For many university and research libraries, the recession preceded The Recession. Their funding slowed long before the national economy did. So librarians began thinking, earlier than some corporate managers, about their institutions' future as budgets shrank and user demand grew.

A new book collects those thoughts. Creative Planning for Library Administration: Leadership for the Future is a series of seven essays on the role and value of strategic planning at academic libraries. Editor Kent Hendrickson describes their collective theme as one of "create our own future."

Planning is familiar turf for library administrators. But in the opening piece, authors Susan Jurow ...