ACRL Publishes 2015 Environmental Scan, Full Text Available Online
The 2015 environmental scan by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) was made available online in the past day.
From the ACRL Blog:
Every two years, the ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee releases an environmental scan of higher education, including developments with the potential for continuing impact on academic libraries.
One year ago (March 2014) the ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee published “Top Trends in Academic Libraries,” published in College and Research Libraries News.
From the Introduction:
The environmental scan provides an overview of the current environment for academic libraries rather than an exhaustive examination. The current scan addresses topics related to higher education in general and their resulting impact on library collections and access, research data services, discovery services, library facilities, scholarly communication, and the library’s influence on student success.
Major Sections of the Scan Include:
- Higher Education Environment
- Library Collections & Acquisitions
- Research Data Services
- Library Facilities
- Scholarly Communication
- Library Impact on Student Success
Direct to Full Text of 2015 Environmental Scan (32 pages; PDF)
Quick Comment and a Few Questions from Gary Price, infoDOCKET Founder/Editor
Two issues that I think should have been at least touched on in this scan because they are part of the current environment.
- Privacy of library users when they utilize digital resources provided by the library regardless of location.
- Marketing and discovery of library services and resources. In other words, it’s wonderful to have great resources for all to use, an ambitious staff, and, for example, being doing impressive digitization work. However, who are we doing all of this for? Are they aware of what we have to offer? How can we make them aware? As I’ve said before, providing a great library in terms of staff and resources is not a field of dreams. Building it does not guarantee people will come (or virtually visit on the Internet) and use it. Finally, are we also developing resources that might be of value by the general public as well as students and faculty? Is this group aware of what we are offering? Would increasing awareness and usage also help with sustainability of these projects? Would it also assist with the overall
Filed under: Academic Libraries, Associations and Organizations, Data Files, Digital Preservation, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Resources
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.