Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Business Models For Post-Crisis Information Ecosystems, Antje Mays

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

Since early 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted activity across business, education, research, and communities. Public health safety precautions have forced drastic reductions in economic and educational activity, resulting in widespread economic uncertainty and sizeable budget cuts. With library budgets already declining since the 2001-2002 recession following the dotcom crash and more steeply since the 2007-2009 Great Recession spawned by the financial crash, the pandemic has accelerated trends that were already underway. Libraries’ reduced purchasing power places the information ecosystem at risk of contraction in the race to contain costs. While economic contexts and publishing forms have changed considerably. …

Mayflower: Ode To New Beginnings — A New Column For New Times With A Positive Mission, Antje Mays

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

Numerous studies and articles downplay the value of libraries, citing instances of library defunding, layoffs, and outright closures, along with studies on the waning usefulness of libraries based on flawed quantifiables. Such pronouncements spread fear of obsolescence and irrelevance, contributing to dissatisfaction in the library profession. Yet polls in the United States and Great Britain reveal the library profession's enduring value among the most trusted professions.

To kick off the column "Mayflower: Ode to New Beginnings", this article frames library pressures in a context of broader trends affecting economic and educational conditions, examines professional stewardship and the library profession’s enduring …