Library
Library review 2009–2010
Library
Contents Less can be more 3 Improving Library space 5 Collections 7 Helping and teaching Library users 9
System and service initiatives 11
Contributing to our communities 12 People 14 Statistics 17 Time-line 18
The Library Review was written and designed by Ian Burn, Julia Munro, Rachel Redrup, David Sutton, Rupert Wood and other members of Library staff. 2
Library review 2009–2010
Less can be more I am not a particular advocate of the mantra ‘doing more with less’ which I think has come to be much over-used by management in recent years and is perhaps set to become even more so. On the other hand, in the design arena it is often obvious that ‘less is more’ in terms of efficiency, simplicity of effort, and effect. So it is in the latter sense that I believe this year’s Library review demonstrates the achievements of the staff in meeting the challenges of a period where savings have been required in staffing costs, and funding has been constrained generally, but there has been no ‘let-up’ in the expectations of our users. Julia Munro, University Librarian
As mentioned in last year’s review our Collections Project, which began in earnest last session, has geared up further this session as our dominant priority. The review and rationalisation of printed stock being undertaken by liaison librarians in collaboration with academic staff, and supported in one way or another by virtually all other Library colleagues, will ultimately mean a more focused collection of printed material in which items work more efficiently and effectively to earn their place on the shelves. Alongside this the space freed up for study purposes will ensure that overall the Library environment works harder and better for our users. In terms of services I am equally proud of the improvements that fewer staff have been able to deliver. These have included using systems more effectively to simplify inter-library loans procedures and database searching. Many staff also pulled together Library-wide in an in-house evaluation and simplification of our re-shelving operations to 3
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ensure that a necessary reduction in the number of student helpers employed had no detrimental impact on the turnaround times for returned items being re-shelved. No mean feat for what continues – despite increasing electronic resources – to be a core process in university libraries, if not a glamorous one.
Our greatest asset Liaison librarians add value by advising and teaching University members to find and use information effectively
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However one area in which less can never really be more is that of the budget for information resources. We received a further, and very welcome, tranche of additional funds for Library materials this session but nonetheless continued to press our case for continued future increases to this element of our budget. The support and understanding of the Director of Academic Services, Dr Richard Messer, and of the Chair of the Advisory Board for Library Services, Professor Bob Chapman, were invaluable and much appreciated in this regard. Thanks are due to them for their ever-willing encouragement and championship of the Library, and also, as always, to every member of Library staff for the part they have played this session in showing that less can be more. Julia Munro University Librarian
Library review 2009–2010
Room after improvement Annual Fund grants allowed us to create and refurbish several popular study areas
Improving Library space Delivering what students need is crucial to the University’s success. One increasing demand from students is greater capacity to use laptops in the Library so we were delighted when IT Services upgraded Main Library’s wireless network to run faster, allow more consecutive users and cover a slightly wider area. Students also ask for more study space at Main Library Whiteknights. Especially at revision time, demand can outstrip supply. Students regard the Library as a unique, central hub for study and interaction, not simply the place to seek information and help in retrieving it. Main Library houses the University’s largest IT facility, help with IT and help with study skills. Last session our Main Library 5th Floor Project to create study space opened two rooms vacated when Special Collections moved to Redlands Road. Thanks to University Annual Fund grants, we
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refurbished three popular study areas this November and opened a fourth in March, paid for from some of the Library’s endowment funds. The University Sub-committee on Teaching and Learning Facilities praised this project in January, in addition to our Ground Floor Knowledge Exchange: ‘a worthy example of social and collaborative learning space’. More Main Library study space is also central to our long-term Collections Project. We will make space for desks, and absorb Bulmershe Library stock, partly by relegating less-used research material to an off-site store. In November, the University decided to lease a warehouse unit for this purpose at Worton Grange, Reading. After investigating floor strength, environmental and security matters, a ten-year lease was signed in June 2010. The Design Team plan modifications, including high-level shelving. Safety work at Main Library included the completion of the ‘fire upgrade’ project in October. It removed flammable materials, replaced fire alarm wiring and supplied voiced fire alarm and closing announcements. We also introduced safer emergency evacuation procedures incorporating marshals clearing users from the Library. In June 2010, a campus-wide health and safety project brought us infill panels for all Main Library stairs. Space explorers (left-right) Head of Collections Rupert Wood and Collections Project Co-ordinator Victoria Bird survey the warehouse newly leased as an off-site store
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Library review 2009–2010
Collections We continue our ambitious Collections Project 2009–2013 to provide the whole University with improved library support at Whiteknights after Bulmershe Court, and our site library there, ceases academic activity in 2011. We envisage all essential printed texts on open shelves, lower use and research material easily retrievable from an offcampus Store, unwanted material disposed of, and adequate study space created.
