more relevant to their parent organisa- tions and users/patrons.


Public libraries: Community/patron engagement


Public libraries are looking for better tools to engage their communities. The increasing diversity of print and electronic resources available to library customers has exposed how far behind, compared to commercial content services, libraries are in terms of deep user engagement. Better,­more­effective­ways­to­engage­ users is becoming a key requirement. It was a core component of the London Libraries Consortium requirement for a new library services platform. SirsiDynix now­offers­a­community­engagement­ platform (CEP)7


and in February 2020


Civica announced its new latest Spydus LMS upgrade with enhancements to ‘focus on enhancing digital engagement for­library­staff­and­patrons’.8


HE Libraries


In the UK, an institution’s performance in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and Teaching Excellence Frame- work (TEF) are critical to funding.


Research


An analysis of the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) reported bleakly:


It is striking that over a third of envi- ronment statements (37.7 per cent) made no direct reference to the institutional library or librarians, not even just to mention the library collections. A similar number­(36.5­per­cent)­only­briefly­refer- enced the library or librarians.9


Nevertheless there is a growing awareness of how university RIM [Research Informa- tion­Management­system]­workflows­are­ increasingly intersecting with those in the library. Librarians, ‘should see this as an opportunity to draw a new map of support and services for researchers.’ 10


There


is clear opportunity for librarians and university­research­office­staff­to­work­ more closely to deliver a more coherent approach­to­benefit­researchers.­Some­ library technology vendors, notably Ex Libris, recognise this opportunity and are responding with new solutions.11


Teaching and Learning In little over a decade, from 1998 to 2010, universities in England and Wales increased their prices (tuition fees) by a hefty 800 per cent.12


In an increas-


ingly ‘marketised’ HE environment it is not surprising that students are impa- tient if the university cannot deliver the resources they need. Some universities responded by providing students with devices preloaded with relevant content bypassing any need to use the LMS. In 2015 Middlesex University invested over £2 million in its programme to provide


8


students with free core e-books.13


Where


library system vendors have developed solutions to support teaching and learning it is predominantly in the area of reading lists.­For­a­decade­Talis­led­the­field­with­ its Aspire solution but in 2015 Ex Libris launched their Leganto solution and in 2016, SirsiDynix, announced its ‘BLUE- cloud Lists’ solution.14


Conclusion


Libraries need new approaches to technology to support changed needs. Many current library systems vendors are mired in supporting legacy LMSs that hamper them in delivering the trans- formative approach needed. Only those that can deliver new higher value solutions will thrive in the longer term. BG


References


1 2020 Library Systems Report: Fresh opportunities amid consolidation. By Marshall Breeding American libraries, 1 May 2020 https://bit.ly/35sSd6s


2 Freckle report 2020: New research into the historic performance of public library services in the US, UK and Australia.


3 Public libraries. John Woodhouse & Yago Zayed. House of Commons briefing paper. 23 January 2020. https://bit.ly/3hZbeCu


4 All-Wales library card launches. Natasha Onwuemezi. The Bookseller. 7 September 2015 https://bit.ly/2XujkcY


5 Northamptonshire may close up to 28 of its 36 libraries. Alison Flood, The Guardian 28 November 2017 https://academicebookinvestigation.org/about/ https://bit.ly/3q7FEp8


6 Initiated by Lorcan Dempsey at OCLC. See: Discovery happens elsewhere: Lorcan Dempsey’s Weblog 16 Sep- tember2007. https://bit.ly/3q7FHRQ


7 SirsiDynix community engagement platform. https://www.sirsidynix.com/community-engagement-platform/


8 New Spydus release offers improved digital engage- ment for citizens. Civica February 2020 https://bit.ly/3br2dRj


9 Dominic Walker. Libraries and the REF: how do librarians contribute to research excellence?, Insights, 2020, 33: 6, 1–13; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.497 https://bit.ly/3nrOOeg


10 Librarians supporting research in Wales Collabora- tive staff development and capacity building. Bronwen Blatchford, Cath Borwick and Susan Glen. SCONUL Focus 67 2016 ISSN 1745-5790 https://bit.ly/3nsUODr


11 See for example: Research Information Management. Ex Libris [website] https://bit.ly/3nzz4WF


12 Tuition fees in the United Kingdom. Wikipedia. https://bit.ly/3sc7ja1


13 Free eBooks for everyone: a new challenge for the University Library, Matthew Lawson, Jamie Halstead & Paul Howel. UKSG Webinar. 24 January 2015 https://www.uksg.org/webinars/ebooks Q&A document https://bit.ly/3q4TJDC


14 See the reading list page on Higher Education Library Technology. https://www.helibtech.com/reading_resource_lists


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