by Beth Staats
Quick Summary
Nearly twenty years into the 21st century, how exactly do we define the word, library? This is hardly a frivolous question. Neither is it a settled one.
Nearly twenty years into the 21st century, how exactly do we define the word, library? This is hardly a frivolous question. Neither is it a settled one. If a library is less defined by its information resources or access services than by foot traffic or usage stats, then appropriate assessment of its contribution to the institution -- through either quantitative or qualitative metrics -- becomes demonstrably more difficult. The question has implications for administrators with budgetary concerns as much as for educators in the field. Should libraries be focused on decentralization in order to better serve specialized research communities? Or should they be more centralized as the central organ of an educational organism?
Confirmed Speakers: Patti Brennan, Director, National Library of Medicine; Stanley J. Wilder, Dean of the Library, Louisiana State University; Roger Macdonald, Director, Television Archive, Internet Archive
