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Since the 1990s, the assessment of learning outcomes in academic libraries has accelerated rapidly, and librarians have come to recognize the necessity of articulating and assessing student learning outcomes. Initially, librarians developed tools and instruments to assess information literacy student learning outcomes. Now, academic librarians are moving to a larger scale assessment approach: the articulation and demonstration of library impact on institutions of higher education. This article considers six questions relevant to the assessment challenges librarians face in coming years: (1) How committed are librarians to student learning? (2) What do librarians want students to learn? (3) How do librarians document student learning? (4) How committed are librarians to their own learning? (5) What do librarians need to learn? (6) How can librarians document their own learning? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's view on the library as a neutral zone for everyone who can come together and get equal access to work in the U.S. He mentions the potentiality of libraries to improve both collaboration and communication between different academic fields and considers it as a place that offers aid and resources to every person on campus. Furthermore, he adds that librarians formed close relationships with the faculty in various departments and colleges due to their work.

The article presents information on statistical evaluation of university libraries in China. It highlights the situation in China. University libraries enjoy the fastest development and highest level of modernization among libraries in China. However, a gap still exists between what readers expect and what university libraries provide. This is mainly due to the problems arising during the reform of universities and, more seriously, the problems produced in the libraries themselves. In order to modernize the libraries in China, especially to impose advanced management from traditional management, an accurate statistical evaluation of the libraries in China is essential and the key step for library modernization. Unfortunately, such an important step has not been really appreciated and has been greatly neglected. Subjective rather than objective methods have been applied. Qualitative arguments have been used instead of quantitative techniques with evident statistical data for the evaluation. Every library in 211 universities has used the new Integrated Library Automation System, which makes automatic data statistics possible, thus greatly improving the library statistical work. The evaluation work has increased the pressure on library administration at all levels.

Relates the history of academic libraries which mirrors the development of higher education in the United States. Historical aspects of the library in four-year colleges and universities; Ideals, objectives and commitments of academic librarians; Changes in scholarship and learning during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that greatly affect libraries.

The article summarizes the report "Library Value in the Developing World" that can be accessed from http://www.sagepublications.com/libraries/dw. The report discusses the value of librarians in developing countries for research and teaching staff. It provides recommendations for enhancing working relations between academic libraries and stakeholders, including support from universities and collaborations with publishers.