BARRIERS TO RESOURCE SHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCE SHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• A study for the Research Support Libraries
  Programme
• Joint SCONUL/M25 inter-consortial meeting
• 19 February 2002

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCE SHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Study team
• Allan Schofield, HECG
• John Fielden, CHEMS Consulting
• Colin Harris, MMU
• Jan Wilkinson, University of Leeds

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCE SHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Resources that could be shared
• Space
• Collections (use and development)
• Staff (use and development)
• Technology

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCE SHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Lack of clarity in terminology
• Co-ordination
• Co-operation
• Collaboration
• Partnership
• Resource sharing

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• We used
• Collaboration
• Resource sharing
• Deep resource sharing

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• deep resource sharing
• the treatment and management as a single
  collection of the collections of several
  institutions (Law)

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCE SHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• deep resource sharing
• collaboration between or among libraries in
  which institutional autonomy in service provision
  is in some degree surrendered and which involves
  some degree of risk
• (the study team)

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Extensive collaborative activity eg
• ILL/document supply
• Shared bibliographic records
• Access
• Borrowing
• Staff training

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCE SHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Modest amount of resource sharing
• Virtually no deep resource sharing

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Reluctance to give up ownership (size matters!)
  even with, eg, JSTOR
• Reluctance to take risks (eg to divert spending)
• Reluctance to compromise (eg on specification for
  system)
• Fear (on the whole unfounded) of swamping
• Reluctance to provide professional leadership
• Unimaginative unadventurous

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Discovery still a barrier
• Resources remain uncatalogued
• Catalogues remain unconverted
• No single/virtual single national catalogue
• Need for work to continue on DNC/UKNUC

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Pressure for enhanced collaboration
• Information explosion individual library cannot
  provide everything
• Rising costs of library materials without
  increasing budgets
• Potential of information technology

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCE SHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Library provision not a key issue for most
  institutions average 3.3 budget
• Almost all HEI libraries have internal focus a
  greater external focus would require deep
  resource sharing issues to be addressed

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• No strong and convincing case for resource
  sharing has been made to institutions
• Need for strong case, underpinned by persuasive
  evidence that is not yet to hand

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• What is the problem?
• QAA assessments generally find library provision
  satisfactory/praiseworthy
• RAE performance better than ever, despite
  pressure on libraries
• So, what is the problem?
• But

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• National question of value for money
• Comparative standing of UK libraries
• But radical proposals might not gain support from
  HEIs/academics without careful explanation

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Case for collaboration reinforced by concerns
  over future provision (primarily electronic)
• Urgent need to explore the most cost-effective
  means of providing the
• UK HE electronic library

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Need for more flexible approaches to e-licences
  for consortial working
• Widespread support for further digitisation of
  resources, to be shared
• Need for further work in digital archiving

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Deep resource sharing requires more explicit
  means (contracts, SLAs)
• Are librarians in a position to make such
  agreements?
• Are university managers too cautious?
• Are funding body leadership and resources
  required?

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• London
• Review of overall library provision required
• To include position of BL and Senate House
• Should include strategic input at VC level
• (We believe) most librarians would welcome such a
  review

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Widening participation
• To cater for 300,000 new users will put pressure
  on libraries any perception of freeloading will
  jeopardise resource sharing possibilities

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Barriers to resource sharing in libraries, with
  particular reference to libraries in higher
  education institutions
• To investigate the notion of deep resource
  sharing and the barriers
• Exploring (among others) the attitudinal,
  organisational and legal barriers

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Required by RSLP
• A study of practice in seven areas (six
  metropolitan and one city) with some tradition of
  sharing
• London
• Manchester
• Edinburgh
• Glasgow
• Sheffield
• Sunderland
• West Midlands

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• Three more detailed case studies
• Glasgow
• Manchester
• Sunderland
• A study of one non-UK location (Boston)
• An overview of the national scene
• Seeking the views of a sample of users

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BARRIERS TO RESOURCESHARING IN HE LIBRARIES

• In addition, the team conducted
• A (partial) literature review
• A survey of SCONUL membership
• A survey of subject librarian lists
• Interviews with key senior professionals
• Brief review of international practice
• Australia
• Europe
• South Africa
• USA