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Looking forward and outside: the value of Academic Libraries

Looking forward and outside: the value of Academic Libraries. Eloy Rodrigues – eloy@sdum.uminho.pt. Agenda. Introduction Defining advocacy Problems , challenges and opportunities for Portuguese academic libraries Advocacy in practice What can/ should we do?

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Looking forward and outside: the value of Academic Libraries

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  1. Looking forward and outside: the value of Academic Libraries Eloy Rodrigues – eloy@sdum.uminho.pt

  2. Agenda • Introduction • Definingadvocacy • Problems, challengesandopportunities for Portuguese academiclibraries • Advocacy in practice • What can/shouldwe do? • What are wedoing in Portugal? • ConcludingRemarks

  3. Acknowledgments/Thankyou • Ana Bela Martins (UA) • Antónia Correia (UNL) • Iolanda Silva (UMa) • Maria Eduarda Rodrigues (IPCB) • Maria João Mocho (UAc)

  4. Introduction • Defining advocacy… • … not a simple task • There is no similar/equivalent word in Portuguese

  5. Introduction • Defining advocacy… • … provide value to your users • … Find evidence of that value • ... Communicate!

  6. Thecontext • Portuguese academic libraries • Global/structural challenges and problems • Local/conjunctural challenges and problems • Opportunities

  7. Portuguese academiclibraries • Global/structural trends, challenges and problems • Disruptive technologies (+ numerous & + frequent); • Acceleration of the transition from physical to digital • Disintermediation • Uncontrolled cost growth of information resources • Deep changes in higher education (new teaching/learning practices, diversification of public/students and courses, MOOCs, globalization and competition, etc.) • Deep changes in research and scholarly communication (Open Access & Open Science, Data management/curation, etc.)

  8. Portuguese academiclibraries • Local (Portugal) and conjunctural (crisis), challenges and problems • Severe budget cuts and staff constraints; • Stagnation of student population (despite “new students” - structural demography, economic difficulties, emigration, etc.); • Historical deficit of visibility/recognition, institutional “weight” and autonomy of academic libraries within their institutions; • Excess of “inside” focus and deficit of “outward looking”, cooperation and networking;

  9. Challenges/Opportunities for academic libraries • Using our strenghts, skills and know how (analysis, representation, dissemination and management of information, user and service orientation, etc.) to reshape our libraries • Assuming new roles of intermediation (inside-out) and valorization of the knowledge and contents produced in our organizations: • Institutional Repositories/Open Access; • (Support to) Publishing (books, journals, etc.); • Research data management; • Assuming “new”/reinforced roles in learning/teaching processes (information literacy, “embedded librarian”, etc.) • Diversifying the set of services, physical spaces and functionalities offered to our growingly diverse communities

  10. Advocacy in/for academic libraries • What can/should we do? • What are we doing?

  11. Advocacy in/for academic libraries • What can/should we do? • Back to the (indispensable) basics: • Have a vision and a strategy – define “where” you want to be in some years, and how to get there!

  12. If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable - Seneca

  13. Advocacy in/for academic libraries • What can/should we do? • Have a vision and a strategy • Define objectives • Define priorities • Focus on user needs,not on having “nice library services/tools”

  14. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • Focus on generating and providing true value to the users (students, teachers, researchers) and the institution (university or other HEI)… • But generating/providing is not enough…

  15. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • “Academic libraries must prove the value they provide to the academic enterprise.(…) Librarians must be able to convert the general feelings of goodwill towards the library to effective communication to all stakeholders that clearly articulate its value to the academic community” - ACRL - 2012 top ten trends in academic libraries: A review of the trends and issues affecting academiclibrariesin highereducation • “The pressure on higher education to demonstrate value continued in 2012—and remains the top issue facing academic and research libraries.” – ALA - State of America's Libraries Report 2013

  16. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • Focus on generating and providing true value to the users (students, teachers, researchers) and the institution (university or other HEI)… • But generating/providing are not enough… • We need to demonstrate, showcase, prove…

  17. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • But it’s not easy to demonstrate/prove value, and many times there isn’t enough effort/attention to do it…. • “(…) there is a strong feeling among senior librarians that they have failed effectively to communicate the value of their services [and] (…) in rigorously demonstrating the value of their activities.”- RIN & RLUK (2011) - The value of libraries for research and researchers

  18. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • We need to collect/generate data… • Measure • Count • Analyze/study (partner with academics) • Collect anecdotal evidence (testimonials, etc.)

