Focusing on U.S. academic libraries, The Reinvention of the U.S. Academic Library begins by providing a concise history of the traditional role and function of academic libraries from their earliest times up to the dawn of the Digital Age and the spread of digital technology into all aspects of academic research and scholarly communication. This introduction is followed by chapters analyzing how digital technology has transformed, over the course of a few swift decades, not only the role and function of academic libraries, but also the nature of scholarly communication itself.

Specifically, The Reinvention of the U.S. Academic Library will consider how digital technology has changed the way academic libraries:
- Acquire and exercise bibliographic control over collections.
- Provide equitable access to information. Allocate and utilize library space. Instruct and guide students, faculty, and others.
- Relate to the larger academic and scholarly publishing communities. Sustain scholarly communications.