Attitudes of Presidents and Provosts on the University Library

Abstract

book, Academic Library Centrality. This paper reports the results of interviews conducted in 2004 with the presidents and provosts of six universities and compares them with Grimes' findings. The analysis shows that major changes have occurred in the attitudes of university leaders toward their libraries during the last decade. These new findings provide direction for library leaders as they seek out new models of library service and reshape old models to fit the current environment of American higher education. The findings also point to the emergence of new competencies, skills, and knowledge as essential components of the job of the library director. The results of this study call into question the applicability of the centrality concept to libraries in universities and indicate the need for research that offers a relevant model for use in those settings.

Academic Libraries' Strategic Plans: Top Trends and Under-Recognized Areas

“…According to Association of Research Libraries (ARL) surveys, 89% of libraries' administrative budgets have not kept pace with inflation, and 52% indicated that acquisitions budgets remained flat or were reduced (Lowry, 2013). Indeed, college presidents and provosts increasingly expect libraries to seek outside funding to supplement their budgets (Lynch et al, 2007). However, just over one-third of the libraries in this study (34.9%, n = 22) included grants or external fundraising in their strategic plans, and fewer still (20.6%, n = 13) included financial stewardship, or a commitment to transparent and accountable management of their budget.…”

The UCLA Senior Fellows Program

“…Recently, Lynch and other members of the 2003 Senior Fellows class undertook to replicate Deborah Grimes' investigation (1992Grimes' investigation ( -1993 of the concept of academic library "centrality" (Grimes, 1998). The group's findings, published in the Coliege & Research Libraries article, "Attitudes of Presidents and Provosts on the University Library," suggest that it is the research library's functional role in service to the university's mission, and not the library's symbolic value, that secures funding and administrative support (Lynch et al, 2007). If there is a common theme that runs through these recent studies, it is the priority given to the library director's role in raising awareness about the contributions made by the research library to the university's core values and mission.…”

Moving the Library Agenda Forward: Librarians Collaborating With the Chief Library Administrator to Cultivate Campus Constituencies

“…The librarian team needs information from the dean or director to coherently and systematically impart messages about the library and its services, collections, and operations. Lynch et al (2007) in the 2004 replication of a study conducted a decade earlier regarding the campus view of the centrality of the library noted the following: "Administrators observed that relying on the symbolic role of the library edifice during budget talks is a weak financial strategy. Presidents noted that excellent service records and the librarian's participation and visibility in the shared governance process as a member of the faculty had more clout during budget talks.…”