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This chapter introduces a model for school libraries in Scotland, based on best practices as identified in the literature, and on five case studies undertaken in schools, two in the United States and three in Scotland. The research design was qualitative, and used grounded theory and multiple case study methods. The model represents an ideal set of circumstances for school libraries in Scotland, highlighting the interconnected web of influences that affect the success of a school library in meeting professional standards. These influences primarily fall in three areas: the school librarian, the school environment, and the professional support available to the librarian. The school librarian is the primary leader of the school library program, but factors in these other two areas can provide opportunities and barriers that can help or hinder the success of the library service. For instance, the findings suggest that school-based factors such as curriculum, scheduling, technology facilities, and staffing can have significant influence over the access the librarian has to teachers and students. Our model includes all three areas in describing a set of circumstances that would allow a school library program to thrive and meet the highest professional standards.

In 2014, the Research Libraries UK (RLUK) consortium developed a shared set of customer-focused service standards to be adopted and used by all University Library members. This was the first time that such an approach had been taken across research libraries in the UK. The driver for this initiative was to enable the libraries to develop more comprehensive, shared quality indicators which would enable them to demonstrate their value, especially in times of austerity when budgets might be under threat. The purpose of this paper is to set out the approach taken to the development of shared service standards and ensuring the engagement and buy-in of the RLUK membership.

The service standards initiative was conceived and developed as a strategic RLUK project, as part of the strategy on “collaboration to reduce costs and improve quality”. Initially it was considered that a collaborative approach to developing quality and performance indicators and service standards would reduce duplication of effort across members and save staff time in establishing mechanisms for collection of performance data. In addition it was agreed that there would be potential for a shared set of measures or standards to be used for benchmarking purposes and to enable libraries to demonstrate their value to their institutions.

The initiative established eight customer-facing service standards which were agreed as being applicable to all of the University Library members of RLUK. These include a range of quality indicators focused on services rated as important to the largest customer group – undergraduate students. The service standards include measures on areas such as shelving turn-around, time taken to obtain materials on reading lists, opening hours, information literacy teaching and inter-library loans. In addition, the UK National Student Survey data are included on satisfaction rates for library services, with a benchmark target set at 90 per cent.

Notwithstanding the SCONUL Annual Statistics exercise, this is the first time in the UK that a collaborative approach to the development of service standards has been attempted for a group of research libraries. The initiative also demonstrates the increased commitment amongst research libraries to the fundamental principles surrounding excellent customer service – in particular the need to demonstrate service quality and proactively identify gaps in services so that these can be addressed, and services can be improved on a continual basis.

To explore the belief that digital technology has created a steep and irreversible decline in traditional library use, particularly in borrowing from public and higher education library print collections, with a concomitant effect on familiar patterns of reading and reflection. If digital technology has led to a fundamental change in the way young people in HE process information, should traditional assumptions about library use and educational reading habits be abandoned?

This is a comparative analysis of statistics of library use available in the public domain in the USA and UK.

That reading habits shown in the use of public libraries are arguably conservative in nature; and that recent statistics for the circulation of print stock in US and UK university libraries indisputably show year on year increases, not decreases, except where the digitisation of print originals has provided a generous supply of effective digital surrogates for print holdings. The nature of reading has not changed fundamentally in nature. But where copyright law permits large‐scale provision of digital collections to be derived from print originals, these will readily displace borrowing from print collections, leading to lower circulation figures of hard copy items.

This paper asserts that the restrictive nature of UK copyright law, which is demonstrably backward by international standards, is a major factor inhibiting university teachers from helping their students migrate from print to digital media. This assertion should be researched in greater depth, with a view to using such research to influence the development of future intellectual property legislation in the UK.

Because of the essentially conservative nature of reflective reading for educational purposes, digitisation programmes offer an important way forward for academic library service development. Library managers should not underestimate the persistent demand for traditional reading materials: where such materials are provided in digital or print formats, in most cases the digital formats will be preferred; but where high quality educational resources are only available in print, there is no evidence that the format of alternative digital media is in itself sufficient to lure students away from quality content.

This paper questions some of the more casual assumptions about the “death” of traditional library services.

The purpose of this article it to investigate the design, and to implement the set‐up of the national union catalogue for those serials which can be accessed at the research libraries of the UK, the aim being to: enable researchers to locate serials held; to assist upgrade of library OPACs; and to provide a component within the UK digital library.

This article builds upon the RSLP‐funded and JISC‐funded scoping and feasibility studies. It makes best use of extant data in OPACs on serials holdings information, by a mixture of collaborative action by contributing libraries, ISSN‐IC and CONSER; and makes best use of extant software (Aleph 500) and national data services (EDINA).

Today, knowing who has which journals online has become as important as knowing who has which journals on‐shelf. Knowledge of both is critical for a researcher in her quest to discover, locate and access that key article. Knowledge of both is also critical for the library profession, as help staff and as curators of quality bibliographic records for serials in their OPACs. SUNCAT has over four million records, describing the “print and electronic holdings” of over 20 of the largest UK libraries – thought to cover 90 per cent or more of the journal titles held across the UK as a whole. The extension of coverage to up to a further 50 research libraries is in progress. So too is development activity to meet the challenge of the digital, investigating how SUNCAT can offer an important link in the access/supply chain, as the focus shifts from document supply to document access.

This article is of significance to researchers and librarians in the UK; there is wider significance for the international serials community.

How academic libraries support the research of their parent institutions has changed as a result of forces such as changing scholarly communication practices, technological developments, reduced purchasing power and changes in academic culture. The purpose of this paper is to examine the professional and educational implications of current and emerging research support environments for academic libraries, particularly with regard to research data management and bibliometrics and discuss how do professionals and educators “make space” as new service demands arise?

