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The role of library councils in Canadian higher education: an exploratory study

Faculty Advisor

Date

2019

Keywords

governance, libraries, post secondary education

Abstract (summary)

Scholarship exploring the makeup, function, and efficacy of collegial governance structures within the context of Canadian higher education is limited and primarily focused on the board or the senate. This paper expands that scholarship by focusing on the governance structures of the university library. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of library councils in Canadian universities and to examine their composition, role, and function as evidenced in their governing documents. Using Karl Mannheim’s document method to analyze the terms of reference of 23 library councils, findings reveal that, overwhelmingly, library councils function as information-sharing and discussion forums rather than decision-making bodies. The paper concludes with a review of progressive language and governance practice as gathered from the document analysis.

Publication Information

Revitt, E., & Luyk, S. (2019). The role of library councils in Canadian higher education: an exploratory study. Canadian Journal of Higher Education/Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur, 49(1), 140-158. Retrieved from http://journals.sfu.ca/cjhe/index.php/cjhe/article/view/188211

DOI

Notes

Item Type

Article

Language

English

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)