The University of Minnesota Libraries leadership in key areas of service and technology were cited in the New Media Consortium’s recently released 2014 Horizon Report Library Edition. 

The annual report examines key trends, significant challenges, and emerging technologies for their potential impact on academic and research libraries worldwide. 

Contributions highlighted in the report include the University of Minnesota Libraries’:

• Significant contributions in rethinking the roles and skills of librarians as represented in the “New Roles for New Times” report series from the ARL (p.20) 
• Work to create Digital Course Packs, “a pilot project intended to streamline course content for faculty and students and make learning materials more affordable” (p.23). (“Libraries a major player in campus eLearning initiatives“)
• SMART Learning Commons and its “dedicated staff to assist students with learning new technologies” (p.27)
• Work to develop and expand research data management services (p.23) (“Preserving data for future research“)

The report also identifies the University of Minnesota Libraries to be among “early adopters of mobile apps in academic and research libraries” (p.36).

About the 2014 Horizon Report Library Edition

The NMC Horizon Report: 2014 Library Edition was produced by the NMC in collaboration with University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Chur, Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB) Hannover, and ETH-Bibliothek Zurich. To create the report, an international body of experts from library management, education, technology, and other fields was convened as a panel.

• Download the full report (PDF)

About the University of Minnesota Libraries

The University of Minnesota Libraries is a strategic resource of the Twin Cities campus and also provides integral information system support for the University’s four coordinate campuses in Crookston, Duluth, Morris, and Rochester. Composed of 13 library facilities with collections of more than 7.4 million volumes, the Libraries has a history of strength in research collections and a longstanding record of contribution to resource sharing within the state and beyond. And the Libraries is a leader in leveraging technology to support eLearning and other digital campus initiatives, in partnership with units across campus.