Collections Project progress Trainee Liaison Librarian Sarah Puzey making her contribution to refining all Library collections
Reserving our place We joined top UK universities in the UK Research Reserve to share journals and release study space
Most of our staff were involved to some degree in the review of every volume this necessitates. Liaison librarians, working with academic colleagues, employed methods piloted last session to take decisions in their subject areas. Library assistants and cataloguers processed innumerable spreadsheets, relegations to Store and withdrawals. By the close of the session, a third of all books had been reviewed, with roughly 35% of those requiring changes processed. We chose to withdraw 8% of books and relegate 6% to Store, ‘saving’ shelf space of over 1.5 km at Main Library. Work will intensify into next session. We were delighted in January 2010, when the University of Reading Library was able to join all the top research ‘Russell Group’ universities and five other ‘1994 Group’ universities in the UK Research Reserve (UKRR). Funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), this project guarantees to retain important journal parts nationally for inter-library borrowing, allowing us to safely withdraw duplicated, low-use issues where print is no longer needed. We offered our first selection in July. In future we could acquire 7
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journals from the Reserve to enhance strong research collections. Significantly, membership gives all Reading’s inter-library loan service users preferentially quicker delivery times from the British Library. An opportunity to assess timings in advance of 2011’s large scale moves came in July when we switched 655 (printing, publishing and typography) and 710 (planning) collections between Main Library floors, creating a better sequence. Experienced removal firm Cripps Transport helped us move 2,050 shelves to exchange 300 shelves of material. Main Library users now benefit from finding all 650s on the 4th Floor and all 700s on the 3rd. We also step closer to our ultimate plan of arranging the whole classified sequence in a more logical and helpful order.
E-by gum! Library services extend beyond physical spaces and collections – we secure e-book, e-journal and database deals for the University
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Meanwhile we continue identifying and delivering online resources to students and academics who may rarely visit the physical Library. New e-book collections linked through our Unicorn online catalogue included Oxford Scholarship Online (811 titles), Netlibrary (3,457 titles), British Philosophy 1600–1900 (63 titles) and another ACLS humanities e-book package (559 additional titles). New online reference titles this session are too numerous to mention here, but were shown on Unicorn the Library catalogue. Additional databases and fulltext sources to which we secured access this year included: 19th Century British Pamphlets; BFI InView; Foreign broadcast information service daily reports; LBC/IRN audio archive 1973–1999; Mintel Oxygen; Periodicals Archive Online; Reaxys; Who’s who and Who was who.
Library review 2009–2010
The continuing difficult global financial situation challenged our aquisitions budgets. However, the Acquisitions Team produced several strategies for coping. Their careful analysis of likely US and EU journal price increases allowed us to plan ahead successfully. They implemented a new strategy for book purchasing, concentrating on fewer suppliers, giving better overall discount, and using staff time more effectively. They developed clearer, more detailed emailed monthly School/Department fund reports for Library and academic staff, ditching the old paper version. We now automatically cancel orders after 18 months. This prevents the accidental wastage of unspent funds or tying up the next session’s allocation without reassessing relevance. A small team project reviewed all standing orders, checking for active series, liaising with academic staff on relevance to current needs and buying missing volumes. They aim to finish by December 2010.
Helping and teaching Library users Fair trading At the ‘Library Fair’ we introduce new students to the help and training we offer throughout their course
Building on last year’s success, we held another Freshers’ Fair in Main Library’s Knowledge Exchange during Freshers’ Week, deploying better signage to direct and inform. We were busy most of the day welcoming a steady stream of students with a chance to book ‘Finding your way’ Library training, and collect freebies from our information service providers. Everyone worked hard to give a good first impression of the Library, its services and staff.
