CONSORTIUM OF NATIONAL & UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
Senio Lib a y S a Colloquium
Moun Julie 12-13 No embe 2001
The Fu u e Academic Lib a y
Indigenous Issues and In as uc u e De elopmen Policies
Wi hin he uni e si y he lib a y is o en one o he la ges depa men s bo h
in e ms o he pay and non-pay budge s. In size, spend and s a i may
equa e wi h a la ge esea ch-o ien ed science depa men , whe eas he
lib a y’s ou pu s a e no so easily quan i ied. The lib a y, a signi ican cos
o he uni e si y, has esou ces o o e he eby aiding eaching, lea ning and
esea ch. The ex en o hese esou ces is o en no eadily appa en ei he
in e nally o ex e nally.
One o oday’s indispensable ma ke ing ools is he websi e. Lib a ies
ecognised hei signi icance ea ly on. Many had si es in he mid-1990s
be o e hei pa en ins i u ion. Mos I ish uni e si y lib a ies now ha e a
di ec link om he home page. This is by no means he case in many UK
si es whe e he lib a y o esou ce cen e is hidden a numbe o le els down
unde se ices. The emphasis and unc ion o lib a y si es had changed
since he ea ly days. Si es hen we e mo e ex -o ien ed and closely
esembled he p in documen s on which hey we e based. Many si es now
gi e p io i y o he opac and elec onic esou ces – he i s link is equen ly
o hese speci ic esou ces. O he collec ions a e no gi en he p ominence
hey dese e and hei esea ch po en ial is no lagged.
Ou uni e si y lib a ies’ collec ions a e la gely es ic ed o ou own use
communi ies. Success ul coope a i e schemes such as ALCID ‘Academic
Lib a ies Co-ope a ing in Dublin’ o e in e -lib a y access. The scheme has
been ex ended o include Co k, Galway and Lime ick. Some lib a ies o e
comme cial se ices o he business sec o . All o us a e o some deg ee
unde p essu e o p o ide a se ice o ou local communi y. The Joining
o ces epo explo es ways in which he whole sec o can coope a e owa ds
access o all.1
A p esen , ex e nal demands a e e y cos ly in e ms o s a ime. Also
sea ing and pc access a e a a p emium yea ound. As mo e ma e ial is
a ailable elec onically o e he web i migh be possible o sa is y a ce ain
le el o enqui y in his way. Licensing and copy igh a e signi ican ac o s.
Wi h ou websi es concen a ing on opac and elec onic esou ces i is ime
o p o ide in o ma ion o e he web abou ou collec ions and hei esea ch
po en ial. I em le el desc ip ion o mos o ou collec ions is a ailable
h ough indi idual opacs o conso ia such as IRIS.2 Op imum collec ion
exposu e equi es a new le el o desc ip ion. Collec ions s eng hs a e no
e ealed by opac sea ching. Ea ly and a e collec ions may be well known
whe eas mode n and a chi al ma e ial may be neglec ed. B oade
de ini ions a e needed o lag unique g oups o i ems. UKOLN loca ed a he
Uni e si y o Ba h is he ocus o much esea ch in o hesau i, me ada a,
a chi ec u e and s anda ds o digi al in o ma ion managemen .3 Wo k on
collec ion desc ip ion me hods, ools and schemas is unded in he UK by
JISC4 and DNER – Dis ibu ed Na ional Elec onic Resou ce5, RSLP he
Resea ch Suppo Lib a ies P og amme 6 and he B i ish Lib a y. We can
bene i om sha ed in o ma ion which is eely a ailable om hei si es.
The RASCAL ‘Resea ch and Special Collec ions A ailable Locally’ p ojec
a Queens Uni e si y is unded by RSLP - Resea ch Suppo Lib a ies
P og amme. The da abase is due o be launched in Sp ing 2002. A sample
and su ey can be seen on hei si e. A eposi o y has been es ablished o
all No he n I eland publica ions in he absence o a na ional lib a y.7
Coope a ion al eady exis s o mally and in o mally be ween all CONUL
lib a ies. A No h-Sou h ongoing p ojec is PADDI ‘Planning A chi ec u e
1 Joining o ces: deli e ing lib a ies and in o ma ion se ices in he in o ma ion age, Dublin: An
Chomhai le Leabha lanna, July 1999.
