The purpose of this book is to report the findings of one study of the centrality of the academic library and to suggest specific ways in which the library can fulfill its mission. The book aims to improve librarians' understanding of how to help their users succeed and seeks a new metaphor for the academic library that is appropriate for the future. Chapter 1 examines the "library is the heart of the university" metaphor and its shortcomings. Chapter 2 traces key concepts related to centrality through the history of organization theory and through studies of retrenchment and resource allocation. It also looks closely at departmental, or subunit power and its relationship to centrality. Chapter 3 outlines the research methodology and research design used in the project on which this book is based, and describes seven universities and their leaders who participated in the study. Chapter 4 discusses the responses to interview questions of university CEOs and chief administrative officers (CAOs) at the seven institutions, with particular emphasis given to examples cited. Chapter 5 analyzes the findings of the study, developing both indicators and nonindicators of library centrality. Appendices include interview questions and descriptions of empirical indicators of academic library centrality. Contains a bibliography and an index. (Author/AEF)