A Higher Education perspective:

on collections, visibility and value

J. Stephen TownUniversity of York

Welcome to York!

York: collections in view

• York Minster Library• King’s Manor Library• The Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Library• The York Explore Library and the City

Archives• The Railway Museum

Search Engine (National Railway Museum)

• Railway related books and journals

• Railway archives: technical drawings, company records, publicity materials, maps, plans and timetables

• Catalogued through York University

York Minster Library• The oldest and

largest Cathedral Library in the country

• Operated under a unique partnership between the Dean & Chapter and the University of York

The University of York

• Founded 1963• UK top ten; RAE 8th;

World 81st; 94 Group; WUN

• 14,000 students• >30 departments in

humanities, social sciences, science

• Campus growth• Collegiate and

inclusive

The Library & Archives

• > 1m items• >100 staff• Traditional divisions• Archives extensive &

unique• Developing digital

library expertise• Part of a broader

Information Directorate

University of York Distinctiveness

• Excellence• Growth … but preservation of

community• Global focus and reputation• Commitment to partnerships• Commitment to the locality and region• Making significant & increasing

investments in information systems & services

A perspective on strategic challenges

• Articulating the value proposition • Translating what we understand about

changing need into strategies and plans• The transformation and sustenance of our

services into a different social, technological and economic future

• To demonstrate that our value proposition encompasses a contribution that transcends narrow and local assumptions about the library’s role

Developing values exercise (2009)

• Library as a “real tangible physical expression of knowledge”

• “Intellectual heart, a collection of knowledge made without fear or favour”

• Exaltation of solitary study - deeper understanding by “conquering the stuff alone”

• Organisation of knowledge reflected in how things are laid out; browsing and walking through physical objects

• Browsing; overview of knowledge by the way it is structured; ‘to steer thinking”; density tells you what’s important

• “A real physical existing thing where I can see the celebration of scholarship”

Professor John Robinson

POSSIBLE FUTURES?

ARL Scenarios 2030• What values are

assumed in the scenarios?

• How does this link to value?

• What is the resulting library value proposition?

Scenario 1: Research Entrepreneurs

• Competition and outsourcing

• Information value high

• Personality cult relationships

• Linking stores and discovery

Scenario 2: Reuse and Recycle

• Collaboration• Information value

low• Relationships

across groups• Research

management and professional training

Scenario 3: Disciplines in Charge

• Specialised Universities

• Data stores high value

• Political skills valued• Research information

decoupled & disaggregated

Scenario 4: Global Followers

• End of Western hegemony

• IP looser?• Relations with

East critical• Global communal

library?

Some general conclusions …

• Assumptions of elites throughout• Assumptions of competition throughout• Assumptions of quality throughout• Assumptions about values variable• Assumptions about locus variable• Assumptions about work psychology

variable

Some conclusions for value …

• Value likely to be a differentiating factor in preparing for success (change and strategy)

• Change will be rapid and mitigation will be difficult

• Quality will be a constant requirement• Value measurement needs to assume

greater import alongside quality … hence the need for a values scorecard

The Value ScorecardDimension 1: Relational Capital

• Competitive position capital– Reputation– Reach

• Relational capital– External relationship development– Internal institutional relationship development– Supplier relational capital

The Value ScorecardDimension 2: Library Capital

• Tangible capital– Collections – Environments– Services

• Intangible capital– Intangible assets formed around the above (meta-

assets)– Organizational capital– Human capital

The Value ScorecardDimension 3: Library Virtue

• Social Capital developed beyond the Library– Contribution to research– Contribution to learning– Contribution to employability– Contribution to professional and vocational intent– Contribution to inclusivity– Contribution to other common goods

The Value ScorecardDimension 4: Library Momentum

• Capital saved or gained by progress– Capital assets developed early– Facilitation of research capital– Facilitation of learning capital– Facilitation of quality– Capital saved by sustainability

PREPARING FOR A DIFFERENT FUTURE?

York Digital Library• Online library enabling

access to digital collections• JISC funded through

SAFIR and YODL-ING projects• Developed as an Open

Source project, contributing to the Fedora Commons community

York Digital Library Collections (1)History of Art Teaching Collections

York Digital Library Collections (2)Further University Collections:

• Archaeology slide collection• Sound Archives• Past Exam Papers• Vickers Collection• Tuke Collection

Enabling Projects: LIFE-SHARE• Collaboration between Universities of

Leeds, Sheffield and York as the White Rose Consortium• Investigating institutional and consortial

strategies and infrastructure for the creation, curation and preservation of a variety of digital content• Two year JISC funded project, providing

valuable advise for digitisation projects

Cause Papers• Records of cases heard

between 1300 and 1858 in the Church Courts of the diocese of York• Funding from Andrew

W Mellon Foundation for creating catalogue• JISC funding to digitise

records• Collaboration with HRI

Online (Sheffield University)

Court, Country, City and OpenART• Sources and tools for

the history of art in early modern Britain• Collaboration between

UOY Digital Library, History of Art and Tate Britain• AHRC funding for

Court, City, Country Project• JISC funding for

OpenART• Paul Mellon funded

editor

JIBS AGM Round-up (2010)

• Strategic challenges and tactical responses

• The value proposition• Working together• Bargaining

Lessons from the past?

• Avoid “lose-lose” situations• Don’t get caught in the middle: “blame-

blame”• Avoid “fight” nor “flight” reactions• Don’t reward negative behaviours• Failure to influence scholarly

communication at any point? Giving it all away?

• Collecting counter-productive evidence?

Cost and Value

“focusing on cost without being able to demonstrate [service] value and quality … leaves the initiative to people whose chief concern is cost-control or profit: the funders and the vendors”

Whitehall, T (1995)

Strategy or tactics: the context

• Resource inflation greater than growth• Service development demands• Quality and expectation demands• Competitive differentiation?• Low staff inflation

Conclusions 1

• Costs must be controlled– Individually– Institutionally– Collectively

• Purchase choice must shift to value– Quantitative measures insufficient– Qualitative evaluation critical to debate– Understanding and influencing of new user

behaviours

Conclusions 2

• Maximising return– Better awareness– Active exploitation– Intermediate guidance

• Minimising overheads– Licensing, compliance and bureaucracy– Active engagement with publishers at all levels– Charging back for University contributions?– Managing expectations

Thanks for listening!