Publisher's Synopsis
Academic libraries have to serve the needs of many constituencies in a number of very different settings, and over a wider range of services than ever before. In addition to on-site students and faculty, academic libraries also mustserve the information needs of communities, distance education students, and off-site faculty. Another unwritten mandate for academic libraries is to provide access to technology and information to those who do not have it. The academic library of the past, heavy on books and printed serials, must expand to include interlibrary networks and provide access to all types of electronic resources.
The scholarly communication center is a comprehensive, technologically rich facility that provides all users with access to technology, communications networks, information, and library materials, within and beyond the library walls. Through a combination of new technology, expanded communications networks, and revitalized facilities, the scholarly communication center serves the academic campus with consistent, high-quality access to research and the world beyond.
Building a Scholarly Communication Center is a unique guide based on the successful model for planning the scholarly communication center at Rutgers University. The planning process at Rutgers is used as the springboard to identify issues, potential problems, and solutions in planning and development. Success factors are examined along with potential obstructions. The book looks at:
- facilities design;
- funding;
- technology considerations; and
- the impact on research and instruction.
The authors pull no punches in describing both the hard knocks and the rewards in planning the academic library of tomorrow today. Their experience in both planning and using the scholarly communication center provides the unique perspective of those who have to live with their decisions afterward. Any academic librarian who wants to move their library into the twenty-first century will benefit from this planning guide.
