Less is More...Likely: Lessons from Departmental Libraries in the Decreasing World of Library Space

Abstract

The shrinking library is not news. Academic libraries have been responding to space constraints for many years, especially in the context of increasing student spaces or alleviating space constraints elsewhere at the university of college. Shrinking footprints have not only reduced library's capacity to manage a print collection, it has potentially changed it role on campus. While the print age heralded the library as a repository of knowledge, we have seen it transform into academic student centers. And while many libraries may chart their own course in bringing on new services and creating new student spaces, many departmental libraries have been forced to space reductions based on other needs at their respective schools. The more ambitious the school, the more programs formed and space needed to house them. While many will assume this is the plight of the departmental library, responding to space contractions will impact all academic libraries in time. Exploring the contractions made at these business, medical and science libraries, we can see a glimpse of what the future might hold for many academic libraries. This presentation will explore space contractions in departmental libraries and how they responded on both the collection and service aspects of library work. In addition, we will explore how this trend might expand to colleges and universities' main libraries.