Retaining Intellectual Capital

Abstract

The intellectual life of retired faculty members, whose numbers will skyrocket in the coming years, can be enhanced with adequate library support. This paper provides a descriptive study of the professional activities of emeriti faculty at one large public research university, assessing their needs for continued access to library resources and their knowledge of what library privileges they continue to have in retirement. The results of a brief survey of all public Association of Research Libraries (ARL) webpages to determine what peer institutions are providing for their retired faculty are also presented. The paper concludes with a set of policy recommendations for how academic libraries can better serve the needs of their emeriti faculty.