Collection Directions: The Evolution of Library Collections and Collecting

In this article, the authors look at the changing dynamics of print collections, at the greater engagement with research and learning behaviors, and at trends in scholarly communication. The goal is to provide context within which libraries can discuss changing patterns of investment across collection categories. The authors argue that the network is reconfiguring not only individual academic libraries but also the whole library system, as reduced transaction costs facilitate the unbundling of functions and their consolidation in network platforms and with other external service providers.

This article was originally published in the July 2014 issue of portal: Libraries and the Academy, an international refereed quarterly journal published by the Johns Hopkins University Press that includes articles that focus on all aspects of librarianship, knowledge management, and information services and studies within higher education. This special issue, subtitled Imagining the Future of Academic Libraries, was guest edited by Damon E. Jaggars, Columbia University. It explores the possibilities of what academic libraries might become or cease to be in a speculative future. Experts from different sectors of the academic library ecosystem share their visions of the future, with the intention of providing insights that might fuel the creation of vital futures for academic libraries and librarians.

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