EDUCAUSE Review Articles and Library Administration

The following excerpt is based on an interview conducted by Gerry Bayne, EDUCAUSE multimedia producer, with James G. Neal,Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian at Columbia University.

Libraries are successful to the extent that they can bridge communities and can leverage the diversity of the quest, the research, and the discovery. By building bridges among various sectors, libraries will be able to define themselves in the next generation.

The authors discuss recent studies conducted to gage the academic librarian's and faculty member's view on the increasing use and offering of electronic resources. One could conclude from the studies that the "transition to an electronic environment poses significant strategic and management challenges for higher education" and that there is a "need for libraries to take leadership in helping academia's transition to the new environment".

The author discusses how the web has changed various aspects of library services, specifically collections, preservation, and reference.

The author discusses the current climate and issues engaged in research libraries' fiscal decision making.