the libraries in the fourth quintile mentioned such collections, while only 31% of the libraries in the first and fifth quintiles noted such collections. Participation in a government depository program was mentioned in 29% of the profiles. Activities that were less frequently mentioned included shared storage (21%), working with museums (18%), and working with businesses (2%). Recommendation ARL should consider tracking collaborative efforts that are valued by ARL libraries, such as collaboration with non-library entities and shared storage facilities. Collaboration and Support—Internal Collaboration with other units within the parent university, usually departments or schools, were mentioned in 92% of the profiles. This collaboration was most often described as support for faculty success and student learning and took the form of faculty outreach and information literacy instruction. Information literacy was mentioned more often by public university libraries (77%) than private university libraries (55%). Conversely, providing support for curriculum development was mentioned more often by private university libraries (64%) than public university libraries (45%). Promoting open access was more common in the top two quintiles of libraries in the ARL Investment Index (25%) than in the lower three quintiles (13%). Other activities mentioned by at least a quarter of the libraries include technology support (51%), course management support (29%), and grant proposal support (25%). Less frequently mentioned are promoting open access (18%), leadership in copyright policy (10%), hosting electronic journals (9%), and marketing faculty research (4%). Recommendation A promising area for ARL assessment is the extent that member libraries are promoting open access. Library Services When mentioning specific library services in the profiles, the most common theme was providing innovative access to the library, notably in seeking expanded roles for the library. These included proactive orientation (89%), faculty outreach (61%), and a greater virtual presence (50%). RLI 271 29 ARL Profiles: Qualitative Descriptions of Research Libraries in the Early 21st Century ( C O N T I N U E D ) AUGUST 2010 RESEARCH LIBRARY ISSUES: A BIMONTHLY REPORT FROM ARL, CNI, AND SPARC
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