Connector, Catalyst and Common Good: Defining the Academic Library of the 21st Century

Clearly articulating how an academic library inspires and transforms teaching, learning and research is a critical role for library leadership. Conveying the library’s deep expertise throughout the knowledge lifecycle (discovery, use, creation, and sharing) and demonstrating its ability to provide solutions to information problems are core to what an academic library brings
to campus collaborations. At the University of Minnesota, the Health Sciences Libraries have developed a “Space as a Service” model of collaboration that positions them as a vital component of a larger Health Sciences Education Center within the University’s Academic Health Center. We describe and discuss six fundamental principles that guide our vision of an academic library as a Connector, Catalyst, Common Good and Service-Rich Environment, and offer a template for applying this model to a range of disciplines.