The present paper uses data from a recent survey of research support provision by academic libraries in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland, (authors 2013), and provides additional in depth analysis of the textual responses to extend the analysis in the light of forces for change in higher education. The original online questionnaire surveyed current and planned research support in academic libraries, and constraints or support needs related to service developments. It was distributed to 219 institutions in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Ireland, and obtained 140 valid responses (response rate of 63.9 percent). Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics with thematic categorization and coding for the textual responses.

Most academic libraries surveyed are already providing or planning services in the focal areas of bibliometrics and data management. There was also increasing demand for other research support services, not the focus of the study, such as eresearch support, journal publishing platforms, and grant writing support. The authors found that while many academic libraries perceive increasing research support services as a “huge opportunity” they were constrained by gaps in staff skills, knowledge, and confidence and resourcing issues. With regard to staff education and training, it was reported they require a broader understanding of the changing research and scholarly landscape, the research cultures of different disciplines, and technological change. There was a near-universal support for development of more comprehensive, specialized, LIS education to prepare professionals for broader research support roles.

This further analysis of the implications of our survey in relation to influences such as economics, academic culture, technology, raises questions for both educators and practitioners about the future direction of the profession and how the authors collectively “make space” as new potential services arise.

The purpose of this paper is to present the outcomes of digitisation of special collections: mapping, assessment, prioritisation (DiSCmap), a JISC and RIN‐funded project which studied users' priorities for the digitisation of special collections within the context of UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

The project produced a list of 945 collections nominated for digitisation by intermediaries and end users and a user‐driven prioritisation framework. Data were gathered via web questionnaires. Focus groups and telephone interviews with end users provided additional insights on the views of those working within particular domains or disciplines. Over 1,000 intermediaries and end users contributed by nominating collections for the “long list” and providing opinions about digitisation priorities.

The long list of collections nominated for digitisation provides evidence of identified user interest and is not merely a “snapshot” but a significant outcome. A user‐driven framework for prioritising digitisation was also produced. The project suggests a flexible approach for prioritising collections for digitisation based on the use of the framework in combination with the long list of collections.

The project did not undertake a representative study; the participation of intermediaries and end users was a matter of goodwill. Yet 44 per cent of HEIs in the UK nominated special collections to the long list.

The paper provides new insights and evidence on user priorities for the digitisation of special collections. It also suggests a user‐driven digitisation prioritisation framework of benefit in future decision making, both locally and nationally.

Considers the history of practice‐based research in the UK library and information science sector, and demonstrates that the emphasis in the recent eLib programme on practitioner involvement and leadership has its roots in research carried out 30 or more years ago. It is suggested that practice‐based research has an important role to play in stimulating significant, far‐reaching developments and in training new generations of professional leaders.

This chapter describes and explores the relationship between formal and semi-formal systems of programme and project management and broader strategic programmes and leadership approaches in the academic and research library context.

The leadership perspective of this chapter allows assessment of the contribution of programme and project management techniques to the strategic development of the library. A case study approach is taken, and the methods used for programme and project management arise mainly from the UK’s Office of Government Commerce.

The chapter provides insight into how a variety of practical project management techniques can be bound together within strategic programmes, together with appropriate governance structures for monitoring and judging successful outcomes.

The chapter describes the application of programme and project methods in two research libraries, but the techniques used have been used widely in many organizational settings and so should be transferable to other research library contexts.

The cases in the chapter reveal the social world of the academic and research library, illuminating the real-life experience of project work within the library and its broader institutional context.

The chapter presents an original typology for differentiating projects in the research library. The chapter is unique both in describing 30 years of continuous application and development of programme and project methodologies and frameworks, and also in its leadership perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to trace the recent history of Australian attempts to reach a national solution to the space problems that afflict many of our research libraries.

In recent years there has been a growing international interest in the development of shared facilities to house legacy print collections as a means of providing cost‐effective and secure storage. These “repositories” have in some cases been successfully implemented on a national scale. This paper argues that although negotiations have not been successful to date, the opportunity still exists to re‐open discussions, and makes suggestions regarding the organisational structures that are needed to bring about a successful outcome.

Initiatives such as Libraries Australia have been made possible by coordinated cross‐sectoral activity, undertaken in the service of Australian research communities. What has not been as successful is the use of this infrastructure to underpin further collaboration with regard to the long‐term development and maintenance of collections. The prospect of a national repository provides a further opportunity to achieve such an outcome.

There are many reasons to believe that Australia research libraries and communities would benefit substantially from a national print repository. It will only be possible, however, with the right structure for leadership, coordination and advocacy. There is much that can be learnt from the UK experience in this regard, and Australia library leaders should look to building a strong base of cross‐sectoral support for a renewed bid.

This paper aims to provide a case study of the development of UK Research Reserve (UKRR): a partnership between the UK higher education sector and the British Library. The first of its kind in the UK as well as internationally, UK Research Reserve has helped its members de‐duplicate low‐use journals and release shelf space, as well as retain access to research material. UKRR is currently under review to determine a sustainable model if public funding becomes unavailable. This paper describes the journey UKRR has taken so far.

Research methods adopted can be categorised into two main groups of activities: information gathering (desk research, survey and interviews); and information analysis and synthesis (literature, data, documentation).

Through the case study of UKRR, the author identifies challenges and issues faced by research libraries, as well as the whole HE sector. This paper presents values and synergies UKRR has created for its members and beyond. It also shares UKRR's journey in identifying a sustainable business model beyond its current phase.

The author reviewed some second‐hand data to present a broader picture of challenges the HE sector is facing. Most data and documentation that support the other sections of the paper are first‐hand, and have been generated by UKRR's team.