School of Information Resources and Library Science

William (Bill) Edgar Assistant Professor E-mail: bedgar@u.arizona.edu Phone: 520-621-3565 See CV and Abbreviated CV below

Education

• PhD, University of Alabama, Library and Information Studies
• MLS, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Library Science
• BS, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Business Administration

Biography

Assistant professor Bill Edgar brings an undergraduate major in business to his study of management and collection management in libraries. His interest is in developing systematic models of both management strategy and collection development that will provide underpinnings for practice. A three-part study of collection development in corporate libraries, published by Library Quarterly, developed a theory of corporate library impact; applied the theory to practice by identifying methodological tradeoffs; and revelealed empirically how the theory predicts corporate libraries' support for their parent firms' intellectual strengths. Bill has also extended his work to academic libraries. In this, he has critiqued LibQUAL, a widely used means for evluating them. A frequent speaker at the annual conference of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, Bill presented there a theoretical approach to university library strategy. He has also published in collection management, identifying a systematic framework for understanding the development of information collections. He teaches reference, collection management, and management of libraries. To learn more, please click below on the links to his full and abbreviated vitae.

Teaching Areas

• Collection Development
• Reference
• Management of Libraries and Information Centers
• Business Information Resources

Research Areas

• Collection Development
• Management and Administration
• Strategic Planning
• Special and Corporate Libraries
• Services to User Populations

Selected Publications

• Edgar, W.B. (2007). (Refereed) "Corporate Library Resource Selection: Exploring its Support for Corporate Core Competencies." The Libary Quarterly 77(4), 385-408.
• Edgar, W.B. (2006). (Refereed) "Questioning LibQUAL: Expanding its Assessment of Academic Library Effectiveness." Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 6(4), 445-465.
• Edgar, W.B. (2004). (Refereed) “A Theoretical Approach to University Library Strategy.” In Proceedings of the 67 th ASIS Annual Meeting: Managing and Enhancing Information: Cultures and Conflicts. Medford NJ: Information Today, Inc., p. 472-478.
• Edgar, W.B. (2004). (Refereed) "Corporate Library Impact Part I: A Theoretical Approach." The Library Quarterly 74(2), 122-151.
• Edgar, W.B. (2004). (Refereed) "Corporate Library Impact Part II: Methodological Tradeoffs. The Library Quarterly 74(2), e1-e18 (electronic publication).
• Edgar, W.B. (2003). (Refereed) "Toward a Theory of Collection Development: An Activities and Attributes Approach." Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services, 27(4), 393-423.
• MacCall, S.L., Edgar, W.B., & Herring, S.D. (1998). (Refereed) “Patterns of Professional Practice in the Digital Collections of U.S. Public Libraries.” In Proceedings of the 61 st ASIS Annual Meeting: Information Access in the Global Economy. Medford NJ: Information Today, Inc., p. 253-269.

Notable Projects & Activities

• 2007-present, Chairperson, Constitution & Bylaws Committee, American Society for Information Science and Technology
• 2002-2006, Chair, Management Special Interest Group, American Society for Information Science and Technology
• 2002, Co-Principal Investigator and recipient of Arizona Proposition 301 Information Technology/Information Sciences Grant. Worked with SIRLS with Associate Professor Cheryl Malone to coordinate a pilot course and the evaluative research examining this course.