1. Supporting Research Needs in the 21st Century
Some Thoughts on
Information Service Evolution
Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter

2. Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter
Missions and meanings
The institutional mission
Teaching
Research
The context – local, national, global
Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter

3. Research: what’s it for?
Progress
Enlightenment
Evolution
Truth
Heritage
Creativity
Store of knowledge
Curiosity
Profit
Career
National interest
Institutional interest
Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter

4. Researchers:what do they look like?
Staff and p/g research
Independent researchers
10% + of all UK academic library users
Pushing the envelope
Research degrees
Text-based
Lab-based
Commercial
Producing theses, articles, monographs
Information - hungry
(Part-) owners of intellectual property
Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter

5. What’s strange about the UK?
Number of research-active institutions
Peer grading of research quality
Money follows grading
Overt competition for central funds
Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter

6. Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter
Distortions
Salami publishing
Need for more places to publish in
Commercial and pure research intermingling
Headhunting
Research directions unconnected to areas of library excellence
Lack of time to think it all out again
Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter

7. The view from the Library
National and regional cooperation
Investigation
Finance
E-resources
The hybrid library
Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter

8. Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter
National cooperation
Pilot programmes and beyond
Leadership
DNC & DNER
Full disclosure
Deeper collaboration
Cross-sectoral
Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter

9. Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter
E-resources
Electronic journals and the logjam in scholarly communications
SPARC
Open archives
Theses
Digitisation programmes – creation and preservation
Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter

10. Let’s hear it for the staff
Range of expertise and expectation
Training and development the key
Alasdair Paterson University of Exeter