I’ll respond to Scott by saying – first, thanks for seconding my comment about the important instructional leadership role of faculty. Second, my comment about this being more important at the college/small university level is for the exact point you make that this job, in the research university is usually the responsibility of an AUL, not the director – who usually is busy with other activities. It’s much more on the shoulders of the college library director to lead the effort. However, you make a good point that if they haven’t been making it a priority, research library directors should do so (but between you and me [and anyone who reads this comment of course] – the few ARL directors I know don’t seem to care about this as much as they do scholarly publishing, digitizing more than the next guy, and raising money).

I’ll briefly take issue with your assertion that this is less important at large research libraries than it is at other types of institutions. All institutions of higher education are founded on an instructional mission and all libraries have to make their case for being essential to that mission to remain a vital part of campus life in the 21st century. The director’s ability to make that case in high-level discussions of Writing Across the Curriculum, General Education, or research requirements for doctoral students is critical to the research library’s success.

And, yes, balancing all those areas does make for one complicated job!