ARL Profiles: Qualitative Descriptions of Research Libraries in the Early 21st Century.

The article provides an overview of how the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) library initiated a process to develop a narrative profile that describes their organization. It discusses how the profiles are being reinforced to describe the key elements of the 21st-century research library in addition to providing insights into possible new measures. It describes some of the themes that emerged which merit further discussion to define new measures or methods.