Publisher's Synopsis
New technologies provide challenges and opportunities for information professionals in academic libraries. Addressing these issues must be a priority if we are to ensure the relevance of our libraries in a changing world. An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution which serves two complementary purposes to support the school's curriculum, and to support the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic libraries there are internationally. Academic libraries serve colleges and universities, their students, staff and faculty. Todays academic librarians are involved in a variety of challenging activities. They may: consult with individuals in analysing, identifying, and fulfilling their information needs; create campus wide information literacy programs and deliver classroom instruction to strengthen information literacy skills; select, organise, and facilitate access to information in a variety of formats; keep abreast of technological advancements and develop strategies to take advantage of them; plan, implement, and administer computer-based systems, electronic databases design and manage Web sites; collaborate with classroom faculty, computer specialists, and instructional developers; contribute to effective teamwork among colleagues; participate in and lead public relations efforts to promote and raise funds for academic libraries. The book is designed to promote academic strategic management and envision future innovations for academic library resources, services and instructions in the digital period. It delivers academic executives, consultants, instructors, IT specialists, librarians, LIS students, managers, trainers and other professionals with the latest information for developing trends of emerging technologies applied to student-centred and service-oriented academic learning environments. The book discovers numerous fields where key emerging technologies may have great implications on academic library information technologies, academic library management, academic library information services, and academic library internal operations.