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By October, we completed audio tours of each Main Library floor, plus an audio-visual tour of the Ground Floor. These can be accessed online or downloaded onto MP3 players from our website or via Blackboard, the University’s virtual learning environment. In early autumn we again left desks and went onto Main Library’s Ground Floor to provide roaming/roving help where new, and sometimes disorientated, students most need it. We cover all needs, but concentrate on introducing the speed and convenience of the Self-Service Points. Another incentive to use Self-Service Points came in November. During the University’s Refreshers’ Week – a time to revise and reflect on Freshers’ Week learning – we organised a prize draw for Library self-service users. Blackwell’s University Bookshop kindly donated prizes. Our investments pay off. Self-Service term-time transactions ran at between 80 to 90% of all returns this session. Self-Service loans varied between 60 and 76%. This frees Collections Point staff to help our users in other ways. Pointing out prizes Debbie Tonkin won a draw encouraging the use of Self-Service Points. The Blackwell’s University Bookshop Manager, Mark Charlesworth, presented her prize
Another innovation for Refreshers’ Week was to run referencing workshops (also echoing a Reading University Student Union referencing campaign that week). A new map finding session was launched in February. We improved web information for teaching staff, including an online request form, on our scanning service under the Copyright and Licensing Authority (CLA) licence where we make legal copies of reading list material available online via Blackboard.
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Library review 2009–2010
System and service initiatives
Snowman’s an island ‘Adverse weather conditions’ didn’t stop us providing the service the University needs to operate effectively
Pick a card We added subject access to the virtual pre-1979 Online Card Catalogue
During December and January’s snow sufficient Library staff waded into work to open both Library sites safely, save for some earlier closing times on a couple of days. We have physical spaces containing material and study seats our users need and faceto-face services to offer, and nearly 700 of them attended Main Library on 6 January, a day of severe disruption. We were proud the student newspaper, Spark*, said we ‘held strong’ and our Director of Academic Services (Richard Messer) commented that ‘many colleagues were grateful for the Library being open.’ We delivered a number of individual service enhancements this session which add up to a big improvement for users. We increased postgraduates’ loan allowances from 15 to 20 items. We introduced Fileopen, simpler software for SED (secure electronic delivery) of inter-library loans from British Library. In March we changed our Item Finder software operating within database searches – it now prompts searchers to login to journals via Athens off-campus. In September we placed two general access PCs on each subject floor, supplementing PCs on other floors, so these are handy for enquirers to use or learn about e-resources with Library staff. Also in September, we added the main subject catalogue to the Online Card Catalogue, providing access via subject headings from the original card catalogue. In June we upgraded the Unicorn catalogue. This will enable enhancements next session including an e-resources-only search, login
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by University user name and password, and a list of your recent loans. In April, the System Team evaluated Resource Discovery systems which could provide a single interface to University systems.
More or less more with less We concentrated services in the most-needed areas, withdrawing less-used services
However, financial limitations forced us to reduce Library staff and consequently cease some lesserused services. From October we could no longer staff Saturday morning opening at Bulmershe Library. At Main Library, we reduced Collections Point weekday opening from 09:00 to 09:30 in September, and to 09:45 in January so as to concentrate on processing holds, reports and notices, and the previous night’s loan self-returns quickly and efficiently. The adjacent Information Desk is still staffed from 09:00 so took on delivering holds and answering enquiries. We also ceased to be able to offer and process a daytime external Book Drop – the Self-Service Points may be used instead. Needing to reduce the number of our term-time student helpers, we re-evaluated all reshelving at Main Library. After consultation, we adopted a wider team-based approach from the Summer Term.
