Access to Research: the experience of implementing a pilot in public libraries

The Access to Research project is a collaboration between scholarly publishers and librarians to provide free licensed access to research journals via terminals in public libraries. The project is an element of the ‘balanced package’ proposed by the Finch Working Group on how to expand access to published research in the UK, which reported its recommendations to the UK government in June 2012. We describe the setting up of the project and the findings from a three-month technical pilot prior to the launch of a two-year national pilot in February 2014.

The project has already attracted support from the major scholarly publishers, with about 8,400 journal titles now available. The access platform has been shown to be usable by public librarians and library patrons. We are now addressing the challenge of understanding how the public will make use of the system and exploring how best to provide training and education for librarians and users.

URL : http://dx.doi.org/10.1087/20140202

Scholarly Communication at Canadian Research Libraries Conversations with…

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Scholarly Communication at Canadian Research Libraries: Conversations with Librarians :

INTRODUCTION. The landscape of librarianship in relation to the practice of scholarly communication is evolving. The objectives of this study were to investigate: the scope of scholarly communication activities within Canadian research libraries; the organizational structures in place to support them; and the roles of librarians who participate in them. Key challenges to its advancement and how librarians envision its future were also investigated.
METHODS Twenty-nine academic librarians from Canadian Association of Research Libraries member institutions participated in semi-structured, open-ended interviews. Interviews were analyzed for recurring themes.
RESULTS. Participants outlined initiatives, services, and structures to support scholarly communication at their institutions. Solo scholarly communication librarians, specialized teams, and committees were identified as primary structures. Liaison librarians play an essential supporting role regardless of structure. Individually, librarians are seen to have an impact as leaders and advocates in promoting scholarly communication. The concept of “librarian as researcher” is also important. Participants shared a desire for better communication and collaboration in this area. Many participants saw the need for standardized assessment and evaluation methods. Participants enumerated their greatest challenges and provided suggestions for addressing them in the future.
CONCLUSION. This study demonstrates that organizational structure can enhance scholarly communication activities in libraries. Leadership both at the personal and collective level is necessary to provide an impetus for scholarly communication activities. Librarians should be knowledgeable about the issues and be ready to deliver the “pitch.” Strengthening collaboration and communication among Canadian librarians is essential for moving the scholarly communication agenda forward.”

URL : http://jlsc-pub.org/jlsc/vol2/iss2/3/

Marketing of Electronic Resources in IIT Libraries …

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Marketing of Electronic Resources in IIT Libraries :

“Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) libraries at Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, and Roorkee have been subscribing to over 15000 e-journals, e-books, databases, and other e-resources either individually or in consortia mode and spending a substantial part of their acquisition budget for over a decade now. This paper attempts to study the marketing efforts being made by these libraries to improve the awareness and increase the usage of these resources. Marketing-related data were collected through a questionnaire, personal visits, and discussions with the librarians, and the usage data were obtained from publishers. Data analysis revealed that e-resources in all IITs are being heavily used as the number of downloads have increased from 32,33,818 to 75,23,371 reflecting a growth of 132 % over a period of 9 years. The IIT libraries adopt multipronged approach and use 27 marketing techniques to promote their resources. The study also showed that there were downward fluctuations in usage in different years. It is suggested that these libraries shall regularly re-look at the marketing strategies and techniques; study their impact on the awareness and usage of the e-resources; identify and remove the bottlenecks; and make additional efforts including interacting with the users to ensure optimum utilisation of these resources.”

URL : http://publications.drdo.gov.in/ojs/index.php/djlit/article/view/5517

Institutional Repository Management Models That Support Faculty Research Dissemination

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Purpose – Research dissemination is a core mission for all universities. As a result, libraries should adopt this mission, utilizing institutional repositories services to support this goal. This paper aims to explore management models that institutional repositories can use for this purpose.

Design/methodology/approach – By using research dissemination as a primary objective, individual management models are reviewed for their ability to accomplish this goal. Institutional repository services resulting from this purpose are also described.

