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This paper aims to examine the prevalence of directors of US Fortune 500 firms who come from an academic background, and possible unique reasons for their appointment.

Based on extant theory of the resource‐dependence roles of non‐management directors, this study proposes and tests three hypotheses concerning distinctive reasons firms may appoint an academic to their boards. Academic directors may serve unique roles in increasing board demographic diversity, increasing firm intellectual capital, and providing links to local geographic constituents. Using year 2002 data from the US Fortune 500 firms, this study presents descriptive statistics and uses t‐tests and χ² tests to examine hypotheses.

Firms having academics on their boards have greater board demographic diversity than firms without an academic director. Firms with academic directors have the same average emphasis on knowledge‐based earnings as other firms. Academics associated with US top‐ranked universities tend to be more likely to hold board seats. Firms tend to select academic directors from the geographic regions where the firm is headquartered and have a slight tendency to use them on public affairs committees.

This study's findings highlight a unique non‐monitoring advantage of academic directors for firms seeking increased board diversity, and potential community/stakeholder liaisons.

Firms wishing to increase board diversity or improve relationships with other stakeholder groups may find academic directors useful to such efforts. Academic directors appear to be just as capable as other outside directors in developing firm intellectual capital.

This paper extends the present literature in resource dependence by examining academic directors, a new director subset. The paper is also unique in that it uses data collected from proxy statements, rather than survey data.

This research highlights the scenarios that might serve as a strategic vision to describe a future beyond the current library, one which both guides provosts and creates a map for the transformation of human resources and technology in the university research libraries. The scenarios offer managerial leaders an opportunity to envision new roles for librarians and staff which brings a much needed focus on the development of human resources as well as a thought-stream to understand decisions which effectively and systematically move the organization toward a strategic vision.

These scenarios also outline possible future directions research libraries could take by focusing on perspectives from library directors, provosts, and administrators for human resources. The four case study scenarios introduce potential future roles for librarians and highlight the unsustainability of the current scholarly communications model as well as uncertain factors related to the political, social, technical, and demographic issues facing campuses. Given the changes institutions face, scenarios allow directors to include more uncertainty when developing and articulating a vision. These scenarios may start a discussion, before a strategic planning process, to sharpen the evaluations and measures necessary to monitor achievements that define the value of the library.

This study aims to examine how academic library directors conducted meetings in the change process and the factors influencing the approaches used.

Bolman and Deal's reframing change model provided the foundation for this research. An online survey was sent to 1,010 academic library directors in the USA. The response rate was 59 percent. The qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The collected quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using descriptive (frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations) and inferential statistics (binary and multinomial logistic regressions).

Most directors used multiple approaches to conduct meetings in the change process. The structural and human resource approaches were the most frequent single approaches. Regression analysis confirms that demographics, human capital, and library variables play significant roles in conducting meetings.

Data in this study were collected from directors in libraries of doctoral granting, master‐granting, and baccalaureate‐only colleges, and universities. Accordingly, the results of the study might not be generalized to college and university libraries outside this classification.

This paper provides a useful overview of the approaches used to conduct meetings in the change process and the factors influencing the approaches used.

Directors may use the results to reflect on different options of the strategies for conducting meetings in the change process and balance the weight of the factors' influences. The results may also help librarians better understand various approaches to conducting meetings in the change process.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the attitudes and views of library directors and key librarians on issues related to library collaboration and its impact on the welfare of advanced and cost‐effective systems of library and information services.

A qualitative approach was utilized through the use of semi‐structured, face‐to‐face interviews for collecting needed data from library directors and key librarians in four major universities located in diverse regions in Oman. Collected data were transcribed and relevant themes and patterns were identified following an interpretive thematic approach.

Results show that participants indicated an overall positive attitude toward library collaboration in an academic setting. They believed in the desired individual and institutional benefits that they would gain if their libraries or parent organizations developed and enhanced a collaborative system. The three most important advantages of collaboration were emphasized. They are: to enlarge and improve the library services, including increasing users' access to inter‐library information resources; to reduce costs by sharing manpower and resources; and to share experience through communication and enhance skills and knowledge of staff through collaborative training.

The paper provides an overview and insights into demanding issues related to academic library collaboration in Oman. The result of this study helps propose a frame‐work or strategy for the purpose of initiating and developing a new system of academic library collaboration in Oman.

Library collaboration, overall, has hardly been studied in Oman, or at least in the context of academic librarianship. This paper highlights the importance of library collaboration and its impact on the changing environment of academic libraries.

Librarians have traditionally looked to academic library directors (ALDs) to list those qualities that make them good at what they do. Little research has sought the input of institutional administrators (who are the ones who hire ALDs) about what they look for when hiring ALDs. This study presented a list of qualities that had been rated by ALDs as being important for the position to these senior institutional administrators and asked them to rate the relative importance of these qualities and to add to the list any qualities they felt should be there. Their ratings were then compared with those of the library directors to see how closely they correlated. The results showed not only that there was statistically significant agreement between the two groups, but also that there were important differences, with the hiring administrators placing more priority on ideological attributes (attributes based on professional orientations and ideals) while ALDs emphasized the need for experience. The hiring administrators also added several attributes to the original list, including managing multiple priorities, being learning/student oriented (especially toward low achievers), being self-directed with a good work ethic, being able to relate effectively to all constituencies, and experience in the same type of institution as the one the person was being hired to lead.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the adoption of transformational leadership qualities in South African libraries in Gauteng Province.

