An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students.[1] It is unknown how many academic libraries there are worldwide. An academic and research portal maintained by UNESCO links to 3,785 libraries. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an estimated 3,700 academic libraries in the United States.[1] In the past, the material for class readings, intended to supplement lectures as prescribed by the instructor, has been called reserves. Previously before the electronic appliances became available, the reserves were supplied as actual books or as photocopies of appropriate journal articles. Modern academic libraries generally also provide access to electronic resources.
Academic libraries must determine a focus for collection development since comprehensive collections are not feasible. Librarians do this by identifying the needs of the faculty, student body, the mission and academic programs of the college or university. When there are particular areas of specialization in academic libraries, these are often referred to as niche collections. These collections are often the basis of a special collection department and they may include original papers, manuscripts ,artwork, and artifacts written or created by a single author or about a specific subject.
There is a great deal of variation among academic libraries based on their size, resources, collections, and services. The Harvard University Library is considered to be the largest strict academic library in the world,[2] although the Danish Royal Library—a combined national and academic library—has a larger collection.[3] Another notable example is the University of the South Pacific which has academic libraries distributed throughout its twelve member countries.[1] The University of California operates the largest academic library system in the world, managing more than 40.8 million print volumes across 100 libraries on ten campuses.[4]
The Round Reading Room of the Maughan Library, the main academic library of King's College London.University Library Leiden, the Netherlands, in 1694. La nouvelle bibliothèque, from Les delices de Leide, une des célèbres villes de l'Europe, Leiden: P. van der Aa, 1712.The Old Library of Keio University in Tokyo, Japan.
History
Libraries date back to the ancient world, notably the Library of Alexandria and the historically famous Library of Nalanda University, which apparently burned for months because of the sheer number of manuscripts.[5]
The first colleges in the United States were intended to train clergy members. The libraries associated with these institutions largely consisted of donated books on the subjects of theology and the classics. In 1766, Yale had approximately 4,000 volumes, second only to Harvard.[6] Access to these libraries was restricted to faculty members and a few students: the only staff was a part-time faculty member or the president of the college.[7] The priority of the library was to protect the books, not to allow patrons to use them. In 1849, Yale was open 30 hours a week, the University of Virginia was open nine hours a week, Columbia University four, and Bowdoin College only three.[8] Students instead created literary societies and assessed entrance fees for building a small collection of usable volumes, often over what the university library held.[8]
Around the turn of the century, this approach began to change. The American Library Association (ALA) was formed in 1876, with members including Melvil Dewey and Charles Ammi Cutter. Libraries re-prioritized to improve access to materials and found funding increasing due to increased demand for said materials.[9][10]
The Bibliographical Society of America formed in 1904 to foster the study of books and manuscripts. Academic librarians were the majority of members.[11]
Academic libraries today vary regarding the extent to which they accommodate those not affiliated with their parent universities. Some offer reading and borrowing privileges to members of the public on payment of an annual fee; such fees can vary greatly. The benefits usually do not extend to such services as computer usage other than to search the catalog or Internet access. Alumni and students of cooperating local universities may be given discounts or other considerations when arranging for borrowing privileges. On the other hand, some universities' libraries are restricted to students, faculty, and staff. Even in this case, they may make it possible for others to borrow materials through interlibrary loan programs.
Libraries of land-grant universities generally are more accessible to the public. In some cases, they are official government document repositories and are required to be open to the public. Still, public members are generally charged fees for borrowing privileges and usually are not allowed to access everything they would be able to as students.