2 IRIS The Conso ium o I ish Uni e si y and Resea ch Lib a ies
3 UKOLN p o ides policy, esea ch and awa eness se ices o he UK lib a y, in o ma ion and cul u al
he i age communi ies www.ukoln.ac.uk/cd- ocus/
4 JISC Join In o ma ion Sys ems Commi ee
5 DNER www.dne .ac.uk
6 www. ascal.qub.ac.uk; www. slp.ac.uk
7 NIPR No he n I eland Publica ion Resou ce www.nibook.o g
Design Da abase I eland’ join ly p oduced by Queen’s Uni e si y and
Uni e si y College Dublin.8 Ano he collabo a i e wo king pa y ALCID
and CONUL, epo ed in 1999 on o e laps, gaps and duplica ion o
pe iodical holdings. No ou comes esul ed pa ly pe haps because he
pe iodical scene was on he cusp o elec onic deli e y. A p esen he e a e
h ee wo king g oups:- Theses, Legal Deposi and P ese a ion. Two u he
g oups a e planned:-‘Copy igh and Rela ed Righ s’, and ‘Coope a i e
S o age/Collec ion Coo dina ion’.
The e is oom o coope a ion, in he spi i o Joining o ces, in he
de elopmen o he COLICO Special Collec ions p ojec .9 To da e special
collec ions in public lib a ies, no h and sou h can be accessed om he
Lib a y Council’s websi e.10 A special collec ions p ojec p oposal is unde
discussion by COLICO. P ima ily he p ojec ’s objec i e is o iden i y
special collec ions in lib a ies, a chi es and museums. In o ma ion ega ding
scope, s a us and accessibili y will be collec ed.
Collabo a i e collec ion managemen o legal deposi ma e ial was
in es iga ed by he CONUL g oup. Mos lib a ies a e selec i e in acqui ing
copy igh ma e ial o easons o ele ance, space and esou ces. Only
T ini y College and he Na ional Lib a y aim o comp ehensi e co e age.
Galway, Lime ick and Co k aim o collec local publica ions as widely as
possible. The impo ance o acqui ing and e aining he na ional p in
a chi e needs o be s a ed and unde s ood. As he olume o p in g ows so
does he s ain on ca aloguing depa men s whose s a ha e acqui ed o he
esponsibili ies in addi ion o main aining bibliog aphic s anda ds. I ish
publishing’s annual ou pu is well in excess o 2,000 i ems.
The Highe Educa ion Au ho i y’s PRTLI (P og amme o Resea ch in
Thi d-Le el Ins i i ions) canno deli e new buildings o ex ensions o all
uni e si y lib a ies. In his we a e in compe i ion wi h each o he and wi hin
ou ins i u ions he lib a y mus compe e o unding. In u u e we will s ill
be compe ing o capi al unding and o demog aphic easons we will be
compe ing o s uden s, amongs ou sel es and wi h he Ins i u es o
Technology.
8 www.paddi.ne
9 COLICO Commi ee on Lib a y Co-ope a ion in I eland
10 An Comhai le Leabha lanna/Lib a y Council www.lib a ycouncil.ie
We mus see o he hinking ha belie es ha elec onic esou ces do no
equi e b icks, mo a and s a . In a si ua ion whe e space is igh and he
p in a chi e is g owing i is i al ha we know wha each o ou lib a ies is
acqui ing and e aining whe he by pu chase, legal deposi o gi . Lib a ies
policies – hei collec ion managemen ools – should be a ailable on hei
websi es.
The e is much o be lea n abou he na u e o ou island’s p in a chi e.
Bodies and pla o ms al eady exis – NIS Na ional In o ma ion Se e , IRIS,
CONUL and COLICO. Th ough collec ion desc ip ions such as u ilised by
he RASCAL p ojec a Queen’s and wi h coope a ion om UK bodies such
as UKOLN, we should be able o make he i s s eps owa ds esou ce
disco e y in he island o I eland – a ‘Mapping I eland’ p ojec .
Vale ie Seymou
Collec ions Manage