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This article aims to overview research undertaken through the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) to identify themes and issues of interest to library leaders in Canadian research libraries.

This paper discusses the context of the research, including moves by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) to develop closer collaborative projects with Canadian Masters of Library and Information Sciences (MLIS) programs and to develop a National Research Agenda (NRA), inclusive of National Research Priorities (NRP). It overviews the specific research undertaken to develop the NRP, including the methodology and research outcomes.

The research resulted in the NRP, which identified key themes/issues of interest to directors in CARL member institutions. As such, it provides a snapshot of current issues and trends in research library management and leadership within Canada. CARL is now promoting its NRP and encouraging researchers (individuals and teams) to undertake applied research on the identified themes/issues, as part of its strategy to encourage research collaborations; increase research intensiveness within academic librarianship; and, use of evidence‐based decision making and applied research to solve management challenges.

The article identifies the context for the research, the research approach (including methodology) and research outcomes which point to issues of concern for library leaders in Canadian research libraries. It is a snapshot of current issues of concern to library managers.

The paper aims to provide an overview of the background and context of the decision by a Canadian research library to invest in developing and implementing its own in‐house library leadership development program (LLDP).

This paper is a case study and is presented in three parts: leadership circumstances within the Canadian research libraries, with particular reference to The Future of Human Resources in Canadian Libraries (the 8Rs Study), the University Library at the University of Saskatchewan and its Strategic Plan, with particular reference to its relationship and engagement strategy and other strategic HR initiatives; and the conceptualisation, content and competencies of the LLDP. This paper discusses why and how a leadership development program has been implemented.

The paper shows that LLDP is a work‐in‐progress and is a practical step in a journey to change organizational culture, and build individual and organizational leadership capacity.

While some of the context is Canadian specific, the local strategy implementation has relevance and applicability in other academic and research library contexts.

This paper provides a discussion of current leadership challenges for Canadian research libraries, including a leadership development strategy exemplified by the experiences and work underway at the library at the University of Saskatchewan.

This paper aims to overview the professional context for Canadian research libraries (as outlined in the 8Rs Canadian Library Human Resources Study by Ingles et al.) and to examine the approach and response to dynamic human resources challenges and opportunities unfolding through a strategic planning and change management process at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) Library.

The paper discusses the context and challenges for Canadian research libraries as highlighted in the 8Rs Study and overviews this in the context of the U of S Library's response through its strategic planning and change management process. It explores institutional responses and the possibilities of joint collaborative action across member libraries of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL).

The study finds that greatest challenge to transforming library services, resources and facilities lies in transforming the knowledge, skills and abilities of library staff and to developing new models and approaches to professional practice, which meet and exceed client expectations and overcome the traditionally conservative approach to the practice of librarianship.

The paper provides a discussion on strategic options and strategies for research libraries as exemplified by the experiences and work underway at the U of S Library. While some of the context is Canadian specific, the U of S response contains many strategies applicable in other academic and research libraries contexts.

This study aims to map the current resource-sharing environment in Canada through the lens of its research libraries in general and the University of Alberta in particular. The findings present an interesting view of changing resource sharing patterns and trends.

Interlibrary loan (ILL) transaction data were compiled from annual data reported to the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) and a case study of the University of Alberta is presented.

The current trend shows declines in both borrowing and lending transactions.

Validity of the CARL ILL transactional data is subject to consistency in institutional reporting and accuracy of the data. The trends portrayed in the data are deemed realistic of the Canadian experience.

This is an original study of CARL ILL transactional data, providing an aggregated view of 13 years of annual data, and an analysis of this data. It updates previous research and benchmarks current ILL patterns at CARL institutions.

In 2006/2007, the Canadian academic library community came together in the largest national LibQUAL+^® consortium to conduct ARL library service quality survey. This paper aims to address how and why the national consortial project came about, the challenges for recruiting and managing participants, and what was learnt, together with possible future directions.

This paper uses a case study approach.

The research touches on the challenges planning and implementing LibQUAL+^® with such a large, diverse consortium, with its bilingual mandate and multiple library types, and what made the project successful and its limitations.

