This book describes many of the new roles and responsibilities now being carried out in academic librarianship. The introduction provides a brief historical overview of librarianship in the USA, with a quick synopsis of current research surrounding job descriptions for librarians in the past 25 years. There are 19 chapters subdivided into four parts: The New Face of Public Services; Digital Publishing, Copyright and Data; Specialties – from Libraries to Collections; and Web, e-Resources and Technology. Part 1 contains six essays, covering discussions on the new role of the circulation supervisor, the use of social media to market libraries and reach out to patrons, what the first years of a first-year librarian are like, information literacy instruction in the twenty-first century, reaching out to the university community through library outreach and making the library a place where users live. Part 2 has four essays that examine the role of the digital projects librarian in the academic library, leading change and reshaping views through scholarly communication, the role of understanding copyright in academic libraries and research data services. Part 3 looks at new roles and jobs such as bibliographic mariner/librarian at sea, the demographic and geographic information system librarian, special collections curator, hospitality librarian and grants librarian. Part 4 contains four essays related to technology and librarianship, focusing on collaboration and teaching in a library’s digital collections training lab, the evolving role of the web librarian, leveraging non-library work experience in becoming an electronic resources librarian and the evolving metadata librarian job.
The authors of the chapters provide real-life experience and advice to library science students and new librarians about the opportunities and new roles now available within academic librarianship. There are a number of essays on the role of the digital and the use of technology, but there are also unique experiences like librarian at sea and grants librarian, which cannot be taught in library school but may be of interest to librarians both new and old. The importance of understanding copyright in the digital and scholarly environment is no longer an option; it is a necessity for every library to have at least one person who is knowledgeable or familiar with copyright and intellectual property law. In fact, for scholarly communication efforts to be successful, all librarians and library staff must have a general knowledge of the economic and intellectual issues surrounding scholarly communication if they are to be successful in positioning their library appropriately in the creation, marketing and preservation of digital objects, content, projects and data within their university community. Public services is no longer about sitting at a desk waiting for students or patrons to ask questions; it is about getting out of the library, engaging students and faculty in their places of comfort and effectively marketing the library and its services by reaching outwards rather than sitting in an office or at a desk. This is an excellent resource and guidebook for the library science student, library science faculty and librarians with varying levels of experience.
