Highly-respected authors G. Edward Evans, a long-time academic library director, and Fulbright Scholar, and ALA President-Elect and past ACRL president, Camila Alire, who also served as dean of two ARL libraries, draw from their combined professional, educational, and authorship experience of over seventy-five years to provide a comprehensive examination of academic librarianship. This authoritative new source, ideal for practitioners looking to advance their careers and for use as text in LIS programs, explores the unique nature of academic librarianship and guides readers to understand what is required to have a successful career in academic librarianship. Evans and Alire explain the important ways in which the higher education environment distinguishes academic libraries from other types of libraries, and readers will gain practical insight into their distinct political and operational characteristics. They fully explore the core issues in contemporary academic librarianship, readers will be prepared to tackle all aspects of their jobs and ascend the organizational ladder. Each chapter is dedicated to a key issue in the field, with topics including: Teaching faculty roles, campus governance, curriculum, the student body, collection development, providing quality service, funding, facilities, staff, technology, and IT support. A chapter on career development will benefit both aspiring and practicing academic librarians looking to enter or advance in the field, and a concluding section explores the future of academic librarianship through valuable input from more than fifteen experienced academic library deans and directors. This authoritative new source explores the unique nature of academic librarianship and its environment and helps librarians understand the requirements of having a successful career in the academic arena. The authors fully explore today’s central issues and attempt to prepare readers to tackle all aspects of their jobs and ascend the organizational ladder. Four main parts—“Background and Historic Context,” “Higher Education Today,” “Campus and Library Commonalities,” and “The Academic Library Today”—contain chapters dedicated to key topics such as faculty responsibilities, campus governance, curriculum, the student body, collections, customer service, higher-education finances, facilities, staffing, information technology, and career development. Charts and boxes provide additional information. A valuable guide for practitioners looking to advance their careers and for use as a text in LIS programs. --Susan Awe "Refreshingly, Alire...and Evans...do an excellent job of balancing an overview of the academic library's place within the university and higher education as a whole, while also examining the details of the library's inner workings...this is an excellent text...for preparing librarians to take their places in academia, particularly as academic library directors...Essential reading for academic librarians." --Library Journal, October 2010 "provide[s] a great deal of fundamental information that has all-too-often fallen outside the scope of similar textbooks...chapters are consistently informative and constantly enriched by the knowledge conveyed in the preceding sections of the book...there is very little that isn't highly relevant and succinctly expressed...Academic Libraries is a superior textbook." --Library Management, Vol. 32, no. 1/2, 2011 "Academic Librarianship is a comprehensive, authoritative book by two authors with extensive experience in academic libraries. In it they look beyond management in libraries, since many texts and courses cover this aspect, and focus instead on the academic library environment as a whole...Easy to dip into and out of but with plenty of information packed into the pages, this book is a must-read for anyone working in, or considering working in, an academic library." --The Australian Library Journal, May 2011 "Alire and Evans' Academic Librarianship is a wonderful resource for LIS students and newly graduated professionals interested in pursuing a career in academic libraries. The authors provide an insightful exploration of the unique nature of academic librarianship and the academic environment." --Journal of Academic Librarianship, March 2011 " Academic Librarianship is an authoritative look into the roles of academic librarians, offering readers a comprehensive overview of the field...a very informative book that would be beneficial for librarians who are moving into the academic library field, or considering such a move; it would also be excellent as the primary text for a course in academic librarianship." --Journal of Access Services, 2011 "...throughout the book, the authors have scattered sidesbars with pertinent anecdotes from their own experiences, and those stories will probably be as memorable as the fine discussions of the issues...the authors are careful to locate all library tasks and challenges within the context of