PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present various aspects of open access that are being discussed and debated in recent years.Design/methodology/approachThe paper briefly reviews the flavors such as open access definitions, open access initiatives, platforms for open access, and players in the open access movement.FindingsThe paper finds that, while the debates on open access continue, there is no doubt that librarians can play an important role to help achieve faster and wider dissemination of research discoveries and new knowledge of which they have been disseminators and keepers for centuries.Originality/valueThe article may help readers further their understanding of the complexity of open access and raise awareness on some of the key points.

Since the early 1990s, under a state-planning program, individual col leges and universities in China began to merge with much larger univer sities. Such mergers have been a part of China's higher education re form. The wave of mergers among colleges and universities will have a far-reaching influence on China's academic libraries. In this paper, the author attempts to explore positive outcomes for academic libraries, present anticipated challenges, and offer possible solutions in the li brary merging process.olleges and universities in funds and resources among these China have been governed by schools.

Authority control is a vital part of providing students and faculty with adequate access to collections in university libraries. Although many large research libraries routinely maintain authority control, small and medium-sized university libraries find it challenging to meet rising user expectations and provide adequate access in an online environment through appropriate authority work. The smaller libraries have to provide persuasive data to demonstrate to their library administrations that tight staffing situations make it difficult to perform in-house maintenance on authority work and keep up with the dynamic and constant changes of new headings for bibliographic records. This article offers a planning process on an authority control project at a medium-sized university library.

Peking University Library initiated position restructuring in response to the university’s requirements and to the increasing demands and expectations of users. The goals were to reduce unwanted positions and at the same to enhance the responsibilities of selected positions. The restructuring promised to improve library services and staff morale. This article describes some steps taken in the position restructuring process at the Peking University Library that may help other academic libraries in China in a similar undertaking.

Libraries in China’s key universities will be the bases for collecting and managing information resources that serve their own user communities and will be an integral part of information resources for the China Academic Library and Information System as well. Allocating adequate materials funds from the university operational budget is essential if these libraries are to adequately support their learning and research communities. This article examines the current situation these libraries are facing and makes proposals for changes.