Presentation to the European Business School Librarians Conference (EBSLG) at the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge on 17/06/2013.

1. A futures exchange
Tim Wales, Head of Library
EBSLG Conference: Cambridge 18th June 2013

2. ABLD/EBSLG/APBSLG FUTURE OF
BSCHOOL LIBRARIES SURVEY
PART 1: BOOK EXTRACT
Image Source: Dan Santana via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dani-santana/3534299566/
Ashgate Publishing
ISBN 9781409465652

3. Background
• ABLD/EBSLG/APBSLG mailing list members were
invited in August/September 2012 to complete a
short (10 question) “Delphi survey” to determine
if there was any consensus around the shape of
things to come for business school libraries.
• 23 responses were received, of which 11 (48%)
were from the USA, 9 (39%) from Europe and the
remaining 3 (13%) were from the Asia-Pacific
region.

4. Results (1):Top 5 Future Challenges
1. Technological challenges
2. Disintermediation of libraries in delivering content
3. Reduced budgets
4. Institutional issues/politics
5. User expectations
Not considered important:
• Loss of physical space
• International campuses/partners

5. Results (2): Other Challenges
The relationship between the library and teaching
Comments related to the rapid changes to curriculum and the
associated disconnect between library and teaching staff.
Free internet information
Students’ perception that information is freely available online.
The disconnected library
Ensuring the library aligned with the bschool’s mission: the business
library may not exist if institutional mergers were to occur.
Library staff
Ensuring that library staff had access to the appropriate training to
ensure the supply of the right kind of business specialists (and
leaders) for the future.

6. Results (3): Top 5 Opportunities
1. Specialist resource/research support
2. Flexible study space provision
3. Discovery support
4. Information literacy
5. Learning technologies
Not considered important:
• Social media
• iTunes U content/Library apps

7. Results (4): Future confidence?
How confident are you that business school
libraries will exist in 20 years time?
6% had zero confidence
52% very confident or confident
22% undecided
20% not confident
And…

8. Results (5): Free-text (+) comment
We are busier than ever in our library. There
are so many databases with such complex,
difficult-to-use interfaces and so many
students studying Business that our job
security seems assured to me (unless
standards are lowered greatly and no one
cares about the quality of the information they
are using).

9. Results (6): Free-text (-) comment
I’m confident that business school librarians will
exist but [business school] libraries maybe not.

10. THE BRIEF: WHAT KIND OF LIBRARY
DO WE WANT OR NEED IN THE FUTURE?
PART 2: LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL LIBRARY VISIONING
The Marylebone Centre: Source: Tim Wales (Flickr)
2017 onwards

11. EMBEDDED LIBRARY RESEARCH TEAM
VISION 1
Research
dissemination
Research
information
Data
management
Research
analysis
Research
performance
Compliance

12. LIBRARY HUB
VISION 2
Library
Course
support
Research
support
Compliance
Careers
Support

13. HERITAGE LIBRARY
VISION 3
Library
Library

14. VIRTUAL LIBRARY
VISION 4
User
support
Compliance
Resource
discovery

15. REJECTED
Other visions
Contracted-out
Termination

16. P-LIBRARY USE
Internal Trend Analysis [Extract]
Print Library use – July - Dec 2012
Category
# of
Library
registered
users
# of
active
users
% of
category
total
# of inactive
users (0
transactions
in period)
% of
category
total
# of print
transactions
in period
% of total
transactions
Faculty 150 22 15% 128 85% 195 1.9%
PhDs 73 44 60% 29 40% 553 5.5%
Students 1,800 838 47% 962 53% 5,971 58.9%
Alumni 2,426 336 14% 2,090 86% 2,815 27.8%
Exec Ed 121 6 5% 115 95% 12 0.1%
Staff 548 101 18% 447 82% 596 5.9%
TOTAL 5,115 1,347 26% 3,768 74% 10,142 100%

17. E-LIBRARY USE
Internal Trend Analysis [Extract]
E-Library use via Portal - July - Dec 2012
Category
# of Portal
registered
users
# of
active
users
% of
category
total
# of
inactive
users (0
accesses
in period)
% of
category
total
# of Library
resource
accesses
via Portal
% of total
Portal
library db
sessions
Faculty 150 131 87% 19 13% 4,434 7.0%
PhDs 73 73 100% 0 0% 2,387 3.8%
Students 1,800 1,297 72% 503 28% 25,718 40.5%
Alumni 35,274 1,900 5% 33,374 95% 20,132 31.7%
Exec Ed 600 416 69% 184 31% 3,480 5.5%
Staff 548 238 43% 310 57% 7,364 11.6%
TOTAL 38,442 4,055 11% 34,390 89% 63,515 100%
Excluding
Alumni
3,171 2,155 68% 1,016 32% 43,383 100%

18. We have not discussed going e-only, partly because the need is not
there. If there is a space crunch again, I am sure we will get the
push.
From my perspective, we could easily reduce our onsite holdings
by at least 50% but there are limitations on remote storage so we
are not pushing. I think it will be a while before the publisher
business models make e-only a reality and I think the social
sciences are lagging the sciences. Even Stanford’s so-called
“bookless” Engineering Library has at least 25,000 volumes and
shows no signs of going bookless any time soon.
One thing to look at is the behavior of the current undergraduates.
Many of them still prefer paper for close reading.

19. Overall
rank
Opportunity Library
Hub
Virtual
Library
1 Specialist resource/research support  ½
2 Flexible study space  
3 Discovery support  
4 Information literacy  ½
5 Learning technologies  ½
6 Research data management ½ ½
7 Careers & entrepreneurship support  ½
8 Open access ½ ½
9 Digitisation  ½
10 Knowledge management  
VISIONS V. THE FUTURES SURVEY
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

20. WHICH ONE WAS SELECTED?
Q&A
User
support
Compliance
Resource
discovery
twales@london.edu @timwales