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ICT in Finnish University Libraries Arja-Riitta Haarala

ICT in Finnish University Libraries Arja-Riitta Haarala. User Problems in Remote Countries. Problems to overcome in the field of scientific and technical information are: Limited national research and development efforts, which dictate a great reliance on services from abroad

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ICT in Finnish University Libraries Arja-Riitta Haarala

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  1. ICT in Finnish University LibrariesArja-Riitta Haarala

  2. User Problems in Remote Countries • Problems to overcome in the field of scientific and technical • information are: • Limited national research and development efforts, which dictate a great reliance on services from abroad • Insufficient staff resources and print collections of scientific and technical information • A small clientele for scientific and technological information, which makes domestic information systems costly • Great distances to international data systems and large libraries abroad • Great distances within the country between users and suppliers of information • and last, but not least , language barriers.

  3. A Parasite Theory by prof. Elin Törnudd • ”Finland is not an information parasite, but living symbiotically with Europe. The remote country is living on others, using their systems and services, but pays for them with an economic contribution.” • Prof. Elin Törnudd, Benefits from Network ´Parasitology, Unesco Bull. Libr. 30 (1976) 4, 206-209

  4. Trends in the Academic Environment • The number of students and staff is growing, but in the future declining • The costs of libraries and IT services are increasing more rapidly than those of other goods and services • Performance-based funding • Emphasising the importance of quality and assessment • Virtual university and extensive use of ICT • Libraries are becoming a more integral part of the educational process • Structural development in the university sector

  5. The Promise of New Technology • In the 1970´s • Enthusiastic developers • Online databases and searching • Unit costs were calculated, for instance a cost of an online search • Economic aspects were not seen as important but use, usability and automation were the major concern • Achievements • HTKK-INIS online system 1973, FINP 1975 • Online searching from USA Systems 1974 and ESA 1976 • The association for Information services, Computer working group was launced • Adoption of standards, ISO 2709 into SFS 3494-1976 • Cooperative cataloguing schemes • Electronic news journal Extemplo

  6. The Implementation of ICT • In the 1980´s • The implementation of library systems was the object of the change • Technical services the main target • Automation was the major concern • A lot of enthusiasm, and money could be obtained fairly easily by cancelling the subscriptions of seldom used journals • Achievements • Datapak for online searching • Funet (Finnish University and Research Network) • VTLS project • Local databases for research • CD-ROM

  7. The Emergence of e-Resources in the 90´s • e-journals, service models development • Local trials: e-resources and e-publishing • Small-scale local consortia • Regional consortia, like FinELib, emerge • Libraries ready and willing to participate • Cancellation of print resources • Relatively low-priced deals • The awareness of costs become important

  8. The Deep Economic Recession in the 1990´s • Survival methods: • New methods for budgeting • Savings in staff • Savings in information resources • Savings in space • Lessons to be learned: • Better cost accounting should be developed • Quality aspects should also be considered • Reliable and more useful statistics should be available • Relevant surveys and studies should be carried out.

  9. The Transition from Print Services to e-Services - Evaluations and Studies at TUT • Compass benchmarking of IT services which produced a number of proposals for improvement as well as a useful set of numerical data on library activities. As a result we reviewed our acquisition process for PC`s, outsourced student printing, and revised quality and good practices standards for IT labs and helpdesks. • In the CRE Review of 1998 it was suggested that a more appropriate level of resources for the Library should be allocated. Budgets had not risen after the recession favourably in our case. • However, evaluations and studies do not produce money but more concrete steps should be taken because the growth of e-services seemed to be evident. A systematic look at our processes and cost structure was absolutely essential. It was decided to carry out a comprehensive activity-based costing study.

  10. Relative Costs: Articles PrintedSource: FinELib

  11. Relative Costs Articles PrintedSource: FinELib • And then we • Evaluated licences we had • Started a costing project to get a better view and more specific and detailed information on library activities • Tried to tell other universities that it is unfare to have this kind of licence fees • FinELib created a new local pricing structure

  12. The Distribution of Main Resourcesat TUT Library, 2002 and 2005

  13. Some Observations • It seems that there is a lot of overcapacity in print services: thus seldom used books could be sent to the National Repository Library. • Overcapacity can be found in e-services, too. About 80% of e-journals are seldom used (used 0-2 times) mainly due to the "Big Deal" licensing agreements. What economic and business models will emerge for networked information and e-services? There should be different models of licensing available to meet the needs in libraries. • It was laborious to get statistics on e-resources, and if they are available they appear very slowly. Gradually statistics from e-resources became available and meet better our needs. • Only a slight annual transition of resources from one service area to another is possible but at least our experience shows that it is possible.

  14. Transition Phase from Print to Electronic in the 21st century • Subscription agents and major publishers have been active • Transition happened very quickly • Vast amounts of e-journals and e-reference books • Portals become essential to handle resources • Large consortia profitable and useful • Usage statistics of major concern • Big deals dominating • Interest in costs and quality

  15. The Evaluation of Information systems at University Libraries, 2008 (1) • Importance of information systems: Voyager, OPAC, Nelli, SFX, Bookwhere • Other database systems: TRIP, Basis plus • Agencies used for purchasing • Own systems for library affairs • Own systems for personnel management and financial management

  16. The Evaluation of Information systems at University Libraries, 2008 (2) • CRITERIA: • Strategic importance • Criticalness • Life cycle • Integration capability • Service ability from the point of view of librariea • Usability • Operating expenses • Information security

  17. The Importance of Information Systems 1 (bad) 5 (good)

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