Findings – By adopting these kinds of models, libraries can develop new services that go beyond traditional library services and provide key support for the dissemination of a university’s scholarship.

Originality/value – This article challenges the existing ideology surrounding institutional repositories and helps frame these services as a core component for fulfilling an important university mission.

URL : http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/lib_facpubs/95/

Lib-Value: Values, Outcomes, and Return on Investment of Academic Libraries, Phase III: ROI of the Syracuse University Library

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“This study measures the return-on-investment (ROI) of the Syracuse University library. Faculty and students at Syracuse University were surveyed using contingent valuation methodology to measure their willingness-to-pay in time and money for the services of the academic library. Their travel time and use of the online library was measured to determine the environmental value of the academic library. The economic and environmental value of the Syracuse University library show an ROI of $4.49 returned to the university for every $1.00 spent each year.”

URL : Lib-Value: Values, Outcomes, and Return on Investment of Academic Libraries, Phase III

DOI : 10.5860/crl.76.1.63

L’espace documentaire en restructuration : l’évolution des services des bibliothèques universitaires

Auteur/Author : Philippe Bourdenet

Le catalogue occupe une place privilégiée dans l’offre de service des bibliothèques universitaires, pivot de l’intermédiation. Depuis 10 ans, il traverse une crise grave, voyant les usagers le délaisser à la faveur des moteurs de recherche généralistes.

Le web, plus qu’un sérieux concurrent, devance aujourd’hui les systèmes d’information documentaires, et devient le point d’entrée principal pour la recherche d’information. Les bibliothèques tentent de structurer un espace documentaire qui soit habité par les usagers, au sein duquel se développe l’offre de service, mais celle-ci se présente encore comme une série de silos inertes, sans grande possibilité de navigation, malgré de considérables efforts d’ingénierie et des pistes d’évolution vers les outils de découverte.

La profession, consciente de cette crise profonde, après avoir accusé les remous occasionnés par la dimension disruptive du numérique, cherche des moyens pour adapter et diversifier son offre, fluidifier la diffusion de l’information, et se réinvente un rôle d’intermédiation en cherchant à tirer profit des nouvelles pratiques des usagers, de leurs nouvelles attentes, et de nouvelles perspectives.

Les bibliothèques placent leur espoir dans de nouveaux modèles de données, tentent d’y ajouter un niveau d’abstraction favorisant les liaisons avec l’univers de la connaissance. L’évolution vers le web sémantique semble une opportunité à saisir pour valoriser les collections et les rendre exploitables dans un autre contexte, au prix d’importants efforts que cette analyse tente de mesurer.

Une approche constructiviste fondée sur l’observation participante et le recueil de données offre une vision issue de l’intérieur de la communauté des bibliothèques sur l’évolution des catalogues et des outils d’intermédiation, et ouvre des perspectives sur leurs enjeux.”

URL : http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00932683

Open Is Not Enough : Grey Literature in Institutional Repositories

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“The paper contributes to the discussion on the place of grey literature in institutional repositories and, vice versa, on the relevance of open archives for grey literature. Even in an open environment, grey literature needs specific attention and curation. Institutional repositories don’t automatically provide a solution to all problems of grey literature.

Our paper shows some scenarios of what could or should be done. The focus is on academic libraries. The paper is based on a review of international studies on grey literature in open archives. Empirical evidence is drawn from an audit of the French repository IRIS from the University of Lille 1 and from ongoing work on the development of this site.

The study includes a strategic analysis in a SWOT format with four scenarios. Based on this analysis, the paper provides a set of minimum requirements for grey items in institutional repositories concerning metadata, selection procedure, quality, collection management and deposit policy.

The communication is meant to be helpful for the further development of institutional repositories and for special acquisition and deposit policies of academic libraries.”

URL : http://archivesic.ccsd.cnrs.fr/sic_00908862