Canada
Academic libraries in Canada are relatively recent relative to other countries. The first academic library in Canada was opened in 1789 in Windsor, Nova Scotia.[12] Academic libraries were significantly small during the 19th century and up until the 1950s, when Canadian academic libraries began to grow steadily as a result of greater importance being placed on education and research.[12] The growth of libraries throughout the 1960s was a direct result of many overwhelming factors, including inflated student enrollments, increased graduate programs, higher budget allowance, and general advocacy of the importance of these libraries.[13] As a result of this growth and the Ontario New Universities Library Project that occurred during the early 1960s, five new universities were established in Ontario that all included fully cataloged collections.[12] The establishment of libraries was widespread throughout Canada and was furthered by grants provided by the Canada Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, which sought to enhance library collections.[12] Since many academic libraries were constructed after World War II, a majority of the Canadian academic libraries that were built before 1940 that had not been updated to modern lighting, air conditioning, etc., are either no longer in use or are on the verge of decline.[14] The total number of college and university libraries increased from 31 in 1959–1960 to 105 in 1969–1970.[15]
Following the growth of academic libraries in Canada during the 1960s, there was a brief period of sedation, which directly resulted from some significant budgetary issues.[16] These academic libraries were faced with cost issues relating to the recently developed service of interlibrary lending and the high costs of periodicals on acquisition budgets, which affected overall acquisition budgeting and ultimately public collections.[16] Canadian academic libraries faced consistent problems relating to insufficient supplies and an overall lack of coordination among collections.[17]
Academic libraries within Canada might not have flourished or continued to be strengthened without the help of outside organizations. The Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) was established in 1967 to promote unity among Canadian academic libraries.[18] The Ontario College and University Library Association (OCULA) is attached to the Ontario Library Association (OLA) and is concerned with representing academic librarians regarding issues shared in the academic library setting.[19]
European academic libraries are not especially dissimilar to American academic libraries overall. However, there do exist significant operative variances. First, many libraries do not have open stacks like American academic libraries do, which can also apply to an institution's general collections. Second, although some utilize a classification system similar to or based upon the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) used in the United States, it is not uncommon for European libraries to organize their collections through their own systems [20]
Academic libraries have transformed in the 21st century to focus less on physical collection development, information access, and digital resources. Today's academic libraries typically provide access to subscription-based online resources, including research databases and ebook collections, in addition to physical books and journals. Academic libraries also offer space for students to work and study, in groups or individually, on "silent floors" and reference and research help services, sometimes including virtual reference services.[21][22] Some academic libraries lend out technology such as video cameras, iPads, and calculators. Many academic libraries have remodeled to reflect this changing focus as learning commons. Academic libraries and learning commons often house tutoring, writing centers, and other academic services.
A major focus of modern academic libraries is information literacy instruction, with most American academic libraries employing a person or department of people dedicated primarily to instruction.[23] Many academic institutions offer faculty status to librarians, and librarians are often expected to publish research in their field. Academic librarian positions in the United States usually require an MLIS degree from an ALA-accredited institution.[24] The Association of College and Research Libraries is the largest academic library organization in the United States.
↑ Shiflett, Orvin Lee. Origins of American Academic Librarianship. Norwood, N.J: Ablex Pub. Corp., 1981.
↑ Van Hoesen, Henry B. (1941). "The Bibliographical Society of America—Its Leaders and Activities, 1904–1939". Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America. 35 (3): 177–202.
↑ "Academic Libraries". Education & Careers. American Library Association. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
Further reading
Bazillion, Richard J. & Braun, Connie (1995) Academic Libraries as High-tech Gateways: a guide to design and space decisions. Chicago: American Library Association ISBN0838906567
Hamlin, Arthur T. (1981). The University Library in the United States: Its Origins and Development. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN9780812277951
Hunt, C. J. (1993) "Academic library planning in the United Kingdom", in: British Journal of Academic Librarianship; vol. 8 (1993), pp.3–16
Shiflett, Orvin Lee (1981). Origins of American Academic Librarianship. Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Pub. Corp. ISBN9780893910822
Taylor, Sue, ed. (1995) Building libraries for the information age: based on the proceedings of a symposium on The Future of Higher Educational Libraries at the King's Manor, York 11–12 April 1994. York: Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies, University of York ISBN0-904761-49-5
A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
The Association of College and Research Libraries defines information literacy as a "set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning". In the United Kingdom, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals' definition also makes reference to knowing both "when" and "why" information is needed.
A law library is a special library used by law students, lawyers, judges and their law clerks, historians, and other scholars of legal history in order to research the law. Law libraries are also used by people who draft or advocate for new laws, e.g. legislators and others who work in state government, local government, and legislative counsel offices or the U.S. Office of Law Revision Counsel and lobbying professionals. Self-represented, or pro se, litigants also use law libraries.
A health or medical library is designed to assist physicians, health professionals, students, patients, consumers, medical researchers, and information specialists in finding health and scientific information to improve, update, assess, or evaluate health care. Medical libraries are typically found in hospitals, medical schools, private industry, and in medical or health associations. A typical health or medical library has access to MEDLINE, a range of electronic resources, print and digital journal collections, and print reference books. The influence of open access (OA) and free searching via Google and PubMed has a major impact on the way medical libraries operate.
