Academic Libraries and Athletics Programs: The Current State of Select Marketing and Development Partnerships

In 2019, this author published a literature review that identified and described 35 partnerships between academic libraries and athletics departments at higher education institutions in the United States, 20 of which were established for library marketing and development purposes. Most of these marketing and development arrangements were forged over a decade ago and the literature documenting them is pri-marily dated. Furthermore, multiple questions were raised about the nature of this type of partnership and the specific terms and conditions of many of these arrangements are not addressed in the known body of literature. In addition to published sources, the present study is informed by unpublished sources, including informational interviews conducted with representatives familiar with their respec-tive library’s partnership. Building on the foundation established in the literature review, the present study provides three main contributions to this niche of library and information science literature: (1) updated and more comprehensive accounts of eight of these documented marketing and development partnerships; (2) an analysis of the evolving nature of these relationships over time; and (3) practical applications for librarians interested in establishing successful long-term marketing and development partnerships at their institutions