College & Research Libraries News

The 2025 Area Studies Teaching & Collections Symposium1 was a two-day in-person event hosted collaboratively by the University of Utah (UU) and Brigham Young University (BYU), which share a US Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center (NRC) grant. The primary goal of the symposium was to bring together those who use area studies library resources (faculty, students, staff) and tho…

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) is Indonesia’s national research institution that must adapt its library role to the current era of artificial intelligence (AI) and open science. The BRIN library has successfully developed an institutional repository, though there is still considerable room for improvement. In the future, with this repository, the library hopes to serve as a re…

Tricia Edwards has been named director of Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, effective Monday, April 20. Edwards served as interim director since September 2025. Prior to joining Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, Edwards served as deputy director of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and Smithsonian Affiliations (SITES | SA), where she provided executive leadership for st…

The Bibliography of Library History, 1990–Present is a publication of Penn State Libraries Open Publishing, the open-access imprint of Penn State University Libraries. This database of library history resources is based on bibliographies created by Ed Goedeken, emeritus, Iowa State University, and David Lincove, emeritus, The Ohio State University, and work completed by a number of Pennsylvania S…

In 2021, the Research Services Team at the Gutman Library at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) was preparing to onboard two new colleagues. As we developed checklists and other orientation documentation to help our new librarians acclimate to their roles, we talked at length about our research consultation practice. One-on-one research appointments are heavily used at HGSE, and the …

Academic institutions are racing to stay relevant in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies. Librarians, in particular, are being asked to quickly upskill in order to lead workshops, offer one-shot instruction, or develop an online module.1 Meanwhile, institutions vary widely in their stages of AI adoption, creating uneven expectations and support structur…

If you’ve spent any amount of time leading in an academic library, you already know: This work will stretch you, inspire you, break your heart, and—on the worst days—make you wonder why you ever signed up for it. And that is perfectly OK to say out loud. Most leadership literature still treats exhaustion as a personal failing. But leadership itself can be emotionally draining.1 When you layer on …

The year was 1992. I had the opportunity to serve as a trainer at the liberal arts college where I worked as it first joined the Internet. A strange new world of “FTP” and “Telnet” was introduced, but even in the earliest days, it was obvious that this was going to touch every aspect of our work in the library. The response of one of my colleagues has always stayed with me. At a staff meeting I e…

Making Assessment Matter is a five‑part C&RL News series focused on maximizing the impact of academic library assessment. The first article introduces strategies for launching assessment projects designed for action and impact. The second explores how centering participants and stakeholders increases the likelihood that assessment results will be used. The third article identifies common pathways…

I started my library career as a college science librarian at an undergraduate-only small liberal arts college. The scope of the job was broad, and being part of a small library team meant that it was all hands on deck when it came to most projects. There wasn’t as much time to devote exclusively to any out-of-the-box department-specific programming. I did, however, have the uncommon advantage of…

Revised Standards for Libraries in Higher Education The ACRL Board of Directors has approved a revision of the association’s Standards for Libraries in Higher Education (SLHE). SLHE, adopted in 2004 and previously revised in 2011 and 2018, is designed to guide academic libraries in advancing and sustaining their role as partners in educating students, achieving their institutions’ missions, and p…

Academic Library Workers in Conversation is a C&RL News series focused on elevating the everyday conversations of library professionals. The wisdom of the watercooler has long been heralded, but this series hopes to go further by minimizing barriers to traditional publishing with an accessible format. In past issues, the topics were proposed by the authors. However, during 2026, this feature will…

At the start of a first-year instruction session at George Washington University (GW), Taylor Baugher introduced herself as a research services librarian and asked her class, somewhat on a whim, “What do you think a librarian does?” After a brief pause, a student timidly raised their hand and said, “You get the resources that we use.” At its heart, yes, this is librarianship, or at least one form…

This article grows out of a professional dialogue among three librarians working at different career stages: Ava Wallace, an early career archival intern and LIS student; Russell Michalak, a mid-career library director at a Hispanic-Serving Institution; and Trevor A. Dawes, an established university librarian and national leader. Their exchange reflects a shared commitment to examining both the o…

Florida Atlantic University Libraries has joined the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) as of April 1, 2026, adding a new milestone in Florida Atlantic University’s continued growth as an R1 research institution. The decision was approved by a vote of ASERL member libraries during the consortium’s fall 2025 membership meeting. As an ASERL member, Florida Atlantic University Li…

Elizabeth “Liz” Call, recently named head of Penn State University Libraries’ Eberly Family Special Collections Library, has also been named the Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair for Special Collections. The purpose of the chair is to enhance the university’s commitment to the commonwealth of Pennsylvania by providing a distinguished faculty member in the University Libraries the opportunity to continue a…

Monitoring institutional research contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is becoming increasingly crucial for evidence-based decision-making in academic and research libraries. In the era of big data, libraries not only store publications but also support research analysis and visualization to develop institutional strategies. Researchers at the National Agency for Research and…

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for research and writing has left librarians with a new challenge: how to teach ethical use of AI in a time of little to no regulation, pending court cases regarding copyright, and concerns over the level of environmental impact and potential stunting of critical-thinking skills. Students’ views of and experiences with AI are mixed,1 thoug…

In recent years, generative artificial intelligence (AI) content has been integrated into everyday life. Generative AI tools produce meal plans and shape travel itineraries, often without clear source acknowledgment or attribution. Rapid expansion of generative AI warrants renewed attention and focus on the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education’s Information Has Value frame.…

This article explores the topics and issues that trended in academic libraries over the past two years. It draws on research and initiatives from librarians across the profession, highlighting the challenges libraries face. To focus on the most pressing current trends, topics that have been covered in previous Top Trends or Environmental Scans are specifically excluded unless new and significant …