Academic Librarianship Today
Foreword by Beverly P. Lynch Edited by Todd Gilman
Publication date:
02 February 2017Length of book:
262 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442278745
Intended for use by both librarians and students in LIS programs, Academic Librarianship Today is the most current, comprehensive overview of the field available today. Key features include:
The book begins with Gilman’s introduction, an overview that briefly synthesizes the contents of the contributors’ chapters by highlighting major themes. The main part of the book is organized into three parts: The Academic Library Landscape Today, Academic Librarians and Services Today, and Changing Priorities, New Directions.
- Each chapter was commissioned specifically for this new book, and the authors are highly regarded academic librarians or library school faculty— or both
- Cutting-edge topics such as open access, copyright, digital curation and preservation, emerging technologies, new roles for academic librarians, cooperative collection development and resource sharing, and patron-driven acquisitions are explored in depth
- Each chapter ends with thought-provoking questions for discussion and carefully constructed assignments that faculty can assign or adapt for their courses
The book begins with Gilman’s introduction, an overview that briefly synthesizes the contents of the contributors’ chapters by highlighting major themes. The main part of the book is organized into three parts: The Academic Library Landscape Today, Academic Librarians and Services Today, and Changing Priorities, New Directions.
Todd Gilman has put together a first-rate book on the issues facing academic libraries and librarians today. Moreover, he has selected a genuine who’s-who of thinkers and practitioners, each of whom is uniquely able to provide a critical perspective on the fifteen topics included in the book. While some collections of essays are uneven, this volume provides consistently excellent pieces on difficult and complex matters. Each essay is concise, but it is by no means cursory…. The scope of inclusion—from state and federal influences all the way to the roles of institutional general counsels and alumni affairs—is extremely difficult to locate elsewhere…. There are two additional aspects of the book—very positive aspects—that need to be mentioned. Each essay includes either extensive notes or bibliographies; these are extremely useful for practicing professionals and for teachers and students. The other aspect is the inclusion in each essay of activity questions and assignments. It is this aspect that lends the book most readily to instructional use, giving potential students prompts according to which they can ponder seriously the meaning and implications of the topics presented. In short, Gilman has done a real service in putting together a uniformly excellent volume. First, all academic libraries should acquire the book for professional development purposes. Second, academic programs should give serious consideration to using this book in instruction. As collections of essays go, this book is exceptional.