Essays by Steven Bell, Lorcan Dempsey, and Barbara Fister Published in New ACRL 75th Anniversary Publication
The complete collection of essays by Bell, Dempsey, and Fister are available (no charge) online. The PDF publication runs 116 pages.
From ACRL:
As part of its 75th anniversary celebration, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) announces the release of “New Roles for the Road Ahead: Essays Commissioned for ACRL’s 75th Anniversary” authored by well-known bloggers and thought leaders Steven J. Bell, associate university librarian at Temple University, Lorcan Dempsey, vice-president of OCLC research and chief strategist, and Barbara Fister, academic librarian at Gustavus Adolphus College. The collection also includes an introduction by Nancy H. Allen, dean and director at the University of Denver; and an afterward by Lizabeth Wilson, vice provost for digital initiatives and dean of university libraries at the University of Washington in Seattle.
In a series of 20 essays in three sections, “Framing the Road Ahead,” “Shifts in Positioning” and “Responding to Opportunity: Creating a New Library Landscape,” Bell, Dempsey, and Fister share their thoughts on the world in which academic libraries will thrive, ways libraries are responding to change and new roles for libraries and librarians. The essays include reflections on ways academic libraries can succeed in a changing higher education environment, take advantage of opportunities and think about the best ways to deliver both ongoing and innovative services to students and faculty.
ACRL members provided commentary on the draft of the report, much of which was incorporated into the final work. Bell states that “just like this publication, which is something that was made better by a group of people coming together to achieve much more than we could have as individuals, ACRL depends on academic librarians working together to make sure the generations that follow us will be doing great things for higher education many years from now.”
Direct to Full Text of “New Roles for the Road Ahead: Essays Commissioned for ACRL’s 75th Anniversary”
Filed under: Academic Libraries, Associations and Organizations, Libraries

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.