Catherine Murray-Rust. Library Next: Seven Action Steps for Reinvention. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions, 2021. 110p. Paper, $54.99 (ISBN: 978-0-8389-4839-2). https://www.alastore.ala.org/librarynext

Abstract

Libraries are in a continual state of identity crisis, transforming and reinventing new services and initiatives in an effort to remain relevant. Catherine Murray-Rust argues in Library Next: Seven Action Steps for Reinvention that our institutions need reinvention for “our uncertain future” (viii). Whether libraries need to be reinvented remains to be decided, but Murray-Rust makes her case. She provides advice on how libraries can successfully navigate and implement large-scale change. As the recently retired Dean of Libraries at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Murray-Rust gives seven actionable directions for libraries seeking to transform themselves.