Redefining the role and function of academic libraries in the digital age: The example of the Readers' Services Department at Göttingen State and University Library

Abstract

In the wake of the digital transformation and an increasing shortage of resources, overall conditions for academic libraries have changed significantly, leading to the fact that academic libraries have long lost their monopoly status as a central information services provider for teaching and research on the campus and beyond. A key challenge is to establish the e-infrastructures vital for various e-science purposes, which, primarily due to limited resources, can be achieved only in collaboration with other partners (both locally and globally) and by embracing recognized standards. In this process, the role and function of each individual academic library and its organizational units are defined by its own specific overall conditions, which the lecture attempts to describe using the Readers’ Services Department at Göttingen State and University Library as a concrete example. The Department consistently keys the development of its services to a strategy addressing the digital transformation, creating and marketing a range of e-learning content and e-learning formats as well as innovative learning environments in close collaboration with its partners. In these areas, the Department redefines its role and function as part of an e-infrastructure on the Göttingen Campus and beyond.