A futures exchange

Tim Wales, Head of LibraryEBSLG Conference: Cambridge 18th June 2013

ABLD/EBSLG/APBSLG FUTURE OF BSCHOOL LIBRARIES SURVEY

PART 1: BOOK EXTRACT

Image Source: Dan Santana via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dani-santana/3534299566/

Ashgate PublishingISBN 9781409465652

Background

• ABLD/EBSLG/APBSLG mailing list members were invited in August/September 2012 to complete a short (10 question) “Delphi survey” to determine if there was any consensus around the shape of things to come for business school libraries.

• 23 responses were received, of which 11 (48%) were from the USA, 9 (39%) from Europe and the remaining 3 (13%) were from the Asia-Pacific region.

Results (1):Top 5 Future Challenges

1. Technological challenges2. Disintermediation of libraries in delivering content3. Reduced budgets4. Institutional issues/politics5. User expectations

Not considered important:

• Loss of physical space• International campuses/partners

Results (2): Other Challenges

The relationship between the library and teachingComments related to the rapid changes to curriculum and the associated disconnect between library and teaching staff.

Free internet informationStudents’ perception that information is freely available online.

The disconnected libraryEnsuring the library aligned with the bschool’s mission: the business library may not exist if institutional mergers were to occur.

Library staffEnsuring that library staff had access to the appropriate training to ensure the supply of the right kind of business specialists (and leaders) for the future.

Results (3): Top 5 Opportunities

1. Specialist resource/research support2. Flexible study space provision3. Discovery support4. Information literacy5. Learning technologies

Not considered important:

• Social media• iTunes U content/Library apps

Results (4): Future confidence?

How confident are you that business school libraries will exist in 20 years time?

6% had zero confidence

52% very confident or confident22% undecided20% not confident

And…

Results (5): Free-text (+) comment

We are busier than ever in our library. There are so many databases with such complex, difficult-to-use interfaces and so many students studying Business that our job security seems assured to me (unless standards are lowered greatly and no one cares about the quality of the information they are using).

Results (6): Free-text (-) comment

I’m confident that business school librarians will exist but [business school] libraries maybe not.

THE BRIEF: WHAT KIND OF LIBRARY DO WE WANT OR NEED IN THE FUTURE?

PART 2: LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL LIBRARY VISIONING

The Marylebone Centre: Source: Tim Wales (Flickr)

2017 onwards

EMBEDDED LIBRARY RESEARCH TEAMVISION 1

Research dissemination

Research information

Data management

Research analysis

Research performance

Compliance

LIBRARY HUBVISION 2

Library

Course support

Researchsupport

Compliance

CareersSupport

HERITAGE LIBRARYVISION 3

LibraryLibrary

VIRTUAL LIBRARYVISION 4

User support

Compliance

Resource discovery

REJECTEDOther visions

Contracted-out

Termination

P-LIBRARY USEInternal Trend Analysis [Extract]

Print Library use – July - Dec 2012

Category# of Library registered users

# of active users

% of category total

# of inactive users (0 transactions in period)

% of category total

# of print transactions in period

% of total transactions

Faculty 150 22 15% 128 85% 195 1.9%PhDs 73 44 60% 29 40% 553 5.5%

Students 1,800 838 47% 962 53% 5,971 58.9%Alumni 2,426 336 14% 2,090 86% 2,815 27.8%Exec Ed 121 6 5% 115 95% 12 0.1%

Staff 548 101 18% 447 82% 596 5.9%TOTAL 5,115 1,347 26% 3,768 74% 10,142 100%

E-LIBRARY USEInternal Trend Analysis [Extract]

E-Library use via Portal - July - Dec 2012

Category# of Portal registered users

# of active users

% of category total

# of inactive users (0 accesses in period)

% of category total

# of Library resource accesses via Portal

% of total Portal library db sessions

Faculty 150 131 87% 19 13% 4,434 7.0%PhDs 73 73 100% 0 0% 2,387 3.8%

Students 1,800 1,297 72% 503 28% 25,718 40.5%Alumni 35,274 1,900 5% 33,374 95% 20,132 31.7%Exec Ed 600 416 69% 184 31% 3,480 5.5%

Staff 548 238 43% 310 57% 7,364 11.6%TOTAL 38,442 4,055 11% 34,390 89% 63,515 100%

Excluding Alumni 3,171 2,155 68% 1,016 32% 43,383 100%

We have not discussed going e-only, partly because the need is not there. If there is a space crunch again, I am sure we will get the push.From my perspective, we could easily reduce our onsite holdings by at least 50% but there are limitations on remote storage so we are not pushing. I think it will be a while before the publisher business models make e-only a reality and I think the social sciences are lagging the sciences. Even Stanford’s so-called “bookless” Engineering Library has at least 25,000 volumes and shows no signs of going bookless any time soon.One thing to look at is the behavior of the current undergraduates. Many of them still prefer paper for close reading.

Overall rank

Opportunity Library Hub

Virtual Library

1 Specialist resource/research support ½2 Flexible study space 3 Discovery support 4 Information literacy ½5 Learning technologies ½6 Research data management ½ ½7 Careers & entrepreneurship support ½8 Open access ½ ½9 Digitisation ½10 Knowledge management

VISIONS V. THE FUTURES SURVEYBRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

WHICH ONE WAS SELECTED?Q&A

User support

Compliance

Resource discovery

twales@london.edu @timwales