When is a Library No Longer a Library? The Future of All-Digital Academic Libraries

Location: Virtual Discussion (WebEx)
When: March 1, 2018, 2-3pm Eastern / 1-2pm Central
Presenters: Corey Seeman (University of Michigan) and Kate Bernard (Florida Polytechnic University)
Registration: https://acrl.webex.com/acrl/onstage/g.php?MTID=ec7bdfaf34f04d610f48fc02e0aeb6c77

Academic libraries must continually adapt to the changing landscape of higher education. Electronic journals and ebooks now dominate library acquisition budgets and the library of the future may soon have only digital resources. For many university libraries, this shift from print to electronic resources has allowed for creative space design to incorporate a variety of student services and study spaces. And for many university administrators faced with ever increasing demands for central campus space for many purposes, the vision of an electronic collection creates new opportunities to use library space in innovative ways. But, what does this shift mean when both the collections and physical space are virtual? Without a brick and mortar space or any print collections, can libraries still meet the evolving needs of their students, faculty, and staff? Whether an academic library was born digital or transitioned to this model over time, librarians working in this new environment have had to radically revise their ideas about space and service.

Panelists from Florida Polytechnic University and the University of Michigan will share their experiences working in this all-digital, virtual environment. Session participants will then have the opportunity to how discuss these changes are impacting library spaces and services on a broad level and how they might successfully navigate these changes in their own libraries and on their own campuses. This program will be recorded for later viewing if you are unable to attend the live session.

Presenter Information

Corey Seeman
Director, Kresge Library Services (http://www.bus.umich.edu/kresgelibrary/)
Ross School of Business (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)
cseeman@umich.edu

Corey Seeman, Director of Kresge Library Services at the University of Michigan, will discuss the recent scenario when the Ross School of Business wanted to repurpose most of the branch library space. This impacted the library in a variety of ways including: 1) loss of virtually all print holdings (with around half of the volumes moved to the main campus collection, 2) loss of the ability to manage a print collection and 3) placement of student spaces outside the library into other spaces in the school. Corey will discuss how the library managed this change and will also discuss the value proposition of the library within these new parameters.

Kate Bernard
Assistant Librarian, University Library (https://floridapoly.edu/about/divisions-and-departments/technology/digital-library/)
Florida Polytechnic University
kbernard@floridapoly.edu

Kate Bernard, Assistant Librarian, will discuss the development and implementation of the book-free digital library at Florida Polytechnic University. She will provide details on the issues and information regarding the born digital library at Florida Poly and how it has worked for them. She will also speak about the Success desk, the “Library Commons” space, and other impacts of working in this environment.

Learning Outcomes for Virtual Discussion Session

After attending this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify the opportunities and challenges facing all-digital academic libraries.
• Examine how an all-digital environment requires a rethinking about how academic libraries contribute to a campus.
• Discuss what opportunities might be available for other libraries who are encountering these kinds of changes in their environments.
• Develop strategies for supporting library staff through periods of rapid change.

Related Readings

• University of Michigan opens ‘bookless’ medical library – http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/education/2015/08/04/university-michigan-opens-bookless-medical-library/31137539/
• A grand space for learning: U-M reopens Taubman Health Sciences Library after $55M metamorphosis – http://ns.umich.edu/new/multimedia/videos/23045-a-grand-space-for-learning-u-m-reopens-taubman-health-sciences-library-after-55m-metamorphosis
• Why College Libraries Are Going Bookless – https://the-digital-reader.com/2015/08/05/why-college-libraries-are-going-bookless/
• Library without books debuts at Florida’s newest college – https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-florida-library/library-without-books-debuts-at-floridas-newest-college-idUSKBN0GP0W620140825
• Florida Polytechnic Library Goes Book-Free – https://www.npr.org/2014/09/06/346299174/florida-polytechnic-library-goes-book-free
• As colleges ditch books, the future of the campus library is changing – https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2017/0425/As-colleges-ditch-books-the-future-of-the-campus-library-is-changing
• Why Are Libraries Changing Their Look? Strategies Driving the Evolution of Academic Libraries – http://www.sr.ithaka.org/blog/why-are-libraries-changing-their-look/
• Academic Library’s Responses to the Emerging Trends in Higher Education
  “Where You and I Are Going to Spend the Rest of Our Lives: What a Future Library Looks like When There Is No There… There.” (2015). Re-think it: Libraries for a New Age – Conference Proceedings (https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/rethinkit_proceedings/5/)
• “’No One Gets Left Behind’: Managing Library Human Resources during Dramatic Shifts in Academic Libraries,” in Samantha Schmehl Hines, Marcy Simons (ed.) Library Staffing for the Future (Advances in Library Administration and Organization, Volume 34) Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.101 – 125 (2015).