Faculty expectations for electronic resources and the perceived dependence of faculty on the library for providing their information needs have evolved rapidly in recent years. Indeed, while there is a long tradition of disciplinary variation in the use of library services, in recent years some key disciplines have transformed their own resource environment and perceive themselves as decreasing their dependence on the library. To be sure, library services have evolved as well, but not always as rapidly as have faculty demands in fast-moving disciplines. Understanding how disciplines differ from each other in their research processes and the strategic implications of these differences is key to the effective provision of library services.

In this workshop participants will focus on the similarities and differences across faculty members’ attitudes, practices, and expectations and the information-resources environment available in three disciplines: economics, history, and the biological sciences. Working expansively from these three disciplines to other fields of interest to participants, we will consider together how the library’s service offerings and value proposition (and those of other information-services units) can best be strengthened.