Written for academic and large research libraries, researchers, and planners, this volume studies the planning and construction of academic library buildings in the US completed between 2003 and 2009. Building on two previous studies of projects from the 1990s and early 2000s, Stewart (libraries, Illinois Institute of Technology) examines the levels of investment made by higher education in new library buildings, and how the changing role and purpose of the academic library in the digital age is reflected in building design, planning, and use. He details types of universities that completed new buildings, project cost and building cost per student, and other factors, showing the relationship between projects and institutional characteristics like governance, enrollment, and setting. He then describes information drawn from a survey about planning factors, new user space, characteristics like technology and multiuse, and traditional and new usage, as well as comparisons to the previous period of construction from 1996 to 2002. No index is provided. Annotation ⓒ2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Why study academic library buildings? Thinking about library space Strategies for research The big picture : an overview of recent U.S. academic library construction Responses to the survey Planning new library buildings General characteristics of new library buildings User space Usage Conclusion.