What is the future of the academic library, and how are institutions coping with the challenges that are already being imposed by its changing functions and purpose? Using the results of a year-long study, Conner profiles four academic libraries that are transforming themselves with extraordinary ingenuity and diligence. Topics such as reference, personnel, technology, collections, buildings, campus roles, and library culture―and how they're changing in response to current trends―are examined at
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which has adapted amidst the forces of change to become one of the premier academic libraries in the nation
The University of California at Merced, an institution which prioritizes collaboration and networking, offering a living, working example of the library of the future
The University of Hawaii at Manoa, whose focused rebuilding after a disastrous flood in 2004 spurred a rethinking of priorities, showing how a library can thrive despite limited resources
The University of California at Davis, a model of the public university system, with an agricultural legacy that makes it a paradigm of the land-grant university
Eschewing abstract theory and speculation, Conner details real-world practices and innovations that point the way forward for all academic libraries.

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xv

Part 1 History

Chapter 1 Overview 3

Chapter 2 Reference 11

Chapter 3 Personnel 17

Chapter 4 Technology 25

Chapter 5 Collections 29

Chapter 6 Buildings 35

Chapter 7 Campus Roles 43

Chapter 8 Library Culture 51

Part 2 Case Studies

Case Study 1 University of California, Davis 61

Case Study 2 University of California, Merced 87

Case Study 3 University of Hawai'i at Mānoa 103

Case Study 4 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 121

Conclusion 145

Works Cited 149

Image Credits 163

Index 165

Matthew Conner has a PhD in American literature and an MLS in library science, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is currently an instruction/reference librarian at the Peter J. Shields Library at the University of California, Davis, and President-Elect of the Librarians Association of the University of California (LAUC). As chair of the LAUC Professional Governance Committee, he recently led a systemwide study of the future of the University of California libraries, which forms the basis of this book. He is also pursuing research on information visualization and the pedagogy of keyword searching, which he has reported on at numerous conferences and in an article in Reference Services Review.

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