Working together in difficult times: Challenges for academic libraries Sally Curry Research Information Network JIBS Conference York, 2 December 2010
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Transcript Working together in difficult times: Challenges for academic libraries Sally Curry Research Information Network JIBS Conference York, 2 December 2010
Working together in
difficult times:
Challenges for
academic libraries
Sally Curry
Research Information Network
JIBS Conference
York, 2 December 2010
Budgets and finance
Searching for savings
New strategies?
Libraries and their value
1. Budgets and finance
The last decade for UK
libraries
Chart 1: Indexed real terms expenditure on libraries 1998-2008
Expenditure (1998=100 for each data series)
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Year
RLUK
Pre-92 universities
Post-92 universities
Other HE colleges
All SCONUL members
The last decade for UK
libraries
Chart 2: Library expenditure as a proportion of overall institution
expenditure 1998-2008
4.5
4.0
3.5
Percentage
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Year
RLUK
Pre-92 universities
Post-92 universities
Other HE colleges
All SCONUL members
US and UK compared
Survey in late
2009 showed
both UK and
US libraries
expecting
cuts next year
US and UK compared
… and UK
librarians are
even more
gloomy about
the prospects
in 2 years’
time
2. Searching for savings
Where and how to make
cuts?
Staffing
Services
Infrastructure
Content
Staffing
expenditure has risen in
real terms by 31% in UK
university libraries
45% in research-intensive
universities
70
60
50
Percentage
Chart 21: Staff expenditure as a percentage of overall library expenditure
1998-2008
40
30
20
10
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
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Year
RLUK
Pre-92 universities
Post-92 universities
Other HE colleges
All SCONUL members
Chart 20: Indexed real terms expenditure on staff 1998-2008
160
Expenditure (1998=100 for each data series)
0
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Year
RLUK
Pre-92 universities
Post-92 universities
Other HE colleges
All SCONUL members
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
Content
45
40
35
30
Percentage
As proportion of overall
library expenditure,
relatively stable at 34%
Chart 4: Information provision expenditure as a percentage of overall
library expenditure 1998-2008
25
20
15
highest in older universities:
10
5
0
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Year
RLUK
+52% in research-intensive
universities
-2% in new universities
Post-92 universities
Other HE colleges
All SCONUL members
Chart 3: Indexed real terms expenditure on information provision 1998-2008
180
160
Expenditure (1998=100 for each data series)
Expenditure on content
in UK has risen 34% in
real terms
Pre-92 universities
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Year
RLUK
Pre-92 universities
Post-92 universities
Other HE colleges
All SCONUL members
Content: books
Chart 5: Indexed real terms expenditure on books 1998-2008
120
Expenditure (1998=100 for each data series)
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?
100
80
60
40
20
0
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Year
RLUK
Pre-92 universities
Post-92 universities
Other HE colleges
All SCONUL members
Content: journals
different picture for
recently-created
universities and
colleges
Chart 7: Indexed real terms expenditure on serials 1998-2008
200
180
Expenditure (1998=100 for each data series)
expenditure on
journals has risen
dramatically in
research-intensive
universities
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Year
RLUK
Pre-92 universities
Post-92 universities
Other HE colleges
All SCONUL members
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?
30
25
Percentage
Chart 8: Serials expenditure as a percentage of overall library
expenditure 1998-2008
20
15
10
5
0
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Year
RLUK
Pre-92 universities
Post-92 universities
Other HE colleges
All SCONUL members
Cuts in content?
cuts in monographs,
other print books,
and printed serials
the most favoured
cuts in e-journals
and e-books least
favoured
Content: new areas and
activities
information literacy
how well is library-based training resourced and coordinated with others?
open access
repositories
payment of open access publication fees
data curation
new skills and capabilities
digital preservation
3. New strategies?
“opportunities to rethink what the
library is and what it means….”
New strategies for content?
from just-in-case to just-in time?
from librarian-controlled to usergenerated acquisitions?
from hybrid to e-only?
drivers and constraints
cyber-infrastructure?
consortial collection development?
‘cloud-sourced’ research collections?
role of Special Collections?
4. The value of libraries
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……..
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
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
Usage and outcomes
usage correlates
closely with
research
outcomes
PhDs awarded
research grants and
contract income
papers published
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
Thank you
Sally Curry
www.rin.ac.uk
References
Challenges for libraries in difficult economic times. RIN in association
with SCONUL http://www.rin.ac.uk/our-work/using-and-accessinginformation-resources/challenges-academic-libraries-difficulteconomic-
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-disseminatingresearch/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: [email protected]
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/useejournals
‘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/transitionsscholarly-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: [email protected]