Contributing to our communities In October Main Library helped project the University’s desirability to the nation! Our recently refurbished Ground Floor made a stunning backdrop for live interviews on the BBC 6 o’clock national news and subsequent regional ‘South today’ news explaining how opportunities such as volunteering at Reading make our graduates more successful on the job market. The Library remained
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Library review 2009–2010
open throughout the broadcasts with no disruption. Weekend Teams could just be seen helping users in the background! As usual, the Library co-operated in University events. We opened Library sites and gave talks at University Open Days in September, October and June. We collaborated with the Department of English and Music@Reading to arrange the annual November Finzi Poetry Day comprising an exhibition of Library and Special Collections material relating to the poet Bernard Spencer; a concert of English poetry settings; a poetry reading by Colette Bryce and Patrick McGuinness. At a May Centre for Staff Development Session, Helen Hathaway and Guy Baxter jointly presented on the Library and University Museums and Special Collections Services. The Library provided input to, and the Secretary for, a new University Copyright Advisory Group.
Gerald Finzi’s footsteps Poets Patrick McGuinness and Colette Bryce performed at a day commemorating the English composer whose poetry collection we safeguard
Ever willing to share knowledge and experience with fellow professionals, we hosted visits from the University of Kent Library Services and Royal Holloway University Library staff. Also keen to ‘spread the word’ about our work, in collaboration with the University’s Careers Advisory Service, Christopher Cipkin, David Brown and Catherine Mawdsley ran a careers seminar for students interested in librarianship. By again providing free work experience placements, we gave a taste of librarianship to several young people from local schools. By 2010, local schools were increasingly asking for pupil groups to research the Library’s extensive collections. Consequently we set guidelines and updated the Library website. Elizabeth Simpson, our Schools Liaison Representative, ran sessions for
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local teachers in April and June. These covered what schools and pupils can expect from a Library visit and gave pointers to accessing non-Library resources.
Lending service Our withdrawn stock helped dress a set at the celebrated Watermill Theatre. Educating Rita starred Timothy Bentinck and Claire Lams
Two unusual stories this year show a librarian’s determination to make the most of resources, and to get them back for the next use! In October we lent books to the Watermill Theatre, Newbury to line an academic’s office walls on the set of Educating Rita. They borrowed 12 metres of suitably old and scholarly-looking withdrawn items, later returning them for sale through book suppliers. In February, a retired librarian returned a lost book from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He had bought it in a library book sale but as it contained our Library markings but no withdrawn stamp, he checked our catalogue and found it issued to ‘MISSING’. Our Director of Research Projects, David Sutton, achieved success in various grant applications from the Strachey Trust, the Pilgrim Trust, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and – for £75K – a British Academy Research Development Award. The latter in particular enables a new Location Register project to begin in 2011.
People We continue to emphasise comprehensive staff training and development so as to provide highlevel support for the University and to contribute to the supply of high-calibre professional librarians nationally through involvement with Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) qualifications. Our post-graduate trainee liaison librarians hold sought-after three-year posts, structured with a range of liaison, functional and 14
Library review 2009–2010
Fresh and well preserved David Brown and Elizabeth Simpson are our newest trainee liaison librarians. Our Preservation Team’s work exhibited their expertise with our oldest materials
supervisory experiences, whilst being mentored towards chartership. New trainees this session were Elizabeth Simpson and David Brown. Elizabeth Schlackman gained a three-year post, having provided temporary maternity cover last session. Previous entrant Charlie Carpenter achieved his chartership qualification in July. We also provide one-year library assistant posts with mentorship for pre-library school graduates – this session for Catherine Mawdsley, Samina Bashir and Rebecca Jennings. Jackie Skinner (Web Manager & Liaison Librarian) successfully passed the ILM (Institute of Leadership and Management) endorsed development programme in middle management in November. From April to June, we staged an exhibition of our Preservations Team’s work to counteract ageing and damage in Special Collections material. Of note was Jane Li’s high standard of restoration on a valuable family bible, a result of ongoing training with Conservation/Preservation Manager, Geoff Gardner.
