Profiles of Academic Libraries

255 Pages·2016·5.45 MB·English

by  Mohammed M. Aman

University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
UWM Digital Commons
School of Information Studies Faculty Books Information Studies (School of)
2010
Profiles of Academic Libraries
Mohammed M. Aman
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at:https://dc.uwm.edu/sois_facbooks
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Aman, Mohammed M., "Profiles of Academic Libraries" (2010).School of Information Studies Faculty Books. 2.
https://dc.uwm.edu/sois_facbooks/2
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MohaMMed M. aMan, Phd
about the author P
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s Profiles of AcAdemic librAries

dr. Mohammed aman is Professor of Information Studies at the University of o
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Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). he has worked in academic libraries at duquesne c
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University, allegheny Community College and the University of Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh, d
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Pennsylvania and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, new York and has taught academic library
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courses at St. John’s University, n.Y., Long Island Univers¬ity and for the past thirty years l
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at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. he is a frequent invited speaker, lecturer and ra
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international consultant. Professor aman is the editor-in-Chief of the digest of Middle ie
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east Studies and author of more ten books and hundred articles and research papers

dealing with various aspects of library and information planning and management and

distance learning. dr. aman joined UWM in 1979 as dean of the School of Information

Studies (SoIS) a position he held until 2002. he was also the Interim dean of the School

of education. Prior to joining UWM, Prof. aman was the dean of the Palmer Graduate

Library School at C.W. Post Center of Long Island University from 1976 to 1979 and

director of the division of Information Science at St. John’s University from 1973 to

1976 and member of its faculty since 1969. dr, aman consulted on numerous library

and information management projects in alexandria, egypt; Kuwait; Bahrain; Tunisia;

africa, Mexico, and others. he is a member of the Planning Committee of the arab

Union Catalog, Riyadh, Saudi arabia, hon. VP of the Policy Studies organization (PSo),

Washington, dC. he is the recipient of many national and international awards including

the oCLC/humphry award for Contributions to International Librarianship; the P. n.

Kaula Gold Medal award from the Indian Library association; The Wisconsin Librarian

of the Year award; the association for Library and Information Science education Service

award. his biography appears in a number of international biographical dictionaries

including Who’s Who in america; Who’s Who in the World, among others.
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Recently published by Prof. aman is The academic Library Management: Issues and m
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Practices, available from [email protected] e
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ISBN 978-1-4507-2887-4
90000 >

9 781450 728874
Mohammed M. Aman, PhD.
Editor

Global Information Company, Inc.
Mequon, Wisconsin

Published by
Global Information Co. (GIC)
Copyright © 2010 Mohammed M. Aman
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any Form or any manner,
electronic or mechanical, including Photocopying, recording or by any information

storage and Retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.
To m y wife and our parents
Blank
TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ VII
CARDINAL STRITCH UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ..................................... 1
CARROLL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY....................................................... 13
EGYPTIAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES CONSORTIUM ....................... 35
THE HASHEMITE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ......................................... 57
UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL LIBRARY SOUTH AFRICA .. 73
MILWAUKEE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING ....................................... 97
NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ............................ 127
SAINT OLAF COLLEGE LIBRARY ...................................................... 143
SAUDI ARABIAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES ..................................... 177
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE LIBRARIES* ............. 199
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-PARKSIDE LIBRARY ...................... 215
About the Authors ................................................................................... ..231
Index……………………………………………………………….……..235
INTRODUCTION

This book was inspired by my involvement with my students in the
academic libraries course, which I have taught for more than three decades, as
well as the many students I supervised as interns in academic libraries. As part
of the requirement for the course, each of my students is required to develop a
profile of an academic library in which s/he works, or is most familiar with as a
user. Their description and analysis of the historical background of the
institution, its library operations and services is based on class materials and
guided by an outline that follows the sequence of the class lectures and
discussions. As part of this assignment and the required field research work,
theses students are required to gather information that answers a number of
questions about their chosen institution‘s history, mission, goals and objectives,
strategic planning, organization, human resources, diversity, budget and fiscal
planning, collection development, special collections, access and reference
services, marketing and outreach, and finally, physical facilities and buildings.
In addition to the few select profiles written by these former students, now
practicing librarians, and in some instances, in collaboration with the library
leadership, I received profiles of university libraries written by deans and
directors of these libraries specifically for inclusion in this monograph.
Collectively, the profiles included in this book are designed to give a bird‘s
eye view of the various aspects of academic librarianship, not only in the United
States, but in other countries as well, such as Egypt, Jordan, South Africa, and
Saudi Arabia. These profiles enable the reader to compare the various aspects of
academic librarianship on a national as well as international level. These
comparisons may also lead to identifying best practices used by college and
university libraries in such areas as management, marketing, information
fluency and the like. Reading the chapters, the reader can draw examples of best
practices in academic library management.
Another unique feature of this book is the inclusion of profiles of academic
libraries outside the United States. The intent is to highlight areas of shared
experiences as well as differences between them as we embark on a more
aggressive plan of global cooperation among centers of higher education. The
numbers of foreign universities could have been larger, but due to space
limitations, only a small sample was used. It is my hope that this monograph
will encourage other academic librarians and library science educators to view
their libraries and instruction from a global perspective. We are now witnessing
INTRODUCTION viii

an expansion of international college education unparalleled in the history of
higher education. Major universities are now branching out in other countries.
The Chinese University in Hong Kong (CUHK), for example, has recently
established a graduate business program in Kuwait; American universities such
as Carnegie-Mellon University; Johns Hopkins Medical School; the University
of the Commonwealth of Virginia; and others have established branches in other
countries in Asia and the Middle East. These are not to be confused with the
well-established and locally rooted American University in Cairo (AUC) and the
American University in Beirut (AUB).
To place the academic library in the context of higher education and the
broader community, the authors were asked to examine, not just the history,
vision, mission, goals and strategic planning of the parent institution, but also
those of the library and how they relate to the parent institution and the role of
the library in fulfilling the institution‘s instructional, research, and outreach
missions to the local and broader/global community. The academic library
mission should tie in with the mission of the university in that all of the major
focuses are in line with those of the university‘s mission. Both missions usually
focus on faculty, staff, students, and those in the surrounding community. They
incorporate, not only those affiliated with the university, but also with their
community and that part of the world in which they operate. They both try to
accomplish their mission by providing an environment in which individuals can
learn. With the emergence of new private colleges and universities in many
countries overseas, there is a strong belief in, and recognition of the value of
quality assurance, assessment, and even international accreditation of
institutions and programs of higher education. This is one of the reasons why the
above-mentioned examples of American or American-affiliated campuses
overseas require their academic library staff to have an ALA accredited master‘s
degree in library and information studies. Many of the public and private
universities overseas are now, more than ever, pursuing accreditation of their
academic programs and specific disciplines from American accrediting agencies
such as AACSB and IACBE (for business education); ABET (for engineering
programs); NCATE (for education programs); LCME (for medical schools); and
ADA (for dental schools)―the list goes on. Regional accrediting agencies such
as the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools; the North Central
Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools; and others are responsible for
accrediting schools and colleges within their respective regions, as well as
schools for American children overseas. Some of the regional accreditation
agencies have also taken an interest in extending their accreditation to cover
public and private colleges and universities overseas. An example is the ITESM
(Instituto Technológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey) system in
Mexico, which is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools (SACS). SACS accreditation has also been sought and received by other
foreign universities, such as the American University in Dubai, in the United
Arab Emirates.