Last year we published findings from the Library Survey 2016. We have been running this survey on a triennial basis since 2010 to examine the attitudes and behaviors of library deans and directors at not-for profit four-year academic institutions across the United States. The Library Survey report aims to provide academic librarians and higher education leaders with information about the important issues and trends that are shaping the purpose, role, and viability of the academic library. By focusing on the chief executive of each academic library, this survey provides insight on high-level issues including strategy, leadership, budget, and staffing.

Key findings from this latest snapshot of national findings include:

  • Library directors are pursuing strategic directions with a decreasing sense of support from their institutions.
  • Library directors are increasingly recognizing that discovery does not and should not always happen in the library.
  • Library directors anticipate increased resource allocation towards services and predict the most growth for positions related to teaching and research support.
  • Library directors are deeply committed to supporting student success, yet many find it difficult to articulate these contributions.

As has been our practice with previous cycles of the survey, we deposited the dataset for the Library Survey 2016 with ICPSR for preservation and access. With the ingest process now completed, ICPSR has released the dataset and associated documentation. Please contact us directly if we can provide any assistance in accessing and working with the underlying data.