The trend in academic library collections is toward shared print collections and off-site storage. While that might seem to presage the death of print in academic collections, it also serves as a golden opportunity for innovation and experimentation-to develop a vision for a future in which the academic library print collection engages and inspires its communities as never before. Editors McAllister and Laster led Arizona State University's Future of Print project, an initiative focused on fostering engagement with print collections by emphasizing unique local holdings of interest to their community. In this collection they share their experiences alongside a range of contributors at other institutions, together exploring how to transform print throughout the collections lifecycle, from selection to management to disposition. Spotlighting the ways in which people and books are central to fulfilling the library's educational mission, this book's case studies discuss
- the "Open Stacks" concept and methodologies being developing at ASU;
- what we can learn from browsing behaviors;
- haptic learning and information literacy;
- new pathways for print collections such as indie tarot decks;
- Latin American collections in American research libraries;
- the St. Louis Model for Shared Regional collection as an approach for arranging cooperative FDLP collections outside consortial settings;
- efforts toward increasing inclusion in library collections at the University of Denver;
- an overview of the Rosemont Shared Print Alliance and the Partnership for Shared Book Collections; and
- an open digital future for the Library of Congress.
Industry Reviews
"The essays here are all well-written and would be accessible to anyone, information professional or not, interested in the question of whether print has a future in an environment where almost everywhere in academia print collections are being culled or seeing funding diverted from them in the interest of enhancing digital resource availability or freeing up library floor space for other activities ... Eminently readable and consistently interesting."
-- Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association
"Recommended for any librarians with a print and/or digital collection development responsibility, as well as those whose roles may overlap with wider policy revision concerns, such as: digitization project management, consortia! responsibilities, and reference or instructional duties with first-hand experience of user interactions with the collection. In particular, it would be suitable for librarians whose institutions are reconsidering collections after a change initiative, such as budget cuts, a new administration, an upcoming renovation, or similar."
-- Technical Services Quarterly
"I highly recommend [this] refreshing exploration of contemporary issues in library collection development and management ... Each essay contributes to a multifaceted examination of contemporary library collection portfolios with an emphasis on the role of print content. At the same time, each essay stands alone and merits reflection and further consideration by the reader."
-- Technicalities
