Closing The Loop: An Examination of University System of Georgia Provosts’ and Academic Library Deans’ or Directors’ Preferences for Communication and Attitudes Concerning the Contribution of the Academic Library to the University’s Mission
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Authors
Holt, Michael
Issue Date
2019-05-29
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Dissertations, Academic--United States , Academic libraries , Academic libraries--Administration , Academic libraries--Evaluation
Alternative Title
Abstract
In the current environment for higher education, it has become critical for all of the departments and colleges within a university to become more aware of their place in the overall mission of the university. This is especially true of the academic library, which had relied upon a reputation as the “heart” of an academic institution for many years. The new reality of shrinking budgets and an increased focus on student success and retention at colleges and universities has meant that this reputation has been challenged in recent years. If libraries are to remain at the “heart” of their campuses, they must re-envision how they approach funding requests and understand their role in campus-wide initiatives for retention and success.
One way that academic libraries can begin this process is through working to improving communication between the deans or directors who manage the library and the university provost who often serves as the supervisor of the deans or directors. This study examines that relationship to determine what differences there are between deans or directors and provosts in their communication preferences for funding requests and their perception of the library’s role in campus-wide initiatives to increase retention and student success. The study focused on these areas because two of the main challenges facing higher education in the literature were decreasing funding and the need to improve retention and student success metrics. The quantitative and qualitative data sets collected for this project are used to highlight areas of agreement and difference among deans, directors, and provosts and to recommend steps for future action, including the application of New Public Management theory for better understanding the current higher education landscape. The study also developed recommendations for future studies of library and university administration. Through understanding these differences, academic library and university administrators can better understand how to improve their working relationships in a manner that can hopefully result in better outcomes for the library and the university.
Description
Citation
Holt, Michael Otis. "Closing The Loop: An Examination of University System of Georgia Provosts’ and Academic Library Deans’ or Directors’ Preferences for Communication and Attitudes Concerning the Contribution of the Academic Library to the University’s Mission." D.P.A. diss., Valdosta State University, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/10428/3542.
Publisher
License
This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgment. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.