• The skill set for librarians will continue to evolve in response to the needs and expectations of the changing populations (students and faculty) that they serve;

• Students and faculty will increasingly demand faster and greater access to services;

• Debates about intellectual property will become increasingly common in higher education;

• The demand for technology-related services will grow and require additional funding;

• Higher education will increasingly view the institution as a business;

• Students will increasingly view themselves as customers and consumers {thereby} expecting high-quality facilities and services;

• Distance learning will be an increasingly more common option in higher education, and will coexist but not threaten the traditional bricks-and-mortar model;

• Free public access to information stemming from publicly funded research will continue to grow; and

• Privacy will continue to be an important issue in librarianship.

1. Whereas the propositions of ACRL is in the context of Universities and Colleges, this conference would like to expand its horizon and look at academic libraries also beyond the traditional stream.

2. Academic Library will mean the libraries which provide services to users through the universities, colleges and specialized research organizations; the libraries which builds the future generation of pupil through schools; the libraries with organisations (private and public) that are involved in the knowledge generation.

3. This conference would like to make following assumptions to debate and comprehend the conceptual framework for developing a Road Map. Hence, the rationale for organizing this conference goes with the premises that:

• The technological advancements through ICT interface are known to have influenced libraries immensely, in particular have transformed their traditional back end library procedures and operations, their collection development policies and programmes as well as their services;

• ICT applications have come to usher innovative library models such as digital libraries, virtual libraries, and digital repositories aimed at knowledge sharing online;

• Changing external environment, ever increasing user expectations, changing economics of information and such other driving forces of change have lent academic libraries a new focus in services such as information literacy, e-teaching, etutorials and in this context have underlined the need for building stronger library-faculty linkages and organizing user centric services;

• Significantly, public image of libraries including academic libraries is now changing from that of centres of books to centres of information online.

5. We go with the presumption that the benefits of advances in ICT based library technologies has still not reached uniformly across all academic libraries, especially libraries in the developing and under developed countries.

6. That has resulted into another presumption that academic libraries are still confined to be performing library operations and services in the traditional mode and media. Besides, many still continue to be under performing, lacking in vitality and impact of their operations and services.

7. Hence, it was felt that there is an urgent need for introspection to identify the factors and constraints in this regard. Tentatively, the factors and constraints thereof could be several such as;

• lack of skilled works-force,

• lack of management support,

• lack of leadership at the library front or

• poor change management policies and programmes under pursuit, etc.

8. It must be recognized that in the change management, technology introduction within the libraries alone is not a sufficient and complete measure in itself for launching effective operations and services. Simultaneously, libraries are required to address accompanying organizational and management issues such as of good governance, best practices, and leadership and library transformation. This dimension of change management is even more important to understand because organizational and management issues are crucial and central to the overall performance of academic libraries.

9. Looking ahead in the future, academic libraries in the foreseeable period should no longer be seen as standalone independent systems as at present. Instead, they should emerge as a composite entity on the cyber space, cooperating and collaborating even with major libraries in the S&T sector for global access in the context of economics of information.

10. The academic libraries also need to draw up new and innovative programmes for national and international collaboration.

11. Surely, such an agenda will accelerate the pace of education, research and learning as well as advance and facilitate excellence in higher education system in the country notwithstanding institutional boundaries and institutional constraints.

12. Given these underlying concerns on academic library front, it is felt that there is a need to plan and organize an international conference. It is planned to come out with a road map to reposition academic libraries to the centre stage of the education system of the nation. The conference will focus on identifying the strengths and gaps in the management of academic library system in the country, prioritizing tasks for action aimed at improving performance and effectiveness, suggesting new models, mechanisms, and programmes for the purpose, and coming out with a catalytic draft policy document for consideration of the government to effect changes proposed.