Lund University Libraries Head Office Organizing Collection Management and End User Access in a Decentralized Library Environment 10th Slovenian Conference of Special Libraries, 3rd Slovenian Conference of Academic Libraries Ljubljana, November 2004 Lars Björnshauge Lund University Libraries Sweden

Outline of presentation Decentralization of the Library Structure Collection Development & Management in the new structure The Outcomes so far Organizing end user access

Lund University Founded in 1666, located in the southernmost province of Sweden, Scania Campus at several locations: Lund (main campus), Multidisciplinary: 8 faculties + several research centres +35,000 students, +3,000 doctoral students, +6,000 employees

Lund University Decentralized organization and economy Tension between central and de- central units on power and resources

Library Structure before the changes University Library, central (main) library, UB1 and UB2 Cultural heritage collections, legal deposit Library services for the faculties based on contracts +/- 90 department libraries funded and operated by faculties/departments huge differences in service levels

The Drivers for change: Specific Dissatisfaction espressed by faculty leaders (deans etc.) towards the central library services and the (lack of) development of digital library services Uncoordinated development of faculty/departement library services Demands for more up-to-date and cost efficient library services and for university wide solutions.

Preparations for and implementation of a New Library Organisation : External report on the state of library services Decisions by the University Board: reorganization of the library services 2001: Start of the implementation of a new Library organization of Library Services 2001 and ongoing: Restructuring/merging/development of faculty/department libraries Development of the digital library services

Primary goals of a New Library structure Implementation of minimum service levels (standards) for libraries Development of digital library services Cost efficiency & transparency Focus on the needs of students

Important features of a new structure Establishing the library structure as a network of libraries. Faculties, departments & research centers operate and fund libraries in their specific area. The University funds the Head Office and the University Library (central funding)

The new structure Lund University Libraries as a network of libraries +/-20 Faculty or Department libraries University Library: Cultural heritage, special collections and deposits Library Head Office: management and coordination of the network of libraries, development of the digital library

Faculty and Departemental Libraries Provides the basic library services to researchers, teachers and students Are operated and funded by faculties, departments and centers Standards apply for libraries….

Standards for Faculty or Department Libraries in the Network All relevant library services avialable Opening hours (min. 36 hours) Collections are catalogued in the OPAC Library educated staff (min. 3,0 FTE) Adequate work facilities for students Own (Faculty/Department) Library Council Own budget (staff, acquistions etc.) Own web-site

Centrally funded units University Library: Cultural heritage, special collections, Swedish imprints, deposits and services generated from these collections Library Head Office Management, infrastructure, digital library services and development

The Library Head Office is the unit for management and coordination of the new network of libraries, operates the library automation system & operates and develops digital library services, runs competence development programs Library IT-development projects 28 FTE (whereof 20 FTE centrally funded)

Division of responsibilities A Library Board: policymaking, standards etc. A Library Council (heads of faculty/ department libraries): advicing the Director of Libraries The Director of Libraries: responsible for the library services in general Library Head Office – executive unit: infrastructure & coordination

Balancing expectations The University Management expects: more and better services for the same funding The Faculties expects: more and better central services for less funding Our promises: much more and much better services for a little bit more funding

The outcomes so far Increased commitment from the faculties to library issues Away from the customer-supplier relation between faculties and libary management. Faculties are library operaters themselves! Library Services are on the agenda everywhere

Specific problems in a reorganization Such a reorganization generates a number of issues to deal with: downsizing university library operations creates stress and tensions reallocation of staff (+50 FTE staff have been reallocated) competence development in high demand reallocation of funds

Specific issues in a decentralized environment faculty/department libraries want an independent profile and specific visibility – autonomy! the funders want efficiency! common guidelines, standards and rules are needed – however these can only be implemented if they are born in a climate of debate, discussion, consultation, involvement and negotiation

Collection development & management before the reorganization Lack of coordination Each unit took care of collection management based on their own specific needs This might work in a non-digital environment But: in a digital environment there is a strong need for coordination

Problems in the old structure – subscription to databases Insufficient central funding for general resources (i.e. encyclopedias, reference works, multidisciplinary databases etc.) Lots of different funding models for databases: One faculty, two faculties, three or more faculties No clear policy as to access Makes life difficult for end users!

Problems in the old structure – subscription to journals Very few agreements with publishers on electronic journals (package deals) – different funding models Hundreds of Dubble/triple etc. subscriptions Bundled subscriptions – but electronic access not activated or only activated for the subscribing unit Uncontrollabels – personal subscriptions Several subscription agents operating

Problems in the old structure – summary No of overview of spending Insufficient funding for general resources No general policy for access Department, faculty or campus wide Lack of decision making information as to the potential benefits of package deals But: Room for improvements!!

Collection Development & Management in the new structure Goals, Principles & Policies Acquisition of monographs and course material (print) Digital library resources (databases, journal package agreements, e-books etc.) Subscriptions to databases Subscriptions to journals Administration of journal subscriptions

Goals: Promote user influence by involving library committees and faculty/department librarians (subject specialists) Value for money - Create synergy – 1+1=3 - Much more for a little bit more! Facilitate/improve remote access Reduce duplicates & uncontrollabels Reduce handling costs

Principles & Policies Digital resources are general resources – thus central funding should apply University wide access Journals: electronic versions where possible Promote Open Access resources and university based electronic publishing

The primary challenge: Managing the transition from printed to digital information Handling the reallocation of funds How to convince the faculties that more central funding (taxing!) should go to general digital library resources The answers: Faculties have influence on the selection Transparency in funding Easier access to more information resources

Collection development & Management Responsibilities of the Head Office Responsibilities of Faculty & Department Libraries Involvement, Negotiation and Selection Library Councils (Faculty/Department level) Committee for Digital Resources Funding

Digital library resources (databases, journal package agreements, e-books etc.) Decision making/selection: Responsibility of the Committee for Digital Resources (1 member appointed by each faculty) Funding: centrally

Subscription to databases: Selected and decided by the Committee for Digital Resources Centrally funded. Managed by the Head Office: supplier contacts, access management, authorization, payments, local help desk etc.

