users regardless of location, the most advantageous way to ensure that a crit- ical mass of information is available to users at their point of need is to provide it in electronic format. Put simply, we are taking the library service to the user by pushing the service outside of the boundaries of a physical building. The current economic environment is challenging for many students and Ulster University is committed to encourage young people who wouldn’t normally consider HE as an option. As a core central service, the Library Service has a key role to play as an enabler to support retention and progression. We have been focussed on an e-First service delivery model for the last eight years at least. This is about delivering added val- ue services to the end-user beyond the confines of the physical library space. It’s about ‘minding the gap’. There shouldn’t be a gap between the service we provide and what students need to help them to complete their academic studies.
Moving forward, flexibility and adapt- ability of service delivery models will be key as we seek to support users across a variety of learning environments, whether that is electronic or face-to- face. One size will not fit all, a blended service delivery model will be required. Whilst many users are very comfortable working in an electronic environment others are less so. As Librarians we have
April-May 2021
Janet Peden.
a responsibility to ensure that we can we meet users at their point of need wherever that might be. This of course challenges traditional service delivery models and requires creative approaches to service delivery. As a service we need to ensure the accessibility of information profession- als and the added value service that they provide to users to help them to navigate the complexities of digital information environments.”
E-first challenges
There are some immediate problems with e-First: “Content is not always available in electronic format,” Janet says. “So a hybrid model of information provision will be essential, but eBook costs have also recently increased exponentially. This has been very noticeable during the Covid-19 lockdown period. As a general principle we buy one
textbook per 20 students and we manage demand using a variety of loan periods. If demand is high, we supplement with additional print copies and the same applies to eBook licensing, we purchase additional licences. I am now seeing more requests than ever before to authorise increased costs for the licensing of eBooks.” Janet added that “if all HE institutions are in the same position why are we paying more? Costs appear to be rising in parallel with demand. I think pricing models need to be reviewed. The change to the VAT rate has helped somewhat, but that is missing the point – the point is why are eBooks so expensive?”
Change and management The success of a digital first approach to information provision and the delivery of a new library space at the enhanced Belfast campus will not be predicated on cost and
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