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The central argument of the article is that while the building, the collection and the staff were inseparably linked, in a digital environment these facets of the library are diverging. This divergence clouds the process of envisioning a future for the library, but, if properly defined, it is a source of clarity, which sheds light on strategic opportunities.

As a direct consequence of the digital revolution, academic libraries today face competition as information providers. Using Richard N. Foster's technology S curves as the analytical model, this article shows that academic libraries are in the midst of discontinuous change by questioning a number of assumptions that support the current practice of academic librarianship. The authors challenge these assumptions, and analyze the manner in which digital communications affect academic libraries.

As a direct consequence of the digital revolution, academic libraries today face competition as information providers. Using Richard N. Foster's technology S curves as the analytical model, this article shows that academic libraries are in the midst of discontinuous change by questioning a number of assumptions that support the current practice of academic librarianship. The authors challenge these assumptions, and analyze the manner in which digital communications affect academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that roughly 40% of academic library book holdings go unread over a 5-10 year period after publication, there is a need to reengineer current acquisitions strategies. The large number of books that remain unused represents a financial drain on acquisitions budgets, which make libraries more vulnerable in an age of greater usage data transparency. No one has yet succeeded in devising a strategy that predicts which books will circulate and which will not. We propose a vision whereby libraries will, in the future, provide MARC (or similar) records in their online catalogs of books that they do not yet own. Patrons will encounter these records—that will look like any other records in the online catalog—but instead of finding a call number for these titles, they will find a link to order the book. The title will then be printed on demand or supplied to the library patron within a short time, and added to the permanent collection thereafter. This paper will explore what such a patron-driven collection development model might look like in practice, and touch on various approaches to how such a model might work. Included is discussion about implications of such a model on library holdings, book vendors and distributors, and publishers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]