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Driven by globalization and subsequent advancements in technology, higher education has experienced exponential growth in student enrolment and increased diversity in the student population. Among the major changes are new models of learning that have supported both onsite and remote learners for quality education. In response to these major changes in education, the processes, resources and services in library and information science have been redefined to meet the information needs of all users, anytime and anywhere. Historically, libraries shifted from being curators of knowledge to creators and disseminators of knowledge. This paper aims to address the path forward for academic libraries using as example, the Main Library at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus (UWI).

This paper explores the evolution of reference services, circulations, digitization, people engagement and how new technologies have fundamentally changed the way librarians at The UWI work. Of equal importance in this discussion of the future of academic libraries is students' ability to navigate the diverse ways in which they access resources and services. Finally, the interests, needs and the practical implications of artificial intelligence in academic libraries will be examined. This digital disruption poses both opportunities and challenges for academic libraries and students within the Caribbean in the 21st Century and beyond. A review of literature as well as a look at trends in academic libraries forms the basis of this discussion.

Library processes and services advanced from automation in the 1980s, internet and online facilities in the 1990s to web-based and consortia offerings in the 2000s rendering old models obsolete. Information products and the process of information sharing have reduced the focus on print collections and face to face interactions to fully online or hybrid offerings. What is evident is that Caribbean Libraries must continue to evolve or risk being left behind in this burgeoning technology age.

Often the Caribbean is overlooked when examining the impact and application of technology and the availability of resources to students and the wider society. This paper presents an opportunity to look at the unique status of Caribbean academic libraries, specifically The University of the West Indies Library System.

This paper explores organization-level racialized work strategies for maintaining racialized organizations (Ray, 2019). It focuses on intentional actions to maintain dominant racial norms, demonstrating how work strategies are informed by dominant racial structures that maintain racial inequities.

We compiled a chronological case study (Yin, 2012) based on 168 news media articles and various organizational documents to examine responses to athlete protests at the University of Texas at Austin following the death of George Floyd. Gioia et al.’s (2013) method uncovered how dominant racial norms inform organizational behaviors.

The paper challenges institutional theory neutrality and identifies several racialized work strategies that organizations employ to maintain racialized norms and practices. The findings provide a framework for organizations to interrogate their strategies and their role in reproducing dominant racial norms and inequities.

In 2020, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was reinvigorated within sporting and corporate domains. However, many organizations engaged in performativity, sparking criticism about meaningful change in organizational contexts. Our case study examines how one organization responded to athlete activists’ BLM-fueled demands, revealing specific racialized work strategies that maintain structures of racism. As organizations worldwide disrupt and discuss oppressive structures such as racism, we demonstrate how organizational leadership, while aware of policies and practices of racism, may choose not to act and actively maintain such structures.