The current focus in higher education on student engagement, holistic education, social responsibility, and community partnerships demands a significant mindshift for academic libraries to reclaim their place at the heart of academic institutions that are reinventing themselves as social enterprises. The professional response to social trends in the academy and society includes moves such as converged services, embedded librarians, relationship management, inside-out libraries, and design thinking. But such work is often confined to small parts of the library and has not created the large-scale change in strategy and culture required to turn libraries into dynamic social organizations in the connected digital world. Incremental enhancement of services, spaces and structures is not enough. The present context calls for radical rethinking of library mission and service philosophy to realign resources, processes, and practices to institutional needs. New ways of working must be guided by new ways of thinking that empower librarians to view practices holistically through a social lens. Intellectual and social capital theories offer new perspectives on library work and a proven conceptual framework for the reset needed to keep academic libraries relevant in the 21st century.
The Social Future of Academic Libraries starts with the developments in thinking and practice that constitute the "social turn" in communities, professions, the economy, the academy, and libraries, while also introducing the core concepts of intellectual and social capital and networks. Part II presents nine case studies illustrating how social capital perspectives and social network theory can facilitate organizational learning, service development, and collaborative relationships across different areas of library practice. Examples cover collection development, data services, information literacy, liaison librarians, library fundraising, service design, space utilization, subject specialists, and student success. The volume is accompanied by a keyword guide to the concepts, theories, and models referenced in the text via two downloadable glossaries with related bibliographies to inform current reading and future work.
Tim Schlak is the former Dean of the University Library at Robert Morris University, where he now works as Associate Provost for Academic Alliances. He holds a PhD and Master’s in Library and Information Science as well as an MA in Russian Literature. His research interests range from social capital and leadership development to organizational theory.
Sheila Corrall worked in public libraries and the British Library before moving into higher education where she directed library, information and technology services at three United Kingdom universities. In 2004 she became Professor of Librarianship and Information Management at the University of Sheffield and served as Head of the iSchool before moving in 2012 to the University of Pittsburgh as Chair of the Library and Information Science program. She retired in 2019, but continues to work on strategic issues for libraries, including data literacy, intellectual capital, open movements, professional development, and reflective practice.
Paul Bracke is the Dean of the Foley Library and Associate Provost for Research and Interdisciplinary Initiatives at Gonzaga University. Prior to joining Gonzaga, he served in leadership roles at Purdue University and the University of Arizona. He holds a Master of Science in Library and Information Science degree from the University of Illinois and a PhD in Higher Education from the University of Arizona. His research interests are in organizational development for academic libraries and community-based infrastructure to support digital scholarship.
Tim Schlak is Dean of the University Library at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, PA. As Library Dean, he advocates on the Library’s behalf and positions it as an integral partner in the learning and scholarly processes of the University. Prior to joining Robert Morris, he was Library Director at Northwestern College in Orange City, IA, where he spearheaded the DeWitt Learning Commons project. Tim earned a PhD and MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh’s School for Information Sciences as well as an MA from the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Slavic Literatures and Languages. He has authored a number of publications about the changing social context of libraries with particular emphasis on social capital and engagement.
Sheila Corrall
is Professor of Library and Information Science in the Department of Information Culture and Data Stewardship at the University of Pittsburgh, PA, where she is lead faculty for academic information services. Prior to joining Pitt in 2012, she was Head of the iSchool at the University of Sheffield, following a distinguished career in the field as a library practitioner, serving as director of library, information, and academic services at three universities in the UK. She read Classics at the University of Cambridge, and studied Librarianship at the Polytechnic of North London, then gained her M.B.A. from Roffey Park Management College and M.Sc. in Information Systems at the University of Southampton. Sheila’s research interests include evolving roles in academic libraries, reflective practice in information work, and the application of business management concepts and models to information services.
Paul Bracke
is Dean of Library Services at Gonzaga University. In this role, he provides leadership and oversight for Library Services, the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs, and the Academic Technology Applications Support unit. Previously, he was Associate Dean for Research and Assessment and Associate Professor of Library Science at the Purdue University Libraries where he developed internationally recognized research support services, including the development of research data support services and institutional and data repositories. He holds a PhD in Higher Education from the University of Arizona, an MS in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a BA in History and Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has published and presented on the social relations of librarians and emerging roles for librarians, particularly in relation to research.