  19. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • We need to report, disseminate, showcase the data, evidences and conclusions produced by us… • … but also the evidences, studies and reports, produced elsewhere

  20. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • “A study by David Schwiederand Lisa Hinchliffe that analyzed National Center for Education Statistics datasets found thatacademic libraries at four-year colleges and universities can make a broad, empiricallygrounded claim of providing value to their institutions. High retention and graduation rateswere positively linked to a number of library variables, especially library hours and the amountspent on serial publications. (“NCES Datasets and Library Value: An Exploratory Study of2008 Data”)” - ALA - State of America's Libraries Report 2013

  21. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • Demonstrating/showcasing the value and impact of academic libraries and their services in a positive way: • Student & Staff satisfaction • Learning results • Research results/impact • University reputation/attraction

  22. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • But even “negative” facts can be useful/used… • Negative evaluation of library resources and facilities from external evaluation committees… • Student dissatisfaction with opening hours… • …for the demonstration of the value of having (or the cost of not having) good library services.

  23. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • What can/should we do? • Get as much “allies” and friends as you can! • Involve your users and liaise with the different user “communities”

  24. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • Using formal and informal channels • Library users committees • Students associations • Contests • Participatory budgets • … • To get input, ideas, suggestions, feedback on library services, but also as dissemination and advocacy opportunity

  25. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • Library contests – a good example

  26. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • What can/should we do? • Advocate, communicate, disseminate, contact, attract, market, lobby…

  27. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • Define advocacy priorities/issues and establish goals • Advocacy for the libraries (in general, or specific issues – funding, buildings, opening hours, staff, etc.) • Advocacy for “new” library agendas: • Open Access • Research data management • ….

  28. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • Establish a communication plan • Main message(s) • Target “audience(s)” (target decision makers, opinion leaders, and other relevant stakeholders according to the issue(s)) • Communication strategy and mechanisms • Personal contact (meetings, interviews, letters) • Group contact (brochures, Web and social media, etc.) • Media (Press release, news production, etc. • Communicate! Advocate!

  29. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • Communicate! Advocate! • Talk, contact, write, • Organize events • Lobby • ….

  30. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • What can/should we do? • Network and cooperate with your peers (libraries, and librarians)

  31. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • Network and cooperate with peers (libraries, librarians, professional associations) at national and international level • Share experiences, materials, data, evidences • Jointly produce advocacy or communication materials • Jointly organize advocacy events/campaign

  32. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • What are we doing in Portugal? • Many/most academic libraries are very active on communication, marketing, dissemination, reaching out to their communities

  33. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries

  34. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries

  35. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • What are we doing in Portugal? • Most academic libraries offer user training/information literacy courses • Some have “embedded” those courses in formal university programmes (UNL – Information Literacy on the Doctoral School)

  36. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries

  37. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • What are we doing in Portugal? • Some academic libraries have experience or are starting to work on engagement with user committees

  38. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • What are we doing in Portugal? • Most academic libraries have been advocating for Open Access • Portugal is a success story on Open Access and repositories. • OA has been supported by decision makers, both at institutional and national level

  39. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • Advocating an promoting Open Access • From local to global level

  40. UMinho Open Access Timeline

  41. UMinho Open Access Timeline

  42. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • What are we doing in Portugal? • A growing number of libraries are assuming new roles, and offering new services: • Publishing (UA, etc.) • Research data management (UMinho, etc.) • Bibliometrics and assessment (Uminho, UNL, UMa, etc.) • …

  43. Advocacy in/for academiclibraries • What are we lacking in Portugal? • Strong, regular and broad cooperation and networking • Collect/produce/disseminate evidence of the value/impact of libraries

  44. Concludingremarks • For effective advocacy of academic libraries we need to look forward and outside: • Vision and ambition (Reshaping the academic library of the future) • Strategy and political skills (Define and focus on priorities, set the agenda and find "allies”) • Collect data, evidence of library value and impact • Communicate (be bold, not invisible)

  45. Concludingremarks • For effective advocacy of academic libraries we need: • To work hard…

  46. Concludingremarks • For effective advocacy of academic libraries we need: • To work hard… • … and sometimes also to be lucky…

  47. Concludingremarks

  48. Concludingremarks

  49. Concludingremarks http://www.rtp.pt/noticias/index.php?article=730915&tm=8&layout=122&visual=61

  50. Concludingremarks • But even when you get lucky, there is no definitive winning… • And we need to work hard, and start over again, and again, and again…

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