Libraries Find New Ways to Thrive in Digital World
(Originally for U.S. News University Directory)
University libraries have long been resources nearly inseparable from the institutions themselves. The wealth of knowledge and safe space to study provided by libraries have been integral to the success of countless students. As technology changes the way people access information, funding priorities have also shifted, leaving many libraries struggling to prove their worth to university administrators.
Many university library directors have resigned, retired or been fired in recent years due to conflicts with administrators over the role of libraries, Inside Higher Ed reports. While the details of the cases vary, the terminations have often come after protracted fights over the best way for libraries to serve their institutions.
The Digital Revolution
The shift from print to digital resources as the primary means of accessing information has played no small part in the recent library shakeups. At Barnard College in New York, plans are underway to convert the existing Lehman Hall library into a new facility called the Teaching and Learning Center. The move will cut tens of thousands of books from the university's collection, Inside Higher Ed reports. Instead of a traditional library collection, the new building will focus on new technology, "creating a learning space based around digital media, virtual learning environments and collaboration," according to the school's website.
Library advocates, especially those whose jobs are on the line, may balk at this transformation, but others have approached the change with open arms. If the goal of libraries is to provide access to information and support learning, there could be ways for them to succeed that don't fit the traditional model. Especially given the growing popularity of online education, students have come to expect more easily accessible information.
"For the entire history of libraries as we know them - 2,000 or 3,000 years - we have lived in a world of information scarcity. What's happened in the last two decades is that's been turned completely on its head. Now we're living in a world of superabundance," Terrence Metz, library at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, tells Inside Higher Ed.
New Spaces for Learning
This abundance means that libraries are no longer the only - or even the primary - way for students to access educational resources. However, they still serve a necessary purpose in helping students succeed. Philadelphia's Temple University recently unveiled plans for its new library, a massive structure spanning about the size of a city block, the Temple University New Center reports. The building will house the university's physical library collection and reading rooms alongside spaces for more innovative purposes, such as data visualization and 3D printing. Despite differing from the original purpose of a library, these activities still support the institution's mission, according to Temple's Dean of University Libraries Joseph Lucia.
"Libraries have never really been merely about the stuff they house; they have always been about inspiration. They are environments designed to connect people to ideas and call communities together for creative engagement with the life of the mind and the imagination. A great university will always need that kind of space—perhaps now more than ever," Lucia tells the News Center.
Working Together
Adapting libraries to meet newly arising needs may not take a transformation as dramatic as that underway at Temple University. Given the growing connectedness afforded by online and digital resources, collaboration may be another key to the 21st-century library. Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh recently announced plans to study new avenues of cooperation, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. Presidents of both institutions informed their respective universities of the study, saying that they hope to combine their areas of expertise to better serve both students and faculty.
University libraries have long been resources nearly inseparable from the institutions themselves. The wealth of knowledge and safe space to study provided by libraries have been integral to the success of countless students. As technology changes the way people access information, funding priorities have also shifted, leaving many libraries struggling to prove their worth to university administrators.
Many university library directors have resigned, retired or been fired in recent years due to conflicts with administrators over the role of libraries, Inside Higher Ed reports. While the details of the cases vary, the terminations have often come after protracted fights over the best way for libraries to serve their institutions.
The Digital Revolution
The shift from print to digital resources as the primary means of accessing information has played no small part in the recent library shakeups. At Barnard College in New York, plans are underway to convert the existing Lehman Hall library into a new facility called the Teaching and Learning Center. The move will cut tens of thousands of books from the university's collection, Inside Higher Ed reports. Instead of a traditional library collection, the new building will focus on new technology, "creating a learning space based around digital media, virtual learning environments and collaboration," according to the school's website.
Library advocates, especially those whose jobs are on the line, may balk at this transformation, but others have approached the change with open arms. If the goal of libraries is to provide access to information and support learning, there could be ways for them to succeed that don't fit the traditional model. Especially given the growing popularity of online education, students have come to expect more easily accessible information.
"For the entire history of libraries as we know them - 2,000 or 3,000 years - we have lived in a world of information scarcity. What's happened in the last two decades is that's been turned completely on its head. Now we're living in a world of superabundance," Terrence Metz, library at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, tells Inside Higher Ed.
New Spaces for Learning
This abundance means that libraries are no longer the only - or even the primary - way for students to access educational resources. However, they still serve a necessary purpose in helping students succeed. Philadelphia's Temple University recently unveiled plans for its new library, a massive structure spanning about the size of a city block, the Temple University New Center reports. The building will house the university's physical library collection and reading rooms alongside spaces for more innovative purposes, such as data visualization and 3D printing. Despite differing from the original purpose of a library, these activities still support the institution's mission, according to Temple's Dean of University Libraries Joseph Lucia.
"Libraries have never really been merely about the stuff they house; they have always been about inspiration. They are environments designed to connect people to ideas and call communities together for creative engagement with the life of the mind and the imagination. A great university will always need that kind of space—perhaps now more than ever," Lucia tells the News Center.
Working Together
Adapting libraries to meet newly arising needs may not take a transformation as dramatic as that underway at Temple University. Given the growing connectedness afforded by online and digital resources, collaboration may be another key to the 21st-century library. Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh recently announced plans to study new avenues of cooperation, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. Presidents of both institutions informed their respective universities of the study, saying that they hope to combine their areas of expertise to better serve both students and faculty.