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Many of our chartered trainees are eagerly snapped up after their time with us, but we benefit from our own investment in Victoria Bird and Charlie Carpenter. Victoria Bird was appointed Collections Project Co-ordinator from August (with Caroline Instone as her Collections Project Assistant from September). Charlie Carpenter was promoted to a full liaison librarian covering Karen Drury’s maternity leave in April. Other notable appointments included Lucy Atkinson as Cataloguer and Liaison Support Librarian from September, with Linda Clargo returning to cover her maternity leave from November. Natalie Picken formally became Multimedia Manager in August. In addition to her Document Delivery Coordinator/Liaison Librarian role, she had previously covered this area during Fenella Waugh’s maternity leave. In University Museums and Special Collections Services (UMASCS), Fiona Melhuish was appointed to the restructured post of Librarian in January, having previously been Rare Books Librarian. Retirements this session included Senior Library Assistant Inger Grindley and Library Assistant Fiona Mogford, each having served many years at both Main and Bulmershe Libraries.
Party person Inger Grindley celebrated her retirement with colleagues in September
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In June we were saddened by the death of a former member of Library staff from cancer. Melanie Groundsell worked during the 1990s with the Faculty of Science team, in Cataloguing and Preservation, and covered a sabbatical period as Music Librarian. An accomplished musician and teacher, we remember her enjoying Main Library’s good acoustics with pre-opening-time clarinet practice.
Library review 2009–2010
Statistics 2007–2008
2008–2009 2009–2010
Number of registered Library users Total
17,994
22,179
22,087
Students
14,132
17,097
16,976
3,319
4,435
4,583
543
647
528
Number of user visits
951,431
1,091,250
885,723
Number of items borrowed
520,969
629,848
651,535
4,983
4,943
4,657
196
230
505
1,578
2,727
2,266
453
533
600
88.98
84.92
83.60
1,208,424
1,199,024
1,209,988
Books added in the year
15,233
14,265
10,964
Current periodical subscriptions
15,585
16,642
23,502
Electronic periodicals
14,584
15,738
21,123
No data
No data
291,109
13,965
13,803
13,803
1,256
1,316
1,467
249
254
234
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Staff External users Use of the Libraries
Items borrowed from other libraries Items supplied to other libraries Number of enquiries in a sample term-time week Number of Library staff hours spent teaching Library staff Full-time equivalent Library materials Catalogued books
E-books Library buildings Total area occupied (sq m) Study places Study places with PCs Study places with network connection (laptops) Annual Library expenditure Information resources
£1,315,217
£1,395,033 £1,435,694 17
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Time-line August 2009
September 2009
Taught PGs loan allowance increased to 20 from 15
Library Fair
Elizabeth Schlackman re-appointed trainee liaison librarian
Elizabeth Simpson and David Brown appointed trainee liaison librarians Inger Grindley retires
Director of University of Kent Library Services visits
Library staff picnic
December 2009
January 2010
Main and Bulmershe Libraries keep open during ‘adverse weather conditions’ – snow
Library joins UK Research Reserve (UKRR) Fiona Melhuish starts in restructured post as UMASCS Librarian Main and Bulmershe Libraries keep open during heavy snow
April 2010
May 2010
New team approach implemented to reshelve at Main Library
Library’s contribution to successful Applied Linguistics periodic review acknowledged
Charlie Carpenter appointed Liaison Librarian covering maternity leave Evaluation of Resource Discovery Systems to provide single interface to University systems
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Library review 2009–2010
October 2009
November 2009
BBC evening news broadcast from Main Library
Two refurbished 5th Floor study rooms open, thanks to Annual Fund grant
All audio/audio-visual Library tours online
University decides to rent Worton Grange warehouse as an off-campus store
Bulmershe Library weekend opening withdrawn
February 2010
March 2010
Acquisitions launch new format monthly budget reports
Main Library’s 9,000th item assigned to Store
Missing book rescued from Albuquerque
Another refurbished study room opened on Main Library’s 5th Floor
June 2010
July 2010
Lease signed securing University Store at Worton Grange
655 and 710s stock exchange floors
Safety work on Main Library stairs First official Main Library fire drill using new ‘floor sweeping’ system. Library picnic
First periodicals offered to UK Research Reserve (UKRR) Charlie Carpenter gains chartership Various successful grant applications secure a new Location Register project for 2011
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Library review For more information, please contact: Julia Munro University Librarian University of Reading Library Whiteknights Reading RG6 6AE United Kingdom library@reading.ac.uk Tel (0118) 378 8770 Fax (0118) 378 6636
www.reading.ac.uk/library