Vol. 5 No. 2 (2024): Thematic issue: Research on and in academic libraries

This special issue highlights research taking place on and about academic libraries. The role of libraries in research and higher education is evolving, adapting to the rapidly changing needs of the communities they serve. Library services are being innovated to reach out with relevant knowledge and resources at the right time. All three research papers in this issue are case studies focusing on the academic library’s contribution to the integration of students in academic life, preparation of students for scholarly discourse and digital literacy training. They all show how libraries are taking responsibility for first generation students by creating communities for their development of the tacit knowledge of the academic world or embedding literacy training in university courses.

In addition to research papers, this issue of NJLIS includes contributions in the format practice papers. In our experience, the innovation and development happening in the practice field does not always fit the format of a research paper. Nonetheless we find that in the context of academic libraries, describing the progress of practice through cases and narratives is both interesting and relevant to the community of library and information specialists. Including practice papers has allowed for the presentation, on their own terms, of development projects in research libraries that do not have the form or format of research.