The study used a qualitative approach with open-ended questions that yielded some qualitative data. For the study, a multi-case study design was used. The study specifically targeted participants by identifying three directors of academic libraries in Gauteng. The criteria for selecting the three directors were that two of the universities are residential research-intensive universities, and the third is an academic library of a distance learning university. Atlas.ti8 was used to analyse the data, which was then presented using thematic content analysis.

Thematic areas for leaders of the 21st century, as mentioned by the directors, were a mixed bag. That empowerment was suggested by the first academic director. The appropriate leadership qualities were fiduciary, analytical, pragmatic, transformative and visionary. The second academic director proposed consultative, innovative and adaptable approaches, while the third proposed collaborative, ethical and adaptive approaches.

Transformative leadership is required, particularly in the aftermath of technological advances and pandemics such as COVID-19, which have altered the way academic libraries should operate.

Many studies on transformative leadership have been conducted. However, in the aftermath of technological advancements and pandemics such as COVID-19, the role of transformative leadership remained untested. This study fills the void.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the entrepreneurship center (EC) in the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem. Entrepreneurial ecosystems thrive because of complex interdependencies and dynamic relationships between and among its participants. While the university has often been highlighted as a key player in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the role of the EC within the university, despite its strategically influential position in stimulating entrepreneurship, has not received sufficient attention in scholarship.

The authors attempt to address this gap in scholarship using an expert Delphi panel approach to explore the vital role that the EC plays in ensuring the vibrancy of the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. In doing so, the authors tackle the question of sustainability of the EC by outlining a structural framework and key job characteristics of the EC director so that it may thrive beyond the tenure of a transformational leader.

In analyzing the responses of Delphi panelists and reviewing the theoretical foundations, the authors have identified three areas for discussion: the question of whether the EC director ought to be an academic job, the key skills of an effective EC director and how to sustain the EC after the departure of a transformative leader. Considering the vital role that the EC plays in the university and regional entrepreneurial ecosystems, these questions have importance for the future of the practice of entrepreneurship.

The role of the EC in the larger regional entrepreneurial ecosystem and the impact of the EC director are subjects that have been largely unaddressed by current scholarship. This is despite the growing number of ECs, the growth of entrepreneurship as a discipline, the desire to foster entrepreneurial universities and the struggle to find suitable EC leadership talent. The EC is critical for bringing together various actors within the regional entrepreneurship ecosystem, creating and maintaining an entrepreneurial culture and fostering co-curricular learning to develop human capital, key benefits that the university provides on top of its research activity.

The purpose of this study is to examine how academic library directors set goals for change in the information age and the factors influencing the approaches used.

Bolman and Deal's reframing change model provided the foundation for this research. An online survey was sent to 1,010 academic library directors in the USA. The response rate was 59 percent. The qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The collected quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using descriptive (frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations) and inferential statistics (binary and multinomial logistic regressions).

Most directors used multiple approaches to set goals for change. The structural and human resource approaches were the most frequent single approaches. Regression analysis confirmed that demographics, human capital, and library variables played significant roles in setting goals for change.

Data in this study were collected from directors in libraries of doctoral granting, master‐granting, and baccalaureate‐only colleges and universities. Accordingly, the results of the study might not be generalized to college and university libraries outside this classification.

This paper provides a useful overview of the approaches used to set goals for change and the factors influencing the approaches used.

Directors may use the results to reflect on different options of the strategies for setting goals for change in the information age and balance the weight of the factors' influences. The results may also help librarians better understand various approaches to setting goals for change in the information age.

Quality has been defined in many different ways and it forms a complex and subjective concept, incorporating at any given time the true (expressed and implied) needs of all those involved. A possible approach in the context of library and information services is the implementation of a well‐known quality management system such as the ISO 9001:2000. This paper aims to investigate and empirically assess the current issues and the perceptions for quality management systems implementation in Greek academic libraries.

An empirical qualitative survey based on the development of a questionnaire for semi‐structured interviews with the directors of Greek academic libraries. The study was conducted during the third quarter of 2007 in regard to the effects of quality management system implementation.

The comparisons between approaches to, and perceptions of, quality management need to be balanced. An interest for ISO 9000:2000/ISO 9001:2000 has been observed in academic libraries in Greece.

The study of the current attempts for implementing quality management systems as well as evidence about perceptions regarding ISO 9000:2000 of libraries directors may aid in the development of policies for quality management in academic libraries in Greece.

This paper provides information for ISO 9001:2000 implementation in Greek academic libraries and empirical results about the perceptions of Greek academic library directors based on semi‐structured interviews.