The world’s libraries. Connected.
Reconfiguring Research Collections
Academic Libraries in the 21st Century
University of Hong Kong | 6 September 2012
Constance Malpas
Program OfficerOCLC Research
@ConstanceM
Low Stewardship
High Stewardship
In few collections
In many collections
Collections Grid
Licensed
Purchased
Purchased materialsLicensed E-Resources
Research & Learning Materials
Open Web Resources
Special CollectionsLocal Digitization
Low Stewardship
High Stewardship
In few collections
In many collections
Licensed
Purchased
Limited
High attention
Less attention
Limited Aspirational
Occasional
Intentional
Library attention and investment are shifting
Low Stewardship
High Stewardship
In Few Collections
In Many Collections
Academic institutions are driving this change
Licensed
Purchased
Redirection of library
resource
today
+5 yrs
Aggregate university library spending on e-resources : JULAC > $184M HK in 2007
US ARL = $627M US in 2008, or 41% total lib. exp.
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Change in academic collections
• Shift to licensed electronic content is acceleratingResearch journals – a well established trendScholarly monographs – in progress
• Print collections delivering less (and less) value at great (and growing) cost
Est. $4.25 US per volume per year for on-site collectionsLibrary purchasing power decreasing as per-unit cost rises
• Special collections marginal to educational mandate at many institutions
Costly to manage, not always integral to teaching, learning
The world’s libraries. Connected.
• Erosion of traditional library value proposition in academic sector
Institutional reputation no longer determined (or substantially influenced) by scope, scale of local print collection
• Changing nature of scholarly record
Research, teaching and learning embedded in larger social and technological networks; new set of stewardship challenges for libraries
• Format transition; mass digitization of legacy print
Web-scale discoverability has fundamentally changed research practices; local collections no longer the center of attention
Key factors are driving this change
The world’s libraries. Connected.
A long term, system-wide trend
19771982
19851988
19921995
19971998
20002002
20042006
2008$0
$50,000,000
$100,000,000
$150,000,000
$200,000,000
$250,000,000
$300,000,000
$350,000,000
$400,000,000
0.00%
0.50%
1.00%
1.50%
2.00%
2.50%
3.00%
US Academic Library Expenditures vs. Total Spending on Post-Secondary Education
Aggregate US Spending on Post-Secondary Education US Library Operating Exp. as % of Ed. Spending
$6.8 billion in 2008
OCLC Research. Derived from data reported in NCES Digest of Education Statistics: 2008.
The world’s libraries. Connected.
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
No
. of
Ins
titu
tio
ns
Shift in provision of higher education
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
For Profit
Public
Private Not-for-Profit
Distribution of Post-Secondary Educational Institutions in the United States by Source of Funding
OCLC Research. Derived from data reported in NCES Digest of Education Statistics: 2008.
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Among US research libraries, a tipping point …
$- $5,000,000 $10,000,000 $15,000,000 $20,000,000 $25,000,000 $30,000,000 $35,000,000 $40,000,000 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Library Materials Expenditures (2007-2008)
Lic
ensed C
onte
nt
as %
of
Lib
rary
Mate
rials
$
Derived from ARL Annual Statistics, 2007-2008
Majority of research libraries shifting toward e-centric acquisitions, service model
Shrinking pool of libraries with mission and resources to sustain print preservation as ‘core’ operation
HarvardYale
Center of gravity
The world’s libraries. Connected.
10
E-resource spending among JULAC libraries (2005-2007)
Source: derived from CAVAL’s Asian Library Statistics
?
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Source: derived from CAVAL’s Asian Library Statistics
Buying more – or just paying more?
The world’s libraries. Connected.
The library ‘service bundle’
“An academic library is a bundle of information-related resources and services that a university has chosen to provide internally, rather than transact for them with external parties …Transaction costs help explain why academic libraries look the way they do today… As the pattern of transaction costs change, so too will the boundaries of the library”
Brian Lavoie & Lorcan Dempsey “Rethinking the Boundaries of the Academic Library” OCLC Next Space 17 (January 2011): 16-17.
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Core library operations are moving “outside” institutional boundaries
- cooperative cataloging
- ILL, resource sharing
- approval plans
- licensed content
- digital preservation . . . print management
As transaction costs fall, so do boundaries
creating room for more distinctive library services
The world’s libraries. Connected.
http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/21stctfreport_11may12.pdf
21st Century Collections
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Low Stewardship
High Stewardship
In few collections
In many collections
Licensed
Purchased
Limited
Reducing Transaction Costs: Shared Infrastructure
Consortial licensing
Shared knowledge bases
Shared storage
Approval plans
Shared repository infrastructure
Shared preservation infrastructure
Shared stewardship
Demand-driven acquisition
The world’s libraries. Connected.
HKU: Institutional Identity, Reputation Management
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Library Role in Reputation Management
AKA “authority control”
http://www.hku.hk/about/uid/introduction.html
http://hub.hku.hk/local/top1pc/top1pc.jsp
Managing university identity
The world’s libraries. Connected.
2008-2011: RFIDLow
StewardshipHigh
Stewardship
In few collections
In many collections
Licensed
Purchased
Limited
Reconfiguring Research Collections at HKUL
2013?: JURA
HKU Scholars HubHong Kong Oral Histories
2000:First HK ebook collection
2005: Hong Kong Monograph Acquisitions Consortium
“externalizing” these:
“internalizing” these
2008-2011 RFID
HKU ExamBase
HKU Press Digital Editions
Early Western Books on Asia
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Key Findings
Significant and growing overlap between academic print collections and mass-digitized corpus
As much as 75% of the mass-digitized resource already managed in shared print repositories
Opportunity for large-scale transformation in academic print management; space recovery and cost-avoidance
2011
The world’s libraries. Connected.
