News Release
October 18, 2017
The future of the printed book is the subject of a newly released white paper by ASU Library.
As part of a $50,000 planning grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the analysis is aimed at fostering engagement with print resources among library users, particularly with open stack print collections and users within the local community.
"We advocate moving toward a more flexible, more user-focused service that makes library collections easier to understand and to use," write the authors.
The Future of the Academic Library Print Collection: A Space for Engagement explores a three-tiered system of potential approaches and actions for academic libraries to foster engagement with their collections, and includes materials and tools to help guide individual libraries towards a data-driven approach to print curation that may be tailored to their local context.
"Our print collections have a long and glorious future ahead," write the authors. "We must work to create and curate open collections that make it easier for rising student generations, to become skilled and resourceful users of print."