Lund University Libraries Head Office Organizing Collection Management and End User Access in a Decentralized Library Environment Lars Björnshauge Lund University Libraries Sweden

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Outline of presentation The new Decentral Library Structure Collection Development & Management in the new structure The Outcomes so far Organizing end user access I will not deal with: weeding policy, archiving, the appropriateness of the Big Deals – unless promted!

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Lund University Founded in 1666, located in the southernmost province of Sweden, Scania Among the oldest and largest in Scandinavia Campus at several locations: Lund (main campus), Malmo, Helsingborg and more Multidisciplinary: 7 faculties + several research centres +35,000 students, +3,000 doctoral students, +6,000 employees

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Lund University Decentralized organization and economy Tension between central and de- central units on power and resources Tension reproduced within the library organisation

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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 University Librarian and Library Board had only authority over University Library, but not over department libraries

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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 Widespread development of decentral (faculty/departemental) library services Demands for more up-to-date and cost efficient library services and for university wide solutions.

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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 as such funds the Head Office and the University Library (central funding)

July 2003Lars Björnshauge The new structure Lund University Libraries as a network of libraries +/-25 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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….

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Centrally funded units Library Head Office Management, infrastructure, digital library services and development University Library: Cultural heritage, special collections, Swedish imprints, deposits and services generated from these collections (central funds are deducted from the funding that goes to the faculties – taxing!)

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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 35 FTE (whereof 20 FTE centrally funded)

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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 (+40 FTE staff have been reallocated) competence development in high demand reallocation of funds

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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 (decided by the Library Board) are needed – however these can only be implemented if they are born in a climate of debate, consultation, involvement and negotiation

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Areas where problems have been encountered Library Web-sites: how much autonomy in design, layout and presentation? Classification, subject presentation: One size fits all?? – hardly!! General library services to replace manually maintained journal lists, subject gateways etc. be carefull!!

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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 an emerging digital environment there is a strong need for coordination

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Problems in the old structure – acquisition of monographs Acquisition of monographs: to a large extent outsourced from the faculties to the subject librarians at the university library(ies) Missing links between the needs of the users (and funders!) and the actual acquisitions Faculties building own collections to compensate the lack of adequate collection development

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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!

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Problems in the old structure – subscription to journals Very few agreements with publishers (package deals) – different funding models here as well Hundreds of Dubble/triple etc. subscriptions Bundled subscriptions – but electronic access not activated or only activated for the subscribing unit Uncontrollabels Several subscription agents operating

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Problems in the old structure – summary Lack of overview of spending Unsufficient funding for general resources No explicit 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!!

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Goals: Promote end 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 remote access Reduce duplicates & uncontrollabels Reduce handling costs

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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 publishing

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Acquisition of monographs and course material Responsibility of the faculty/department libraries. Paid by faculties/departments. Decided by the library councils at faculties/departments (end user involvement) Handled by the faculty/department libraries

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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.

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Subscription to journals: Electronic subscriptions are the rule as a matter of policy Electronic journals in package deals are subject to central funding Subscription to printed journals are paid by the faculty/department

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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)

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Central funding for digital library resources ,000 Euro 20021,500,000 Euro 20031,900,000 Euro 2004 (?)2,200,000 Euro

July 2003Lars Björnshauge There are problems here as well 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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 generate their business.

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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 Publisher trap – a world outside Verona?

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Kluwer Springe r Elsevier Wiley EbscoIOP Publisher trap?

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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!

July 2003Lars Björnshauge All these islands to explore! Publisher Resources Open Archives

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Personalization ”My Library” 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Our answer to the demand for the one stop shop - a library developed interface to hybrid library resources

July 2003Lars Björnshauge  Librarians are navigation experts  We can offer efficient and user-friendly navigation tools, alias search interfaces  integrates data from publishers, databases, Open Archives with the local OPAC and document delivery services HMS

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Now, this is more like it! All treasures on one island !

July 2003Lars Björnshauge - 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge - 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

July 2003Lars Björnshauge - Electronic Library Information Navigator Contents (July 2003) +14,000 journals, whereof +7,500 journals with metadata (cross searchable on article level) +11,000,000 records E-print archives, Databases

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Direct to full-text Automatic order if full-text is not available Basic Search

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Bibliographic information and abstract Searchable keywords Searchable author names Link to full-text Searchable journal names Export to reference programs

July 2003Lars Björnshauge Thank you for your attention!

July 2003Lars Björnshauge URLs etc Lund University Libraries: Directory of Open Access Journals: contact: