Excellence in the stacks: Strategies, practices and reflections of award-winning libraries

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) in the US has offered the Excellence in Academic Libraries Award since 1999. The purpose of the award is to recognise the accomplishments of librarians and other library staff in supporting the missions of their institutions. This volume brings nine of the award-winning tertiary libraries into one volume. Winning libraries have contributed a chapter written by the staff in those libraries. Chapters provide case studies of their institutions, describe why they won the award and the evolution of services since the winning of the award. It is evident that all of these libraries have a clear understanding of their institutions’ core business and have woven themselves into their organisations’ structure and functions. Constant evaluation is a common theme. All libraries discussed student-centred services, with an emphasis on relationship building, partnerships and collaboration. The chapter on Mount Holyoake College’s POD programme providing leadership is one of the more innovative examples discussed. Adaptability and flexibility in all of these libraries is also discussed. Some libraries have been subjected to massive change since winning the award, and these qualities have proven essential. It is interesting to read what has happened to libraries since winning the award. It is clear that even winning services are not static; they are as subject to change as everything else. There is also honesty in the case studies. For example, Augustana College describes how a leading-edge service became bleeding-edge and how the library, student services and the dining hall were combined. The editors provide a summary at the end of the case studies, with conclusions discussing common themes and trying to answer questions such as what sets some libraries apart from others and what excellence actually means. Other points include how tomeasure performance quality and what factors are common in award-winning libraries. The volume contains an index and a few illustrations of examples described in the text, but not many. While there are some inspiring stories and services in this book, I also found it a little dull to read, and there were certainly no ‘aha’ moments for me. Peruse it and use the advice, but do not expect to be blown away with dozens of new ideas.