Subject vs. functional: Should subject librarians be replaced by functional specialists in academic libraries?

• Published in: Journal of librarianship and information science Vol. 50; no. 4; pp. 345 - 360
• Main Authors: Hoodless, Catherine, Pinfield, Stephen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.12.2018; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Academic libraries; Librarians; Organizational structure; Subject specialists; United Kingdom > UK; organisational structures; restructuring; Academic libraries; higher education libraries; research support; subject librarians

This paper focuses on the move by some academic libraries to replace subject-based organisational structures with new functional structures, introducing functional specialists instead of subject librarians. It reports 11 in-depth semi-structured interviews with senior managers in UK libraries discus...