Choice is a publishing unit of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). It includes the magazine Choice as well as other products including the Choice Reviews database. The magazine was established in 1964. It is considered the premier source for reviews of academic books, electronic media, and Internet resources of interest to those in higher education. The magazine is headquartered in Middletown, Connecticut.
Library instruction, also called bibliographic instruction, user education and library orientation, consists of "instructional programs designed to teach library users how to locate the information they need quickly and effectively. [It] usually covers the library's system of organizing materials, the structure of the literature of the field, research methodologies appropriate to the academic discipline, and specific resources and finding tools " It prepares individuals to make immediate and lifelong use of information effectively by teaching the concepts and logic of information access and evaluation, and by fostering information independence and critical thinking. Above all they are aimed at equipping library users with skills to locate library sources and use them effectively to satisfy their information needs.
Evan Ira Farber was Faculty Emeritus and former Head Librarian at Earlham College. Throughout his career, he was active with the American Library Association (ALA) and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), holding positions that included Chair of the ACRL College Library Section from 1968 to 1969 and President of the ACRL from 1978 to 1979. He was also active with the ACRL College Leadership Committee and the ACRL College Libraries Mentor Program.
Camila Alire is an American librarian and was president of the American Library Association from 2009 to 2010. She was the first Hispanic president of the ALA. She was previously the president of REFORMA, National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking, in 1993-1994.
James G. Neal is an American librarian, library administrator, and a prominent figure in American and international library associations. In 2022 President Joe Biden appointed him to the National Museum and Library Services Board which advises the agency on general policies with respect to the duties, powers, and authority of the Institute of Museum and Library Services relating to museum, library, and information services, as well as the annual selection of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service.
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association, is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals. It is dedicated to enhancing the ability of academic library and information professionals to serve the information needs of the higher education community and to improving learning, teaching, and research. The association serves librarians in all types of academic libraries at the community college, college, and university level and also serves librarians that work in comprehensive and specialized research libraries.
Music librarianship is the area of librarianship that pertains to music collections and their development, cataloging, preservation and maintenance, as well as reference issues connected with musical works and music literature. Music librarians often have degrees in both music and librarianship. Music librarians deal with standard librarianship duties such as cataloging and reference, which become more complicated when music scores and recordings are involved. Therefore, music librarians generally read music and have at least a basic understanding of both music theory and music history to aid in their duties.
A distance education librarian or distance learning librarian is a specialized academic librarian whose primary duties involve serving the information needs of distance education students, faculty, and staff. This position typically involves coordinating the duties of many librarians and library staff to ensure adequate access to library resources for those who enroll in and teach distance education courses.
Robert Harold Blackburn was a Canadian academic librarian. He is best known for serving as the Chief Librarian at the University of Toronto from 1954 to 1981.
Alma Dawson is an American scholar of librarianship. She retired as Russell B. Long Professor at the School of Library & Information Science, Louisiana State University in 2014 and was awarded Emeritus status in 2015. In 2019 Dr. Dawson was honored with the Essae Martha Culver Distinguished Service Award from the Louisiana Library Association which honors a librarian whose professional service and achievements, whose leadership in Louisiana association work, and whose lifetime accomplishments in a field of librarianship within the state merit recognition of particular value to Louisiana librarianship.
McMaster University Library is the academic library system for the faculties of Humanities, Social Sciences, Engineering, Science, as well as the Michael DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. McMaster also has a Health Sciences Library administered by the Faculty of Health Sciences.
John W. Berry is an American librarian. Berry served as president of the American Library Association from 2001 to 2002, leading the profession's response to the Children's Internet Protection Act.
Located in London, Ontario, Canada, the Library and Information Science (LIS) program at the University of Western Ontario offers both Masters and PhD level programs through the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS). Its Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) program is one of seven Canadian MLIS programs currently accredited by the American Library Association (ALA). Both the PhD and Masters programs in Library and Information Sciences at Western FIMS emphasize research skills development, engagement with professional literature, information technology learning, and professional career preparedness.
Blanche Pritchard McCrum was a librarian and the eighth president of the Association of College and Research Libraries, from 1945 to 1946. She served on the Council of the American Library Association from 1941 through 1942.
Choice Outstanding Academic Titles, formerly Outstanding Academic Books, is a booklist curated by editors working with Choice Reviews, a publishing unit of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). According to the American Library Association, the Outstanding Academic Titles list "reflects the best in scholarly titles... and brings with it the extraordinary recognition of the academic library community."
Sarah M. Pritchard is an American academic librarian known for her contributions to research library governance, women's studies and the future of digital libraries.
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