The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has released a white paper, 'Connect, Collaborate, and Communicate: A Report from the Value of Academic Libraries Summits,' which reports on two invitational summits supported by a National Leadership Collaborative Planning Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The white paper is freely available from the ACRL Value of Academic Libraries website. The ACRL Value of Academic Libraries initiative is a multiyear project designed to assist academic librarians in demonstrating library value.
As part of the Value of Academic Libraries initiative, ACRL joined with three partners – the Association for Institutional Research, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the Council of Independent Colleges – to sponsor two national summits held November 29 - December 1, 2011. The summits were initiated in response to the 2010 ACRL publication The Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report. As one of its recommendations, the report called on the association to create a professional development program to build librarians’ capacity to document, demonstrate, and communicate library value in advancing the mission and goals of their colleges and universities.
The summits convened senior librarians, chief academic administrators and institutional researchers from 22 postsecondary institutions for discussions about library impact. Fifteen representatives from higher education organisations, associations and accreditation bodies also participated in the summit discussions and presentations and facilitated small group work.
The report - co-authored by Karen Brown, associate professor at Dominican University, and ACRL Senior Strategist for Special Initiatives Kara Malenfant - summarises broad themes about the dynamic nature of higher education assessment that emerged from the summits. The report presents five recommendations for the library profession. It discusses these recommendations and articulates a framework for future action. It serves as a resource for academic librarians along with library and higher education groups involved with helping institutions to assess and advance their missions.