HathiTrust Digital Library Growth Trajectory
Source: C. Malpas, OCLC Research 2012.
As of July 2012, HathiTrust is equal in size (volumes) and scope (titles) to top US ARL libraries
>20% public domain
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Source: C. Malpas. OCLC Research, 2011.
The world’s libraries. Connected.
• Partner institutions have reasonable expectation of tangible benefit of affiliation
• Opportunity to re-purpose existing data resources, drive research toward operational implementation
• Partner engagement - collective action dependent on shared priorities, institutional demographics
ORLP Collection Profiles: Why?
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2012
The world’s libraries. Connected.
+8%
+13%(Net: 19%)(Net: 18%)
OCLC Research, 2012
The world’s libraries. Connected.
413K as of July 2012
OCLC Research, 2012
The world’s libraries. Connected.
What Counts? Titles vs. Volumes
As of July 2012:
• 12,546 titles in HKUL duplicated in HathiTrust with at least some public domain content
• Amounts to 126,448 digitised volumes, of which 44,506 are designated as public domain outside of United States
• @ $4.26 USD* or $33 HKD per volume / per year, represents between $1.5M and $3.3MHKD cost avoidance if moved from open stacks to high-density storage
*based on US life-cycle book storage costs (Courant, 2010)
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Library attention still focused on books
OCLC Research, 2012
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2012
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Humanities & Social Sciences predominate sizeable opportunity -- or big risk?
OCLC Research, 2012
The world’s libraries. Connected. OCLC Research, 2012
Move to storage? Withdraw in favor of shared JURA collection?
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Highly unusual distribution, likely a result of HKU’s productivity in original cataloging
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Median Overlap = 24%
Among Asian research libraries, ~25% holdings overlap with HathiTrust
Source: C. Malpas. OCLC Research, 2012.
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Among (selected) JULAC libraries ~19% holdings overlap with HathiTrust
Median Overlap = 19%
Source: C. Malpas. OCLC Research, 2012.
The world’s libraries. Connected.
How are profiles being used?
• For HathiTrust partners, implications for how to derive maximum benefit from affiliation
• For others, an opportunity to reconsider collective digitization priorities; rights distribution and rights-determination efforts; re-imagine subject bibliography
• For all, occasion to reflect on collection management strategies, future of print fulfillment and library supply chain
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Key Findings
2012
90% of the print book collection in North America is concentrated in 12 mega-regions
Access benefits and preservation risk are highly concentrated
Regional collections are highly diffuse Risk assessment requires system-wide view
>50% of regional print books managed by academic libraries
Changes in global higher education affect entire library system
Despite high-levels of bi-lateral duplication, each mega region has something unique to offer
improving ‘flows’ will benefit all players
The world’s libraries. Connected.
• Applying novel conceptual frameworks from Economics, etc., Management literature to library environment is a core activity in OCLC Research agenda
• Growth in shared print management initiatives at variable (and overlapping) scale: state-wide, consortium-wide, regional, national etc. are ‘natural experiments’ in optimizing redistribution of print stewardship
• Cooperative management of monographic collections may require a new organizational frame of reference; leveraging regional investment in logistics, HE infrastructure
Mega-regions: Why?
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Mega-regions of North America
Orbis-Cascade Alliance
Center for Institutional Cooperation
Association of Southeastern
Research Library
Ontario Council of University Librarians
Western Regional Storage Trust
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Monographic Publications and Library Holdings in North American Mega-regions
45M discrete publications – 60% of print books in WorldCat; 70% of holdings889M library holdings (avg. 20/title)“Spiky” distribution
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Bi-lateral Duplication with Aggregate BOS-WASH Collection, by Mega-Region
BOS-WASH alone duplicates 70% to 93% of other regional collections
The world’s libraries. Connected.
BOSWASHCHIPITTSTORBUFFCHESTERNORCALCHARLANTA
86% coverage
Concentration of resource, concentration of risk
Malpas, OCLC Research 2012.
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Asian mega-regions, 2010
“… mega regions will be the drivers of Asian economies in 2050.”
Asia Development Bank, 2011
Sources: R. Florida. Cities & the Creative Class in Asia. AtlanticCities.com Asia 2050: Realizing the Asian Century
Asia Pacific in the vanguard of shift … APEC accounts for 9% of world population
>50% of global economic output
~75% of global innovationRichard Florida, 2011
Population ~45M
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Global Influence
Source: A.T. Kearney. 2012 Global Cities Index
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Asian cities poised to gain global influence
Source: AT Kearney. 2012 Global Cities Index
The world’s libraries. Connected.
“Where the World’s Brains Are” (2010)
Research universities increasingly function as a key hub institution of the knowledge economy.
Richard Florida
Source: R. Florida. Where the World’s Brains Are. www.creativeclass.com
The world’s libraries. Connected.
“Where the World’s Brains Are” 2010 vs. 2012
Sources: www.creativeclass.com THES Top Asian Universities 2012
2010/11: Asian universities account for 7% of top 400 world universities
2011/2012: … 16% of top 400
The world’s libraries. Connected.
• A (mega) regional strategy for library print management could reduce redundant investment in ‘low-value’ operations
• Enabling academic libraries to refocus attention, resources on distinctive service contributions
• Leveraging existing networks of cooperation and exchange
• Raising the global profile of Asian library capacity
Implications
The world’s libraries. Connected.
Questions?
Comments?
Thanks for your attention.