Marketing library services

the UHI way

Gillian Anderson UHI Librarian

A distributed federal collegiate HEI

x virtual

Comprises 15 Academic Partners

x collection of FE colleges

The Highlands and Islands of Scotland is a vast and diverse area, stretching from the Shetland Isles - on a latitude with Bergen in Norway - to Argyll in the southwest; and from the Western Isles of the Outer Hebrides to whisky-making Morayshire. Sandy beaches, rocky shores, forests, farmland, lochs, mountains and moorland contribute to a landscape that is unique in Europe.

Covering hundreds of islands and over half of the UK's entire coastline, the Highlands region has one of the most varied eco-systems in the world. Its unspoilt countryside and diversity of habitat make it unsurpassable for the variety of possible outdoor activities, from snow boarding to canoeing to family walks through the ancient Caledonian pine forest.

The Highlands and Islands contain a network of communities each of which, in its own way, enjoys a superb quality of life. From busy, bustling towns to quiet, intimate glens and crofting townships, there is a rich breadth and diversity of culture. Community lifestyles are bound together by a common sense of living in peace and harmony with the landscape.

The heritage of the Highlands is rich and diverse and ranges from the ancient, like the Calanais standing stones on Lewis in the Western Isles to the modern. The region has produced some of the UK’s brightest talents in science, music, dance & visual arts. UHI reflects this diversity in its degree and masters courses.

There are few other places in the world…. ... as beautiful to study in. UHI’s campuses and learning centres are located in every part of the region and the ever changing natural world is never far away.

….where you don’t have to go to a city to take part in higher education (although UHI can offer that too).

Flexibility is built into courses so that studies fit into life, not the other way round.

There are few other places in the world………where the approach to learning is a breath of fresh air. Scotland’s 21st century university-to-be is an educational model that attracts increasing attention from around the world

The bright lights are the UHI campuses…….

..…and the little ones are learning

centres

Shetland Coll.NAFCMarine Centre

Orkney Coll.

North Highland

Lews Castle

MorayHighland Theological Coll.

Inverness

Perth

Argyll

Scottish Ass. Marine Science

Lochaber

Sabhal Mor Ostaig

EO

6,000 students 57% female 94% Scottish origin 62% p/t

48% over 30 yrs 15 subject networks

100Learning Centres

1425 Perth is identified as a suitable site for a University.

1581 At a time of increased vigour in the Scottish University sector, Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney, plans an establishment in his earldom

1653 Sir Thomas Urquhart puts forward ambitious plans for a Highland University on his estate at Cromarty.

1848 A proposal is put forward to provide a college in Inverness with power to grant degrees.

1931 Hugh Gunn writes a volume entitled The Distribution of University Centres in Britain, highlighting the lack

of university provision for the north of Scotland.

1946 Inverness Town Council writes to the Secretary of the Scottish Home Department proposing Inverness as a suitable site for Scotland's fifth university.

1960s Government decides on Stirling as the site for the fifth university in Scotland

1991 Highland Council sets up steering group to explore case for

a University

1996 Millennium Commission awards development grant of over £33 m to the UHI project

2001 Designation as HEI, with SFC funding

2002/3 First Masters students and first PHd students graduate

Struan (seen here with son Coll), lives on the remote Ardnamurchan peninsula, 2.5 hours from Fort William.

An Edinburgh accountant, he moved with his wife and young family to where her family originated.

He does part-time accountancy work for two small local businesses.

To widen his employment options, Struan is doing UHI’s MSc in Rural Resource Management.

Lectures and tutorials are via video –conferencing.

Video-conferencing Video-conferencing bridge and masterbridge and master

If Inverness = Glasgow, then:

Struan in Ardnamurchan = Newcastle upon Tyne Data Warehouse (Oban) = Isle of Man Network Engineers (Skye) = Carlisle

VLE Manager (Stornoway) = Montrose

VC Master and Library System Manager (Shetland) = Dublin

Linked by technology

• APs and learning centres are part of an advanced high-speed electronic network

• UK leader in using video-conferencing technology for academic programme delivery

• Students study at an Academic Partner or learning centre, using online learning materials, and also have access to locally based study resources and support

How does a library service develop to support such distributed, networked teaching and learning?

And ensure equivalence of access, so that no student is disadvantaged because of their location?

UHI Library team

• Librarians of all Academic Partners were collaborating since before HEI status

• Regarded as good example of Academic Partner cooperation in UHI development

• Creation of UHI centrally funded team in 2005, with increased funding for online content provision

Coordinated provision

• Library Management System

• E-resource subscriptions

• Marc 21 catalogue record downloads

• Inter-site loans

• Access and borrowing schemes; lending rights

Academic Partner responsibilities

• Library/LRC provision

• Staffing: levels, grades, reporting structure

• Physical stock resourcing and acquisition

• User education

Our mission

Support and enable the academic aims and objectives of UHI through the development of a portfolio of library and information resources and services targeted to meet the needs of staff and students regardless of location; and to facilitate access and encourage effective exploitation by all.

Our vision

• Develop and deliver an integrated and innovative library service that uses advanced technology and provides a comprehensive service responsive to individual needs, and which is a credit to Scotland’s newest university-to-be.

Achievable aims• Provide seamless access to a wide range of

online resources, with technological solutions to enable searching across multiple databases

• Offer improved resource discovery by increasing usefulness of catalogue records through enhanced content and better linkages to external data sources

• Incorporate library resources into the VLE, providing tailored access to a wide range of academically accredited information sources

"If you want to get laid, go to college, but if you want an education, go to the library."

- Frank Zappa

The age of Google

• Single search boxes give instant satisfaction

• Users are not interested in Boolean logic or in asking a librarian how to find information

• Students find databases provision too complex

• Too often our databases are not where the students want to work, i.e. in their VLE

Resource discovery the UHI way

• Simplified database access provision

• Available through the VLE – where the students work

• No need to know Boolean logic - single search box

Integrated Library System

• Integrated resource discovery

• Maximum interoperability with business systems across the partnership

• Digital library solutions

Marketing the UHI way

• Why? To reach Struan

To be relevant To raise our profile To prove our value

Marketing the UHI way

• How?

Subject Network librarians

Champions

Publicity channels

Tapadh leibhThankyou

Gillian Anderson

UHI Librarian