Association of Research Libraries

Documents for a Digital Democracy: A Model for the Federal Depository Library Program in the 21st Century, Dec. 2009 [PDF]
by Roger C. Schonfeld and Ross Housewright, Ithaka S+R
Examines the essential role of the FDLP in distributing, providing access to, and preserving government documents. Provides a framework to ensure that public access continues as the environment for information dissemination and usage rapidly changes.

Safeguarding Collections at the Dawn of the 21st Century: Describing Roles & Measuring Contemporary Preservation Activities in ARL Libraries, May 2009 [PDF]
by Lars Meyer
Provides a current picture of preservation activities in ARL member libraries and makes recommendations about how libraries should characterize and measure those activities.

Special Collections in ARL Libraries: A Discussion Report from the ARL Working Group on Special Collections, March 2009 [PDF]
Identifies key issues in the management and exposure of special collections material in the 21st century.

Transformational Times: An Environmental Scan Prepared for the ARL Strategic Plan Review Task Force, Feb. 2009 [PDF]
by Charles B. Lowry, Prudence Adler, Karla Hahn, and Crit Stuart
Identifies trends that are likely to affect research libraries and the work of ARL over the next several years and considers related challenges as well as opportunities.

The Research Library’s Role in Digital Repository Services, Feb. 2009 [PDF]
Final Report of the ARL Digital Repository Issues Task Force
Identifies key issues surrounding repository development, explores common strategies that libraries are using, analyzes relevant environmental trends, discusses issues where ARL and its member libraries should focus attention, and recommends actions for research libraries to take.

A Guide for the Perplexed: Libraries and the Google Library Project Settlement, Nov. 2008 [PDF]
by Jonathan Band
Outlines and simplifies the provisions of the recent settlement agreement between Google, the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers concerning Google’s scanning of copyrighted works, with special emphasis on the provisions that apply directly to libraries

Current Models of Digital Scholarly Communication, Nov. 2008
by Nancy L. Maron and K. Kirby Smith
Surveys and analyzes a wide range of new kinds of works currently used by scholars and researchers, discusses trends and patterns

ARL’s Strategic Plan, 2005–2009: Background & Assessment of Progress, Oct. 2008 [PDF]
This report was prepared as background for comment and membership-wide discussion at the October 2008 ARL Business Meeting.

Research Library Publishing Services: New Options for University Publishing, Mar. 2008 [PDF]
by Karla L. Hahn
Study of publishing services offered by ARL member libraries that provides valuable context for librarians and campus leaders considering the opportunities offered by this rapidly emerging research library role

The E-only Tipping Point for Journals: What's Ahead in the Print-to-Electronic Transition Zone, Dec. 2007 [PDF]
by Richard K. Johnson and Judy Luther
Examines the issues associated with the migration from dual-format publishing toward electronic-only publication of journals

Agenda for Developing E-Science in Research Libraries: ARL Joint Task Force on Library Support for E-Science Final Report & Recommendations, Nov. 2007 [PDF]
Concludes that "ARL's engagement in the issues of e-science is best focused on educational and policy roles, while partnering with other relevant organizations to contribute in strategic areas of technology development and new genres of publication."

In Google's Broad Wake: Taking Responsibility for Shaping the Global Digital Library, in ARL: A Bimonthly Report (Feb. 2007) [PDF]
by Richard K. Johnson
Urges libraries to reject the notion that recent mass digitization contracts have established the norms for future agreements.

To Stand the Test of Time: Long-term Stewardship of Digital Data Sets in Science and Engineering, Sept. 2006 [36 MB PDF]
A Report to the National Science Foundation from the ARL Workshop on "New Collaborative Relationships: The Role of Academic Libraries in the Digital Data Universe."

Changing Global Book Collection Patterns in ARL Libraries, March 2007 [PDF]
by Mary E. Jackson, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Edward T. O'Neill, and Eudora Loh
This report analyzes ARL member library cataloging data in the OCLC WorldCat database and presents evidence of changing patterns of collecting books with foreign imprints.