Developing European library services in changing times
1. Developing European Library
Services in Changing Times
Dr Paul Ayris
Director of UCL Library Services and UCL Copyright Officer
President of LIBER (Association of European Research Libraries)
E-mail: p.ayris@ucl.ac.uk
Web: UCL LIBER
10th Anniversary special EISZ Consortium Members’ Meeting
2 December 2011, Budapest, Hungary
2. Contents
1. Economic crisis and the impact on library budgets
2. Shared Cataloguing – the Next Generation
3. European Research Area – libraries as research
infrastructure
4. Conclusions
3. Economic crisis and the impact on library
budgets
In the current economic crisis, what should libraries do?
Joint Procurement
Collaborate to innovate through Shared Services
Fundraising
Contracts to run new services for third parties
EU Project funding / national project funding
Philanthropic funding
Secure the robustness of your management information, so that
all your decisions are evidence-based
4. Joint Procurement
JISC Collections procures digital content for UK HE
JISC Electronic Information Resources Working Group acts as
Steering Group for this activity
JISC Collections oversees Big Deal purchases for the
Higher and Further Education communities
Rationale is that the bigger the consortium which comes to the
table, the bigger the saving that can be made
Efficiency gains of £50 million for members in 2009-10
5. Recent successes
Hardline negotiation with academic publishers
One publisher wanted c. 25% increase in one year
Average price increases being negotiated is c. 2-2.5% a year
Explicitly because of the economic downturn
New features to negotiated deals
Single payment, with JISC Collections paying the invoice to the
publisher and collecting the dues from participants, who opt in to
the deal
Invoices being paid in £ sterling, not € euros
6. Contents
1. Economic crisis and the impact on library budgets
2. Shared Cataloguing – the Next Generation
3. European Research Area – libraries as research
infrastructure
4. Conclusions
7. The Problem
Our key finding is that the current
arrangements for producing and
distributing bibliographic data for both
books and journals involve duplications of
efforts, gaps in the available data, and
missed opportunities. ...[T]here would
be considerable benefits if libraries, and
other organisations in the supply chain,
were to operate more at the network level.
8. Open and Linked Data
The Open Knowledge Foundation identifies a number of
advantages to libraries opening up their bibliographic
data:
Shared cataloguing
New services
Linked Data refers to a set of Best Practices for
connecting structured data on the web
9. Open and Linked Data
Library catalogue becomes re-positioned in terms of its
relationship to the wider context of the web, and the
social network of links that the web represents
Benefits to a shared approach
Cost savings
Improved access
10. Recommendations
Best solution is for a cloud-based implementation to stand in
for both local and central management of systems
Local library management functions
Centrally shared metadata catalogue (community zone)
Metadata issues will need to be addressed
Duplication of records for same item needs to be
replaced by concept of Master record
11. Recommendations
RLUK databases need to be re-positioned in the wider
context of the web
Expand coverage to include new media types, e.g. blogs,
wikis, Open Access content, E-Books
Shared cataloguing service reduces the footprint of local
library management system and so will re-define how
libraries work
12. Recommendations
Top-level Recommendations
That funding is identified to investigate the
requirements and feasibility of a shared UK
cataloguing service
To co-sponsor with the JISC a full cost-benefit
analysis of providing an overall, above-campus
shared cataloguing system solution
13. Contents
1. Economic crisis and the impact on library budgets
2. Shared Cataloguing – the Next Generation
3. European Research Area – libraries as research
infrastructure
4. Conclusions
14. LERU Roadmap Towards Open Access
A consortium of 22 research-intensive universities in Europe
See http://www.leru.org/index.php/public/home/
LERU is committed to
Education through an awareness of the frontiers of human understanding
Creation of new knowledge through basic research, which is the ultimate
source of innovation in society
Promotion of research across a broad front, which creates a unique
capacity to re-configure activities in response to new opportunities and
problems
The purpose of the League is to advocate these values, to influence
policy in Europe and to develop best practice through mutual
exchange of experience
15. LERU
LERU wanted to know what position, if any, it should take
on the Open Access debate
General meeting of LERU Chief Information
Officers/University Librarians in December 2009
Appointed a Working Group to draw up a LERU Roadmap
towards Open Access
Road Map was considered by LERU Vice-Chancellors at their
meetings in London (2009) and Paris (2010)
Launched in Brussels on 17 June 2011
16. LERU
Purpose of the Roadmap is to offer guidance on how to
position your University in the European Open Access
landscape
Builds on the Open Access Statement of the European
Universities Association
See http://www.eua.be/eua-work-and-policy-area/research-and-
innovation/Open-Access.aspx
A Roadmap for all European Universities, not just LERU
members
17. LERU
Open Access in a wider context: Open Scholarship and
Open Knowledge
The Green route for Open Access – Steps to Take
LERU and the Gold route for Open Access
Models of Best Practice to support the Roadmap
Benefits for researchers, Universities and Society
LERU is considering European E-Press developments
Agreed at Workshop on 28 November 2011 to consider pan-
European infrastructure for LERU members interested in Open
Access Publishing
18. Contents
1. Economic crisis and the impact on library budgets
2. Shared Cataloguing – the Next Generation
3. European Research Area – libraries as research
infrastructure
4. Conclusions
19. Conclusions
Economic crisis is an opportunity as well as a threat
Collaboration through Shared Services is a way forward
Libraries have to re-position themselves in the
Information Landscape in order to stay relevant
RLUK’s Shared Cataloguing Initiative a model for future
development
Open Access is part of the European research
infrastructure
Libraries playing a leading role in taking this forward
20. If you have been…
Thanks for listening
Happy to answer questions