Engaging the Research Community through Collaborative Collection Management

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Engaging the Research Community through
Collaborative Collection Management

• WESLINE/IGRS Colloquium
• 12 September 2007
• Sally Curry, RIN/CURL CCM Programme Adviser

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Key points

• Introduction, RIN, CURL and CCM
• Challenges for research libraries
• Some CCM solutions
• Researchers use of Libraries
• Communication with academics and researchers
• CCM as a vehicle for meaningful dialogue

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CURL RIN Focus

• CURL to increase the ability of research
  libraries to share resources for the benefit of
  the local, national and international research
  community
• RIN to enhance the UK research information
  infrastructure
• CCM to support collaboration between
  libraries

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RIN CURL CCM Programme

• Supporting collaboration between libraries
• Raising the profile of CCM with relevant
  stakeholders
• Supporting the concept of the UK Distributed
  Research Collection
• Providing readily accessible information about
  collaborative working and current and previous
  CCM activities through the CoCoMan website
• Creating a simple UK framework for CCM activities
  without unnecessary bureaucracy

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Challenges for libraries

• Lack of space
• Institutional focus on undergraduate needs
• Budgets static and less than they were in
  relative terms
• Reductions in numbers of specialist staff
• Lack of active support for the library at top
  institutional level or from researchers

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Solutions through Collaboration

• Selection and Purchase detailed knowledge of
  what is available elsewhere allows informed
  decision making possible consortial purchases
• Inter-library stock transfers builds collections
  and protects the UK research resource
• Resource discovery through subject gateways,
  collection description, serials holdings
• Storage UKRR is making de-selection easier and
  helps with the reuse of space for learning
• Shared digitisation and retroconversion projects

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Issues for research support

• Many libraries are torn between best provision
  for undergraduates and for researchers
• Institutional focus currently on facilities for
  undergraduates
• Alienation of researchers from the library,
  reduction in both time and opportunities for
  staff to engage with researchers

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Researchers and Libraries

• RIN Collaborative Collection Management
  Research Use and Practice Survey (CoCoRUPS) - Dr
  Elizabeth Salter

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CoCoRUPS Study

• Importance of browsing for humanities research
  process
• Reactions to centralised storage almost entirely
  negative - accessibility highly important
• Issues over the concept of low-use
• A lack of opportunity for research active library
  users to discuss their use of collections

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Researchers and Libraries

• RIN/CURL Researchers use of Libraries Study

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Researchers use of Libraries Visits
The percentage of researchers who visit their
library at least once per week and predicted
percentage for 2011
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Researchers use of Libraries Findings

• Provision of increased desk-top resources has led
  to reduced visits to the library and little
  recognition by users of the role of libraries in
  providing this service
• Increase in group learning spaces equals more
  noise and further discourages researchers use of
  the library
• The Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences users
  (the greatest users of traditional library
  services) - want to be able to browse in their
  local library not have to order items from a
  local store or through ILL

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Researchers use of Libraries Liaison
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Researchers Use of Libraries Communication

• Most librarians find it relatively easy to liaise
  with researchers however typical comments from
  interviews and focus groups were
• Researcher I rarely see my subject librarian
  unless I go to the library to find them
• Librarian We always have to go to them.
  For them, talking to librarians doesnt seem to
  be an obvious connection to make

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Researchers Use of Libraries Conclusion

• There are some significant differences between
  researchers and librarians views as to the
  future role of libraries in supporting research,
  and there is a need for dialogue between them to
  ensure that library services and expertise are
  developed and deployed in the most effective
  way.
• Researchers Use of Academic Libraries and their
  Services

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Collaboration with researchers

• CoCoREES and CoFoR
• Involvement of principal academic association
• BASEES were project consultants and had major
  role in the research mapping exercise to profile
  academic research in each partner institution
• Desiderata List - all partners asked to consult
  internal academic opinion on
• a prioritised list of up to five products for
  potential consortial purchase
• Principles of cost sharing and sharing of access

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CoFoR communication

• The early and continuing involvement of
  relevant scholarly associations, such as BASEES,
  not only lends academic credibility to a CCM
  scheme but also offer opportunities for dialogue
  with researchers and cooperation over data
  collection
• THE CURL-CoFoR PROJECT, Final Report of the
  Project Management Team

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CCM - Engaging the research community

• Academic staff more aware of issues around
  collection management leading to stock protection
  and support in some cases and a more considered
  approach to our older stock and its possible
  disposal or transfer

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CCM - Engaging the research community

• Discussions with academic researchers about
  retention and ongoing development of parts of the
  REES research collection gave us an opportunity
  to
• raise broad issues of collection development and
  management in a positive way (as opposed to the
  more usual negative drivers of space shortages
  and constrained budgets)
• encouraged the School to designate adequate
  library funds for REES from within their
  allocation

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Engaging the research community

• By involving of the research community with these
  issues, CCM can be a vehicle to
• raise interest and awareness of library issues
  amongst the academic community
• raise the status of specific research collections
• help to secure funding for the collections
• Identify the collection as a priority for
  opportunities such as digitisation projects

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and finally

• Google/Oxford Digitisation project CCM on an
  international scale
• and not a monolingual endeavour
• Oxford Digitisation project - not just books
  everything that is print based, journals
  Parliamentary publications, grey literature
• much of the material is multilingual with a high
  proportion of works in French, German, Italian
  and Spanish

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Google Book Search

• GBS is the means of access
• GBS is intended to meet the needs of the general
  user rather than the scholar / researcher
• but - not an easily usable tool
• This underlines the importance of ease of access
• Access through OULS catalogue coming shortly

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Now available through Google Book Search

• Los seys libros de la Galatea
• Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
• Published 1618
• Original from Oxford University
• You can download or go and see the original

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Useful URLs

• RIN/CURL Report Researchers Use of Academic
  Libraries and their Services http//www.rin.ac.u
  k/researchers-use-libraries
• CoCoRUPS Report will be available shortly on the
  RIN website
• CoCoMan CCM website to be announced within the
  next month
• Google Books http//books.google.com/

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Contact details

• Sally Curry
• Tel [phone]
•  or 020 7412 7737
• Mob [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• sally.curry_at_rin.ac.uk