New challenges for university libraries Maria Seissl Vienna University Library and Archive Services
50 libraries covering all areas of teaching and research at Vienna University Vienna University Archive Print holdings: 6.6 million volumes Digital holdings: vast and rapidly growing collection of e- ressources (e-journals, databases, e-books) Seach gateways: Library website, online-catalogue, SFX, Metalib active users open to the general public 300 staff
Challenges Due to recent changes in university legislation university libraries are part of the university and no longer answering directly the ministry Where there was great uniformity, diversity and competition have been introduced Joint ventures have become more difficult because bilateral agreements are necessary and cooperative funding has to be raised
University libraries face price increases without increases of their budget and allowances for currency inflation E-Journal delivery to desktop is now standard – need to acquire publisher backfiles has high priority (University) libraries are constantly in need of space
On a larger scale Open Access recommendations of European University Association UEA on open access ncil_on_26th_of_March_2008_final.pdf Long-term preservation of digital assets (but also of paper- based documents) Mass digitisation
Opportunities RAD – Research and Activities Documentation Development of a digital asset management system: PHAIDRA (Permanent Hosting, Archiving and Indexing of Digital Resources and Assets) Workflow synergies for plagiarism check and theses database Take part in EU-projects Take an active role in research evaluation (bibliometrics) Continuing professional development
New role of libraries in the information world push content to users – make libraries meeting places, thereby binding students to the universities