Humanities at the Center: Reimagining Arts and Humanities Librarianship in the Contemporary Academic Library
Editor
Carol Ng-He, MA, MLIS
Carol Ng-He, MA, MLIS
Publisher
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)
Book Summary
Content Overview
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)
Book Summary
Content Overview
Humanities at the Center: Reimagining Arts and Humanities Librarianship in the Contemporary Academic Library is an edited volume exploring how academic libraries are reimagining arts and humanities librarianship in response to major transformations in higher education, scholarly communication, technology, and institutional priorities.
Academic libraries are increasingly operating within institutional environments characterized by budgetary pressures, technological transformation, declining humanities enrollments, workforce restructuring, and heightened expectations for measurable institutional impact. Within these contexts, arts and humanities librarianship is frequently required to demonstrate its relevance while simultaneously adapting to changing modes of scholarship, teaching, and research support. Arts and humanities librarians continue to play critical roles in critical information literacy; teaching and learning; cultural stewardship; student and community engagement; and interdisciplinary collaboration.
While there is substantial literature on digital humanities, liaison librarianship, scholarly communication, and critical librarianship, there is currently no comprehensive volume examining the future of arts and humanities librarianship through integrated administrative, pedagogical, technological, cultural, and organizational perspectives. This volume will fill that gap by providing:
Designed for academic librarians developing or reimagining humanities services, as well as library administrators seeking sustainable support models, this volume will be especially valuable to information professionals working in the arts and humanities in higher education, digital humanities practitioners, archives and special collections professionals, library administrators, and Library and Information Science faculty and graduate students.
Proposed Sections
The volume will include five sections, in addition to the editor’s introduction and conclusion on the landscape of leadership and organizational change in academic libraries.
To submit a proposal, please complete the Chapter Proposal Form by December 1, 2026, at 11:59 PM Central Time. The form will require:
The full chapter length for accepted proposals should be 3,000–4,000 words, excluding references. Specifications will be provided to contributors upon acceptance notification.
Contact Information
Questions? humanitiesatthecenter@gmail.
Best regards,
Carol Ng-He, MA, MLIS
Academic libraries are increasingly operating within institutional environments characterized by budgetary pressures, technological transformation, declining humanities enrollments, workforce restructuring, and heightened expectations for measurable institutional impact. Within these contexts, arts and humanities librarianship is frequently required to demonstrate its relevance while simultaneously adapting to changing modes of scholarship, teaching, and research support. Arts and humanities librarians continue to play critical roles in critical information literacy; teaching and learning; cultural stewardship; student and community engagement; and interdisciplinary collaboration.
While there is substantial literature on digital humanities, liaison librarianship, scholarly communication, and critical librarianship, there is currently no comprehensive volume examining the future of arts and humanities librarianship through integrated administrative, pedagogical, technological, cultural, and organizational perspectives. This volume will fill that gap by providing:
- Practical strategies for supporting arts and humanities teaching and research;
- Sustainable approaches to arts and humanities initiatives;
- Models for campus and community collaboration;
- Frameworks for equitable collections and archival work; and
- Adaptable leadership and staffing approaches.
Designed for academic librarians developing or reimagining humanities services, as well as library administrators seeking sustainable support models, this volume will be especially valuable to information professionals working in the arts and humanities in higher education, digital humanities practitioners, archives and special collections professionals, library administrators, and Library and Information Science faculty and graduate students.
Proposed Sections
The volume will include five sections, in addition to the editor’s introduction and conclusion on the landscape of leadership and organizational change in academic libraries.
- Collections and Archives: This section will focus on creative and community-informed approaches to collection development, special collections, archival, and cultural heritage stewardship, including efforts to address historical gaps and cultural biases.
- Critical, Creative, and Inclusive Pedagogies: Contributions may address humanities-based teaching practices, information and visual literacy instruction, as well as student engagement strategies grounded in critical, inclusive, and equity-centered frameworks.
- Liaison and Subject Librarianship: This area will consider evolving models of liaison work, including interdisciplinary collaboration, faculty partnerships, and shifting expectations for subject specialists in academic libraries. It will also examine the role of arts and humanities librarianship in fostering and sustaining these partnerships.
- Digital Scholarship and Emerging Technologies: This section will explore the intersections of arts and humanities, digital scholarship, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies, with attention to implications for research support and library practice.
- Campus and Community Collaborations: This section will highlight partnerships between academic libraries, campus units, and community organizations, with an emphasis on public humanities, health humanities, civic engagement, and knowledge co-creation. For case studies, contributors should include specific evaluation metrics and assessment tools to quantify institutional impact. Explicit details on ethical standards and compliance, including IRB approval and consent protocols, are strongly encouraged.
To submit a proposal, please complete the Chapter Proposal Form by December 1, 2026, at 11:59 PM Central Time. The form will require:
- Author name(s)
- Job title(s), institutional affiliation(s)
- Email(s)
- Section selection
- Content type (e.g. case studies, scholarly analysis, and reflective essay on transferable implementation strategies)
- A working chapter title
- An abstract up to 500 words
- Current CV
- Link to website or LinkedIn profile (optional)
- Proposal due: December 1, 2026
- Authors notified: January 15, 2027
- First drafts due: April 1, 2027
- Revised chapters due: July 1, 2027
The full chapter length for accepted proposals should be 3,000–4,000 words, excluding references. Specifications will be provided to contributors upon acceptance notification.
Contact Information
Questions? humanitiesatthecenter@gmail.
Best regards,
Carol Ng-He, MA, MLIS
Associate Director of Boxer Library, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science; Adjunct Lecturer, School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
