This document discusses challenges and opportunities for European library services. It addresses the economic crisis's impact on library budgets and recommends increased collaboration through joint procurement and shared services. It also discusses developing shared cataloging as the next generation approach and positioning library catalogs in the context of linked open data. Finally, it outlines the LERU roadmap for open access and libraries' role in supporting open access as part of the European research infrastructure.

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