From Archive to Gateway: The Evolution of the Research Library

University of UtahFriends of the Marriott Library Banquet

April 9, 2013Michael Levine-Clark

University of Denver Libraries

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OCLC. Perceptions of Libraries 2010. http://www.oclc.org/reports/2010perceptions.en.html.

How Important is the Library to Faculty?

• Ithaka S+R US Faculty Survey 2012. http://lists.jstor.org/t/433194/11798962/417/5/

“Academic libraries can no longer assume that their importance and value to a university is universally understood.”

Susan Gibbons, University Librarian

Yale University Library Annual Report, 2011-12

Penrose Library1972

Anderson Academic Commons2013

This is NOT a Library!!!

definitions

li·brar·y 1. A building or room containing

collections of books…2. A collection of books…3. The organization that manages

that building and collection…

What Do The Experts Say?• "The future library will be located in a spaceship. The

spaceship will have blue tables and purple chairs. The walls of the future library will be green and magenta. Also, the future library will have many skylights."

• "Libraries will have flying desks and iPads for each person.”• "The future library will be open twenty four hours.”• "The library will have ninety thousand computers. The library

will also have a café." • "Libraries will be floating in the sky. People will have their own

planes to get there.”• "As much as I love the library, I’m 100% sure future libraries

would be even more awesome. Just think how amazing the library will be in the future, with robots and electronics."

Essays from children on the future of libraries. April 2011.http://www.screwydecimal.com/2011/04/library-of-future.html

• "I also believe that there will be robot librarians. But then again a lot of people know that someday robots will take over the world. Also people think that there will be a war of good robots vs bad robots but here is the good part about all this is that the good robots will be teamed up with all of humanity. But earth is a very strong place and can fight with or without human help.”

• "They [robots] will be very cost effective because we will not have to pay them."

• The librarians are so friendly, even the shyest person in the world won't be shy anymore.”

• "If you have a book that is out of date, it will warp back to the library. It also allows you to warp to other libraries."

The Past

Collections

• Library = Collection• Physical collections– Books– Journals– Microforms – Archives/Special

Collections• The collection is local

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Mission

• Preserve the cultural record– Including replication

of common stuff• Provide resources for

current students and faculty

• Organize and describe

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Collection UseCirculation, Books Cataloged 2000-2004 (n=126,953)

0 Circ; 40%

1 Circ; 21%

2 Circ; 13%

3 Circ; 8%

4+ Circ

; 19%

• We buy books that sit on the shelf

• Students request books we don’t own– Interlibrary loan– Purchase

• Some material requires a research trip

The Difficulties of Discovery

• Specialized tools– Library catalog– Indexes

• Specialized vocabulary– Subject headings– Call numbers

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As Physical Collections Expanded…

• Quantity came to equal quality• There was less room for students• There was little ability to integrate technology

into the building• There was less money for special collections

The Present

Collections = Content• Majority of non-book purchases are electronic

– Journals almost entirely so• We are beginning to develop better discovery tools

– Access beyond “the collection”– Still not as intuitive as Google

• BUT, the evolution to e-books is just beginning

“The Harvard of the West!”

Digital primary source collections

The great equalizer

The Library as Place (for People)

Evolving Mission

• Provide access to content for current students and faculty– Service orientation– Discovery tools• Owned and unowned content

• Preserve the cultural record– Institutional Repositories– Redundant print– Portico

The Future

Spending Patterns Must Change

FY 2008

FY 2009

FY 2010

FY 2011

FY 2012

FY 2013 pro

jected

FY 2014 budge

ted0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

SubscriptionsOne-timeServices

Digital Content

• Almost all current scholarship will be accessed electronically

• Paper will be for specialized uses

• We won’t care about ownership (except when we should)

Rethinking the Collection

• Access on demand– Pay only for use– Pay only for level of use– E-books– Articles (not journals)– Print on Demand

• Espresso Book Machine

• Access instead of assets• A broader, richer content pool

Reemphasizing Special Collections

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The Evolution to Digital Content Makes Possible

• An evolution in how we use library space– Flexible– Comfortable

• A much richer research environment

Our Mission Should Be…

• Locally, to provide our users with the widest range of quality resources possible (and to make these things easier to find)– Digital content, owned and unowned– Primary source collections, digital and physical

• Collectively, to serve as stewards of the cultural record– Maintain the physical collections that matter locally

• Collaborate on the rest

– Pay third-party specialists to preserve licensed digital content

Research libraries are both the same as they’ve always been, and very different

• Same mission– Providing information resources and services to

support the curriculum– Stewardship

• Very different emphases– Access vs. assets– Locally unique materials– Service / ease of use– Space– Comfort

Thank You