HE/FE institutions are increasingly user focused and must meet the challenge of providing high quality services which meet the demands of its users to provide access to more varied resources in a rapidly changing technological environment. This is balanced against the increasing costs of resources and a political- and sector-wide institutional need to better account for and spend library budgets. This session will discuss how the University of Derby is using statistical and decision-based tools to determine how effectively library resources are managed and planned, collaborating with publishers, academics, colleagues within the Library and across the library and information sector to develop continuing best practice through evidence-based decision making.

1. www.derby.ac.ukwww.derby.ac.uk
Manage, develop, collaborate:
Evidence-based decision making and
continuing best practice in academic
libraries
James Kay and Paul Cavanagh

2. www.derby.ac.uk
Meet your presenters
• Library Subscriptions &
Document Delivery Librarian,
December 2013.
• Previously Company Librarian
at Simcyp Ltd (private pharma-
tech enterprise company) for 6
½ years.
• Met former Doctor Who Tom
Baker and got his
autograph...at Songs of Praise
James
• Library Resources
Development & Delivery
Manager, September 2013.
• Previously Senior Assistant
Librarian De Montfort
University, Leicester and
Library Assistant at University
of Nottingham.
• Appeared as a librarian in an
episode of popular BBC
daytime soap Doctors
Paul
• Subscriptions and E-
Resources needed long term
strategy to ensure sustainable
service development.
• Process review and analysis
of service provision resulted in
changes to roles and
responsibilities:
• E-Resources spend approx.
£750,000.00
• Coincided with reorganisation
of University of Derby’s
academic structure
Library

3. www.derby.ac.uk
Explicit challenges at the University of Derby –
Practicalities of provision
“(When working with e-resources) a vast bank of goodwill is required”
• Spend and commitment targets.
• Reviewing print and electronic
holdings in line with:
o Budget and spend
o Teaching, learning and
research needs
• Agreeing Library provision in a
way that is:
o Transparent
o Measurable
o Comparable
Budgets
• Compatibility of resources with
existing systems and technology:
o Reading lists – Talis Aspire,
Talis Aspire Digitised Content
(TADC)
o Discovery Service – EBSCO
o Catalogue – Prism
• Pricing models, collections and
packages
• Checking and storing licenses
Systems
• Meeting license requirements.
• Authentication standards
• Ensuring access for eligible
users
• Restricting access for ineligible
• users
• Managing on campus and off
campus access
• Ensuring accuracy and visibility
of holdings
Access
What challenges do you face?

4. www.derby.ac.uk
E-Resources’ response:
• Collection Development
Group
o Focusing on collections as a
whole, reviewing and making
effective decisions through
evidence.
• Library Systems Improvement
Group
o Focusing on systems,
accessibility, findability,
usability.
• Reading Lists (Aspire/TADC)
Group
o Focusing on collaboration and
reading lists provision
•Groups meet quarterly
Working
Groups
• Reviewing roles and
responsibilities (Subscriptions
and Document Delivery
Librarian, E-Resources Library
Assistant, E-Resources
Administrator)
• Changing work flows and
building in support processes
• Identifying gaps in service
provision
• Clarifying responsibilities with
colleagues in IT services, Library
and publishers
• Unifying systems – to a point
Service
• e-resources@derby.ac.uk mail
box used for logging systems
queries and faults and is now
default email for subscriptions
• Renewals and Purchase Order
notices
• Regular meetings with Finance
team
• Establish cancellation periods
for all resources
• Review current provision of
usage statistics including peer
and institutional benchmarking
across time
Monitoring

5. www.derby.ac.uk
Harvesting and presenting usage data
• Details various criteria including Cost per Use, General Metrics and
ILL Comparison
• Note that this is at subscription level and not by subject or college

6. www.derby.ac.uk
In detail
• Comparison with previous year
taken from LMS
• Clear need to identify most
relevant metrics with Subject
Librarian colleagues

7. www.derby.ac.uk
“All usage is valid” - contextualising usage and finance
• Usage data statistics –
standardisation through
counter compliancy
• Who is using it and how?
e.g. database, discovery
service or individual
journal?
• Practicalities of usage
consolidation across
different resources - a
huge task, gathering and
harvesting usage
• Establishing benchmarks
• Cost per use metric is
often the primary indicator
What is
usage?
Assessing systems and
provision
• What has University
agreed to provide? What
can it not provide (e.g. to
different student groups)?
How can it check and
store licenses?
Pricing models, collections
and packages
• What has the University
purchased? What content
does it own? When is
payment due?
Linking
usage to cost
• Workbook is
comprehensive but not
immediately accessible -
requires editing / abridging
• Leads to over simplification
e.g. COUNTER / non-
COUNTER is grouped as
‘usage’
• User education – different
types of usage, cost per
use / download, analysis
• Usage is not in isolation –
one of many factors (e.g.
Teaching, Learning and
Research needs)
Monitoring

8. www.derby.ac.uk
E-Resources’ response:
• Removes General Metrics and ILLs
• Focuses on Cost per Use and Usage Criteria

9. www.derby.ac.uk
Implicit challenges at the University of Derby –
how we think and understand and what we communicate
Awareness
• Identifying resourcing needs
and future proofing
• Focus on resource planning
in early stages of course
development
• Liaison with Subject
Librarians
• Subject Librarian liaison with
academics
• Understanding issues at
senior management level
• Managing expectations –
students, academics,
publishers and content
providers, librarians,
institution
• Need to improve knowledge
and understanding of issues
surrounding resource
renewals
• Communicating this
information to colleagues
Communication
• Culture
• Structure
• Institutional priorities, e.g.
student experience, research
• External factors e.g. funding,
recruitment, student numbers.
• Legislation e.g. copyright
restrictions
• Increasing cost of resources
Organisation
and sector

10. www.derby.ac.uk
Going forward
• Usability testing
• Flexible spending timeline.
• Shared practice / community –
across library, institutions,
profession, FE / HE sector
• Engaging with publishers
• Positive impact in other areas of
service – e.g. Enquiries, Subject
Librarians
• Advocacy / promotion – of team,
roles / responsibilities, new tools
• Future proofing – academic
validations, course planning,
systems development
Best practice
• Develop agreed assessment
criteria for renewals based on:
o Teaching, learning and
research needs
o Usage and comparison data
o Cost analysis
o Accessibility and authentication
• For a journal, criteria might
be…good impact factor,
academics publish regularly in
it, student recommendation,
selected for reading lists, only
journal in the field etc
Analysis
• The ultimate aim, the dream of
E-Resources!
• Holds all suppliers, renewals
dates, costs and licensing
information
• Provides detailed analytics,
usage breakdown and allows
benchmarking
• Links with student information,
e.g. student numbers
• Links with all library systems,
allowing easy authentication,
updating of records
Matrix

11. www.derby.ac.uk
Thanks, questions and contacts
• James Kay
Library Subscriptions & Document Delivery Librarian
Learning Enhancement
T: 01332 592626
E: J.Kay@derby.ac.uk
• Paul Cavanagh
Library Resources Development & Delivery Manager
Learning Enhancement
T: 01332 592459
E: P.Cavanagh@derby.ac.uk
• Tim Peacock
E-Resources Administrator
Learning Enhancement
T: 01332 591204
E: T.Peacock@derby.ac.uk
Twitter: @DerbyUniLibrary Web: http://www.derby.ac.uk/campus/library/