Libraries

Librarians have lived through the disruptions of fax machines, websites and Wikipedia, and now they are bracing to do it again as artificial intelligence tools go mainstream: “Maybe it’s our time to shine.”

In college libraries today, print resources have been demoted, staffing shortages feel urgent and pandemic-era students struggle to engage with librarians.

A lawsuit against the Internet Archive threatens the most significant specialized library to emerge in decades, say a group of current and former university librarians.

A merged institution born out of financial strain seeks to balance cost with quality, while also reaching more rural residents. But its botched announcement led to an outcry, an apology and a no-confidence vote.

After scrambling fall courses by withdrawing more than 1,380 ebooks, Wiley now says it will restore access to the course materials. Its short-term solution leaves many librarians unsatisfied.

A plan to restructure Texas A&M’s 10 libraries would force librarians to relinquish tenure or move to another academic department to keep it. The university has yet to explain its rationale for the changes.

The student basic needs movement is growing, writes Christine Wolff-Eisenberg, and librarians should be included in it.

Under a new initiative from MIT Press, early purchasing commitments from a subset of libraries will make the spring 2022 slate of monographs and edited collections open access.