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Challenges for Academic Libraries in Difficult Times

This article explores the challenges faced by academic libraries in difficult economic times, including budget cuts, searching for cost savings, new strategies, and the value of libraries. The article also discusses trends in library finances and the impact of usage on cost and research outcomes.

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Challenges for Academic Libraries in Difficult Times

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  1. Working together in difficult times:Challenges for academic libraries Sally Curry Research Information Network JIBS Conference York, 2 December 2010

  2. Budgets and finance • Searching for savings • New strategies? • Libraries and their value

  3. 1. Budgets and finance

  4. The last decade for UK libraries

  5. The last decade for UK libraries

  6. US and UK compared • Survey in late 2009 showed both UK and US libraries expecting cuts next year

  7. US and UK compared • … and UK librarians are even more gloomy about the prospects in 2 years’ time

  8. 2. Searching for savings

  9. Where and how to make cuts? • Staffing • Services • Infrastructure • Content

  10. Staffing • expenditure has risen in real terms by 31% in UK university libraries • 45% in research-intensive universities • highest as a proportion of expenditure (c 60%) in colleges • significant differences between individual libraries (30%->70%) • but academic staff and student numbers have risen faster

  11. Staff, service and infrastructure • Staff • Doing more with fewer staff • pressure from university management • some thought being given to restructuring and re-engineering • but recruitment freezes and not replacing staff who leave are the currently- favoured options • Service • Closely related to staffing – opening hours and enquiry services and user information skills training • Infrastructure • Many libraries already cutting plans in both building developments and in IT projects

  12. Content • As proportion of overall library expenditure, relatively stable at 34% • highest in older universities: • Expenditure on content in UK has risen 34% in real terms • +52% in research-intensive universities • -2% in new universities

  13. Content: books • expenditure on books has fallen, from c.12% to 9% of overall library expenditure • power of the student voice in demanding books and other library services • e-books the future?

  14. Content: journals • expenditure on journals has risen dramatically in research-intensive universities • different picture for recently-created universities and colleges

  15. Content: journals • journal expenditure has risen on average from 15% to 19% of overall library expenditure • over 24% in older universities • >70% of expenditure on information resources in many universities • sustainability vs users’ expectations • future of big deals?

  16. Cuts in content? • cuts in monographs, other print books, and printed serials the most favoured • cuts in e-journals and e-books least favoured

  17. Content: new areas and activities • information literacy • how well is library-based training resourced and co-ordinated with others? • open access • repositories • payment of open access publication fees • data curation • new skills and capabilities • digital preservation

  18. 3. New strategies? “opportunities to rethink what the library is and what it means….”

  19. New strategies for content? • from just-in-case to just-in time? • from librarian-controlled to user-generated acquisitions? • from hybrid to e-only? • drivers and constraints • cyber-infrastructure? • consortial collection development? • ‘cloud-sourced’ research collections? • role of Special Collections?

  20. 4. The value of libraries

  21. Some issues with value • it means different things to different people • describing perceived value and demonstrating value are different activities • available data • correlation is not causation……..

  22. Usage and cost • as usage goes up, so cost per use has fallen • downloads of e-jnls rose by 160% in UK - 2004 and 2008 • 250% in research-intensive universities • cost per download fell by 40% • 60% in research-intensive universities • big differences between individual libraries

  23. Expenditure and usage • levels of expenditure in individual libraries do seem to correlate with volume of downloads • two journal platforms and COUNTER figures as reported by libraries

  24. Usage and outcomes • usage correlates closely with research outcomes • PhDs awarded • research grants and contract income • papers published

  25. E-journal investment, use and research outcomes • Investment drives use • Direct links between use and research success weak as the two are distant from each other • There are indicators that usage does correlate closely with research outcomes

  26. Thank you Sally Curry www.rin.ac.uk

  27. References • Challenges for libraries in difficult economic times. RIN in association with SCONUL http://www.rin.ac.uk/our-work/using-and-accessing-information-resources/challenges-academic-libraries-difficult-economic- • Trends in the finances of UK higher education libraries 1999-2009 A RIN report based on SCONUL library statistics. http://www.rin.ac.uk/our-work/communicating-and-disseminating-research/trends-finances-uk-higher-education-libraries-1999 • CIBER (2009) The economic downturn and libraries, survey findings www.ucl.ac.uk/infostudies/research/ciber/charleston-survey.pdf • Measuring library impact on learning at the University of Huddersfield, Sue White and Graham Stone. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/7842/1/SCONUL_2010_white_stone.pdf All the RIN reports and briefings are downloadable from the RIN website If you would like to be added to the RIN mailing list, please get in touch: contact@rin.ac.uk

  28. RIN References • Taking Our Pulse: The OCLC Research Survey of Special Collections and Archives http://www.oclc.org/research/news/2010-10-27.htm • E-journals: their use, value and impact www.rin.ac.uk/use-ejournals • ‘Transitions in scholarly communication’ focuses on changes taking place in the world of scholarly communications and their impact on research http://www.rin.ac.uk/resources/publishing/transitions-scholarly-communications • Scholarly books and journals at risk: Responding to the challenges of a changing economy www.rin.ac.uk/files/Scholarly_books_journals_at_risk.pdf All the RIN reports and briefings are downloadable from the RIN website If you would like to be added to the RIN mailing list, please get in touch: contact@rin.ac.uk

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