Topic: Collections and preservation
Blog Post
April 6, 2020
Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic
Archiving the Present for Future Research
As we go through the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, we are inundated by articles, images, video, statistics, and graphs through our handhelds and desktops coming from a variety of channels–including social media, news outlets, journals, and preprints. The sources of information expand from governmental agencies to research institutions, from policy makers to advocacy groups. And now archivists and others are asking how we can archive these rich and diverse sources of information–not only for future generations but also for…
Blog Post
April 2, 2020
The Latest US Library Survey
Since 2010, Ithaka S+R has fielded its triennial survey of academic library directors to track evolving strategies and priorities across the sector. Today we release findings from the 2019 survey cycle, which was fielded from October to December 2019. Much has obviously changed in the world since then. Most notably, the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered the plans of not only academic libraries but higher education as a whole. As we face an uncertain future,…
Research Report
April 2, 2020
Ithaka S+R US Library Survey 2019
Every three years Ithaka S+R conducts our Library Survey to track the changing strategic directions and priorities of the deans and directors of academic libraries. The data are gathered during a relatively brief window of approximately four weeks. In the case of this most recent survey cycle, that moment in time was the fall of 2019, well before any of us had heard of COVID-19.
Blog Post
March 18, 2020
Cultural Organizations & COVID-19
Documenting Virtual Engagement Strategies
Efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19 have fundamentally, and in many cases permanently, transformed the landscape of cultural consumption. As of Monday, March 16th, over 400 major US museums have closed their doors and ceased their traditional programming. While this is an essential part of collectively weathering a public health crisis that is likely to overwhelm the US healthcare system in a matter of days, these closures invariably introduce a deep degree of precarity for hundreds of…
Blog Post
March 15, 2020
Academic Library Strategies Shift to Closure and Restriction
The Next 48 Hours of Academic Library Response to COVID19
For the most recent findings see First This, Now That: A Look at 10-Day Trends in Academic Library Response to COVID19 On Wednesday, March 11, at 8:00 pm ET, we deployed the “Academic Library Response to COVID19” survey in order to gather as-it-happens data from and for the academic library community. On Friday we presented our analysis of the first 24 hours of responses (n=213). Today we…
Blog Post
February 3, 2020
The Primacy of Print Is Past
OhioLINK recently shared its vision for the library system of the future in a white paper. That vision, developed by a group of library deans and directors whose work was facilitated by Ithaka S+R, involves two key elements that have garnered some attention for what they say about the future of the library and the work performed within it. The first element is centering the library system—just like the library itself—around the user. And the second involves enabling the…
Blog Post
December 10, 2019
Perspectives on the 2018 US Faculty Survey in Against the Grain
Every three years when we release findings from our national faculty surveys, we receive a plethora of reactions and responses to the results. There was no exception when we released the 2018 results in conjunction with the ACRL conference in April 2019. While these high-level quantitative results offer strong evidence toward understanding faculty practices and perspectives, particularly for tracking change over time, many who work in academic libraries, learned societies, and…
Blog Post
December 5, 2019
What Are the Larger Implications of Ex Libris Buying Innovative?
Earlier today, news began leaking out that Ex Libris will purchase Innovative Interfaces, one of its largest competitors. The deal, which is expected to close in early 2020, further cements Ex Libris as the leader in the library systems marketplace and can be expected to put added pressure on OCLC. It will also raise concerns about Ex Libris’s dominant market position. Library Systems Ex Libris’s core business is in library systems,…
Blog Post
October 31, 2019
Three Questions for Mark McBride
SUNY central system administration and its 64 campus libraries have been working with Ithaka S+R to develop strategies for collaboration and partnership in the context of substantial strategic and technological change. For our most recent newsletter, we spoke with Mark McBride, senior strategist in SUNY’s Office of Library and Information Services, about how this is unfolding across the system and why he thinks it is so important. What did you learn from Ithaka S+R’s analysis of publishing across SUNY’s…
Blog Post
October 21, 2019
Getting My CLAWs into Assessment
The biennial Canadian Library Assessment Workshop (CLAW) is set to take place this week at the University of Windsor. This will be my first time attending the workshop, which primarily focuses on outcome-based initiatives and decision making to better support libraries and demonstrate their impact on research, teaching, and learning. As I eagerly await for the workshop to kick off, I’m sharing some emergent themes and takeaways from the conference…
Past Event
November 6, 2019
Legacy Missions in Times of Change: Defining and Shaping Collections in the 21st Century
Oya Rieger at the Charleston Conference
On Wednesday, November 6, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm, Oya Y. Rieger will speak on “Legacy Missions in Times of Change: Defining and Shaping Collections in the 21st Century” at the Charleston Conference. She will be joined by the University of Kentucky Libraries’ Antje Mays. For more information and to register, please see the conference website. About the session Despite the rapidly changing information and technology landscape, collections continue to be at the heart of academic libraries, signifying their…
Past Event
November 6, 2019
Library Collections: Creatively Adjusting Budgets to Invest in Open Content
Roger Schonfeld at the Charleston Conference
On Wednesday, November 6, from 2:00 – 3:10 pm , Roger Schonfeld will join Barbara Dewey (Penn State University), Julia Gelfand (University of California, Irvine), and Dan Cohen (Northeastern University) for a panel discussion, “Library Collections: Creatively Adjusting Budgets to Invest in Open Content,” at the Charleston Conference. For more information and to register, please see the conference website. About the panel Building on the 2019 ACRL/SPARC Forum on Collective Reinvestment in Open Infrastructure, this program will explore how…
Past Event
November 7, 2019
The Future of Subscription Bundles: Big Deal, No Deal, or What’s the Deal?
