provision provides an in-depth review and analysis of quality management and service quality in academic libraries. All aspects of quality are considered in the book, including quality assessment, quality review, and quality enhancement. An overview of quality management and service quality concepts, principles, and methods leads to a detailed consideration of how they have been applied in universities and their libraries. A case study approach is used with different perspectives provided from the different stakeholders involved in the quality processes. All contributors adopt a critical reflection approach, reflecting on the implications, impact, and significance of the activities undertaken and the conclusions that can be drawn for future developments. The book concludes with an overall reflection on quality management and service quality in academic libraries with a final analysis of priorities for the future. Presents a holistic view of the subject, looking at reviews of academic library services, quality assurance and assessment, quality enhancement, and service quality Provides perspectives from authors with different experiences and responsibilities, including those responsible for initiating and managing quality processes in higher education Includes case studies where the authors not only describe the quality processes used, but also seek to review and reflect on their success, limitations, and the impact of their work some time after the event Seeks to be current, comprehensive, and reflective by including the results of surveys/interviews from senior librarians on quality in academic libraries

There is great consistency throughout these articles, research projects, management schemes, and standards, in and out of librarianship. Does the repetition suggest that the lessons have not yet been learned? Rather, it may be that there is no new silver bullet or shortcut for academic libraries. Experience reveals that one may have the formal process without getting good results and vice versa; the determining factor is whether the library staff, managers, and stakeholders define certain fundamental assumptions about the nature of the enterprise. All the above have in common the following underlying components: The careful definition of goals or of some kind of criteria against which success can be assessed A focus on meeting the needs of the users, as defined by the library and the institution Leadership: a commitment from the top, conscious efforts at ensuring communication, the provision of training and resources for the process of evaluation, the active support of a process to promote shared values The involvement of all levels of staff in goal setting, evaluation, and the improvement of processes and services Integrating a process of evaluation that is continuous and adaptive, whether that process is based on the framework of TQM, strategic planning, or another model

Due to the rapid acceleration of industry 4.0, it is more important than ever to understand the impact of technological revolutions on the academic library. This edited collection showcases the effects on how libraries function, manage processes and continue to deliver products and services on a day to day basis.

Academic libraries are in the midst of significant disruption. Academic librarians and university administrators know they need to change, but are not sure how. Bits and pieces of what needs to happen are clear, but the whole picture is hard to grasp. Reimagining the Academic Library paints a simple straightforward picture of the changes affecting academic libraries and what academic librarians need to do to respond to the changes would help to guide future library practice. The aim is to explain where academic libraries need to go and how to get there in a book that can be read in a weekend. David Lewis provides a readable survey of the current state of academic library practice and proposes where academic libraries need to go in the future to provide value to their campuses. His primary focus is on collections as this is the area with the greatest opportunity for change and is the driver of most library cost. Lewis provides an accessible framework for thinking about how library practice needs to adjust in the digital environment. The book will be useful not only to academic librarians, but also for librarians to share with presidents and provosts who a concise source for understanding where and how to focus their expenditures on libraries.

Managing Academic Libraries: Principles and Practice is aimed at professionals within the Library and Information Services (LIS) who are interested in learning more about the management of academic libraries. Written against a backdrop made up of the changes that digital technology has brought to academic libraries, this book uncovers how the library has changed its meaning from a physical to virtual icon and its effect on culture. The book aims to provide managers and students of LIS at all levels with the necessary management principles and practices needed to respond proactively to diverse audiences, while also keeping a focus on the purposes of higher education. In addition, readers will find an examination of various aspects of library management and reviews on key management techniques that can be used for successful interpretation and implementation of academic library mission statements. - Provides tactics on how to manage the centrality of learning and reading in academic libraries - Includes best practices on managing a learning organization - Covers proactive management principles and practices that are needed to respond to diverse audiences

Academic Library Metamorphosis and Regeneration continues the discussions around change and transformation that are taking place in the library profession today. Academic libraries are undergoing change at a remarkable rate and have been through transitions that were unthinkable before disruptive technology changed everything. For academic libraries, changes in higher education, scholarly communication, and user expectations are driving a continuous need to adjust, transform, and re-create ourselves. This book explores the changes that led us to where we are today, reviews academic libraries that have transformed, and offers suggestions for those who are beginning a change process.

This book provides a comprehensive look at issues that shape the nature of Human Resources in academic libraries. Libraries in varying academic environments have undergone tremendous change during the last two decades of the 20th century as they have sought redefinition as learning organizations. As organizations they have experienced significant changes in the role and definition of professionalism, along with challenges from such shifting workplace demographics as age and ethnicity and technological issues, which have also had direct impact on the recruitment and retention of staff. Much of the attention of human resources administrators in academic libraries has focused on an array of issues that mirrors concerns across campuses: affirmative action and diversity, the rights of employees with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the impact of the Family Medical Leave Act and other directives on employee benefits, salary equity, and a desire among employees for flexible work schedules.

Academic libraries are facing uncertain times. The international higher education environment is very volatile and academic libraries and librarians can play a major role in helping to strategically position their parent institution within it. In doing so, there needs to be clarity as to what the position of the academic library is with regard to the role and function it has within the university and how library leadership can have pan-institutional influence and impact. There are several ways in which the academic library can position itself and this collection demonstrates many of these. Strategic alignment with the university and its mission is a fundamental part of successful positioning, as is being flexible, adaptable and responsive to changing needs, requirements and expectations. Developments in research support and scholarly communications, as well as super-convergences with other academic support departments, are examples of such responsiveness. These topics along with other emerging themes, such as library functions and institutional partnerships and collaborations, are all discussed in the book and provide the reader with a rich variety of reflections and case studies on how academic libraries, from across the globe, have addressed their position within their institution. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal New Review of Academic Librarianship.

As we begin to fundamentally redefine our world, informed through the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) lens, entire industries are gearing up for this disruptive event. Library practices have been no exception. With the advent of advanced digital technology, knowledge is becoming more readily accessible. This book focuses on how libraries need to respond, adapt, and transform to become meaningful spaces in our rapidly changing 21st century, within the 4IR and coupled with the restrictions of the pandemic. Tracing the evolution of technology over the centuries, the changing role of the library as a response to disruptions is discussed.