Subscription to journals: Electronic versions are the rule as a matter of policy Electronic journals in package deals are centrally funded Subscription to printed journals are paid by the faculty/department

Administration of journal subscriptions: The Head Office takes care of: management, administration, communication with subscription agent, payments etc. Activating electronic access to bundled subscriptions are handled by the Head Office Faculty/department libraries takes care of print journals: Issue handling and claims 1 (one) Subscription Agent (mandatory)

The outcomes so far: Huge increase: in central funding for digital resources in subscriptions to electronic journals Considerable reductions in print subscriptions, duplicates and uncontrollabels Increased commitment from the faculties for the (digital) library services Increased awareness as to problems in scholarly publishing and of the importance of Open Access

Central funding for digital library resources ,000 Euro 20021,500,000 Euro 20031,900,000 Euro ,000,000 Euro 20052,100,000 Euro

Problems & Priorities Selecting digital resources: Making priorities There are limits for central funding So far the big deals have got priority But the era of the big deals is running out – what then?? E-books are coming in

Organizing end user access The problems: Numerous databases and journal providers – numerous interfaces Several thousand e-journals difficult to find (Especially in a decentralised library system) Portals provided by subscription agents and journals publishers are not invented primarily to accomodate end user needs but more to accomodate the business.

Finding information Library branding very important – users often believe that full-text e- journals are free on the Internet! ”If it is not on the web, it does not exist” We want to brand our services and promote Open Access resources The Publisher trap

Kluwer Springe r Elsevier Wiley EbscoIOP Publisher trap?

Navigare necesse est - but with a chart…. Where are the buried treasures? We want to find them quickly and easily Search all the islands in the sea simultaneously Without leaving the ship!

Organising end user access The goals: Integration of all services Development of personalized services Branding of library services Principles: Single sign on – automatic authentification – one login/password to all resources Remote access

The bundling strategy Bundling: the strategy of the commercial ”big deal” publishers  In terms of access and usage bundling means:  One database  One single point of access – limited to the content of one publisher  Visibility for low usage (low quality?) journals

An integration strategy Integration means:  One database  One single point of access – independent of publishers  Visibility for smaller, not-for-profit publishers And  Visibility for Institutional or Subject based Repositories and Open Access journals

Integration of Library Services – Towards the one stop shop OPAC –printed collections Databases, encyclopedias, reference works etc. Electronic journals Open access resources Journals E- & preprint archives, institutional repositories Subject gateways

Personalization ”MyCollection” Recommended resources – selected by subject librarians Add your personal favourites SDI-alerts from databases, journals etc. TOC-alerts Users register at one site for all alerts

Specific Problem: Integration of OA- material in Library & Information Services The problem: conventional subscription based material flows more or less seamlessly into library services supported by publishers, subscriptionsagents, aggregators etc. how to expose Open Access material to users??

- Electronic Library Information Navigator – a library developed interface for the integration of information resources

- Electronic Library Information Navigator Advantages for end users: One interface for all content Cross search documents from multiple sources – free or licensed Document delivery services for documents not available in Full Text ToC alerts and SDI´s Integration with reference management tools

- Electronic Library Information Navigator  Advantages for librarians:  Enhancing availability and visibility of scientific literature  Increasing e-journal cost efficiency – Usage is boosting  Administrative functions/Management tools: Customization, Statistics, Collection Management, Budgeting, Marketing Subscription administration functionalities

 Product neutral presentation of resources  records in one user interface  Integration to local user database for autentification etc.  Personalized services  Advanced administration tools for customization and electronic resource management

Contents (November 2004)  +16,000 journals, whereof  + 9,000 journals with metadata (cross searchable on article level)  +20,000,000 records  Open Archives (institutional & subject specific repositories),  Databases  Recommended web-resources

System architecture

userinterface

administrative module

A digital library tool developed by an academic library for academic libraries  A product neutral presentation of resources  records in one user interface  Publishers + Open Archives + Open Access Journals  Integration to local LDAP-services (user database for autentification etc.)  Personalized services – my collection etc.  Advanced administration tools for customization & e-resources management  In operation at 10 Swedish Universities, Regional Health Care Services, and Ghent University, Belgium and

Keep it simple!! one simple pricing model all services included – unlimited number of resources (journals, databases etc.) no extra costs for linking up ”exotic” resources no extra costs for personalisation (TOC-alerts or SDI´s) no hardware investments

International Development Development of onsite in cooperation with International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) for institutions Facilitating easy use of digital information resources in low-bandwidth environments In operation at Law Faculties in 4 universities in Vietnam Installations underway in: Pakistan Uganda Rwanda

Implementation in Vietnam, Rwanda, Uganda and Pakistan

Thank you for your attention!

URLs etc Lund University Libraries: Directory of Open Access Journals: contact: