Growing an electronic library: resources, utility, marketing and politics

Abstract

The development of the ResIDe Electronic Library at the University of the West of England, Bristol, is traced from its origins as an eLib funded research project. Different aspects of the system are analysed through their potential to increase economy, efficiency and effectiveness in library services. This analysis is related to the utility that it can provide to differing sponsors and the likelihood of their making supporting resources available. While economy and efficiency are relatively easy concepts to define and use, effectiveness can be both contested and multifaceted, varying in accordance with both subjective preference and interests represented. Competing views of effectiveness needed to be balanced whilst emphasising those aspects of the system that would appeal to senior UWE management in a time of the rising “audit society” in higher education.

Citation

Dugdale, D. and Dugdale, C. (2000), "Growing an electronic library: resources, utility, marketing and politics", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 56 No. 6, pp. 644-659. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000007130