Roger Schonfeld at the Charleston Conference
On Thursday, November 7, from 4:30 – 5:15 pm, Roger Schonfeld will present on “The Future of Subscription Bundles: Big Deal, No Deal, or What’s the Deal?” as part of a Charleston Conference panel. Beth Bernhardt (Oxford University Press), Tim Bucknall (the University of North Carolina at Greensboro), and Mark McBride (SUNY System Administration) are also presenting. For more information and to register, please see the conference website. About the panel In light of well-publicized negotiations around journal deals…
Past Event
November 6, 2019
Resolved: Preprint Servers Have Improved the Scholarly Communication System
Oya Rieger at the Charleston Conference
On Wednesday, November 6, from 4:45 – 5:45 pm, Oya Y. Rieger is taking part in a “Hyde Park Debate” at the Charleston Conference. Oya will argue in favor of the proposition: Resolved: Preprint servers have improved the scholarly communication system.” Taking the opposing side is Kent Anderson (Caldera Publishing Solutions). Rick Anderson will serve as moderator and timekeeper. For more information and to register, please see the conference website. From the conference website The structure of the event…
Blog Post
July 30, 2019
Advancing Diversity and Inclusion through the Rare Book School
I’m thrilled to share that Ithaka S+R will be serving as an evaluator on the The Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for Diversity, Inclusion & Cultural Heritage, a six-year program which aims to advance multicultural collections through innovative and inclusive curatorial practice and leadership at the Rare Book School. Through this fellowship, 45 fellows who identify with diverse racial or ethnic communities and/or who work primarily with collections that document minority, immigrant,…
Blog Post
June 6, 2019
Legacy Missions in Times of Change
New Issue Brief on Library Collections
Regardless of the rapidly changing information and technology landscape, collections continue to be at the heart of academic libraries, signifying their role in providing access to our cultural heritage. But in an increasingly networked, distributed, licensed environment, how do we define the library collection? What do collections imply? What is involved in building a collection? The purpose of the brief…
Issue Brief
June 6, 2019
What’s a Collection Anyway?
In 1953, Kenneth J. Braugh stated that the mission of Harvard’s library was to collect and preserve everything. Those days are long gone. For the last couple of decades, given the rapid expansion of scholarly content sources and types, even the best-funded research libraries have become cognizant that a comprehensive collection is an unattainable vision. Nevertheless, many research library mission statements continue to give prominence to their role in making the world’s knowledge accessible to a wide range of user…
Blog Post
June 3, 2019
Three questions for Carrie Corneilus, Sara Morris, Rebecca Orozco, and Michael Peper
Participants Reflect on the Indigenous Studies Research Support Services Project
For our quarterly newsletter, we interviewed Carrie Corneilus, a librarian at Haskell Indian Nations University, and Sara Morris, Rebecca Orozco, and Michael Peper, librarians at the University of Kansas (KU), about their participation in the Research Support Services project on Indigenous Studies. The two universities collaborated in a unique partnership to interview Indigenous Studies scholars. 1. Why did you want to participate in this study? Carrie Corneilus: I am a tribal librarian of students and faculty…
Past Event
May 23, 2019
What Key Faculty Findings Reveal for Libraries
Melissa Blankstein and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg Present at Library Connect Webinar
On Thursday, May 23, from 11:00 am – noon (EST), Melissa Blankstein and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg are presenting on the findings from the US Faculty Survey for Elsevier’s Library Connect. To register, please see the Library Connect website. About the webinar Would you like to explore opportunities to evolve or shape new library services based on quantitative data? Join us for a presentation of the Ithaka S+R Faculty Survey. The presenters will share insights into faculty research, teaching and publishing…
Past Event
June 14, 2019
Roger Schonfeld to Deliver Keynote Address at METRO Library Council Symposium
On Friday, June 14, Roger Schonfeld is delivering the morning keynote address at the METRO Library Council’s Symposium, “If We Build It…: Sustainable Funding in Libraries and Archives.” Roger’s talk, “Sustaining and Sunsetting Innovation and Collaboration,” begins at 10:00 am, and the symposium is being held at the METRO Library Council offices in New York City. For more information and to register, please see the symposium’s event page. …