The most apparent accomplishment of this project was successful collection of a large, diverse data set for comparative analysis of services and facilities – a meaningful data set both for individual libraries seeking appropriate Canadian comparators and for analyses by region, institutional categories, etc.

A valuable result of the project was to engage more Canadian academic libraries in the process of service assessment. CARL's bi‐lingual consortium approach will provide a valuable example for other national organisations attempting to carry out similar projects.

This chapter provides a current and changing demographic profile of academic librarians working in a research library that is a member of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL). Also examined is the changing mix of librarian and other professional staff. The profile is derived from the wealth of data generated from the 8Rs Studies, conducted in 2003–2004 and 2013–2014, respectively. The results show that the retirement and recruitment of librarians, alongside the restructuring of some roles and the attrition of others, have resulted in a noteworthy turnover of CARL library staff and a slightly larger, younger, more diverse, and more highly educated librarian workforce.

The purpose of this study is to analyze factors affecting decision-making on libraries’ electronic resources management under the situation of tight budgets in Canadian research universities.

Interview was adopted to investigate library resources management leaders’ opinions from English-speaking university members of the Group of Canadian Research University Libraries.

A comprehensive model is developed for library resources’ management. Subject specialists are the key of the model integrating marketing roles and evaluation roles.

The main limitations of this study are the small sample size of interview candidates, which may have application limitations on other types of libraries and universities in different areas.

This study generates a comprehensive model based on past research, contributing to future library decision-making practices.

It develops a subject specialist-centric model of library resources’ value assessment and brings the element of culture into future studies of academic library.

Purpose – Canadian library workforce data were used to explore recent graduates’ perceptions of their MLS programs: their ratings of the competencies acquired, satisfaction with the overall quality of education, and suggested improvements.

Design/Methodology/Approach – Surveys of libraries and practitioners were conducted from 2003 to 2006. These data were used as a baseline in replicating the survey with the staff of Canadian research libraries in 2013/2014. Recent graduate librarian data were extracted from the two data sets and comparatively analyzed.

Findings – The profile of recent graduates did not change appreciably between 2004 and 2014. Graduates surveyed in 2014 more favorably rated generalist skills and were more likely than the 2004 sample to indicate that they were provided with the range of skills and abilities required to effectively perform their jobs. Management, leadership, and business skills continued to rank lowest. Roughly half of 2004 and 2014 graduates continued to indicate satisfaction with the quality of education received overall. Similarly, half of 2004 and 2014 graduates felt that they could apply what they learned to their current jobs and fewer agreed that they were provided with a realistic depiction of what it is like to work as an academic librarian. Suggestions for program improvement were mostly stable over time, with greatest importance attached to making programs more practical/practice-oriented and improvements to the relevance and currency of the curriculum.

Originality/Value – Studies of the Canadian library workforce had not been conducted previously. This study should be of interest to MLS schools who are re-envisioning their programs with the experiences of recent graduates/new professionals in mind.

For a number of reasons, I have decided to begin this issue of VINE with an editorial. In the first place, as many of you will already know, at the end of June I gave up my post as Information Officer for Library Automation in order to become an Assistant Librarian in the Applied Sciences Library of University College, Cardiff. Since the Information Officer for Library Automation is ex officio editor of VINE, this means that I will also be handing over responsibility for this publication to my successor, when he or she is appointed. Unfortunately, there will be a hiatus before my successor can take over, so that for a short while, I will continue to edit VINE. However, because of my commitments in Cardiff, I will be unable to provide news of recent developments in U.K. library automation as I formerly did. Thus, in this issue of VINE and the next, I will concentrate on descriptions of automated library systems which I visited whilst on a study tour of North America in April and May of this year. Once my successor takes over, VINE will revert to being a source of up‐to‐date information about automation in specifically U.K. libraries.

The term “library management” covers many different aspects of the way that a library is operated and conjures up different concepts in the minds of different people, depending on their own interests, agendas and requirements. Research into the subject is even more difficult to define because the application of research in one field can be vital to the development of another. Some researchers would not consider their research central to library matters at all, whereas the practising librarian might well see it as casting new light on a difficult area of understanding or development.