CONTINUING EDUCATION LIBRARY PROJECT:
PROJECT BRIEF
Date: 30 August 2007
Author: Cathryn Gallacher
Purpose of this Document
This document describes a two-phase project regarding the Continuing Education (CE)
Library. The first phase involves moving the heavily used stock – approximately 5,000
items – and the AddLibS Service to the Arts and Social Sciences Library, and closing the
CE library to users. This phase can be completed by the end of September 2008.
The second phase of the project involves withdrawing or relegating to the Library Store
approximately 28,000 items; moving 8,000 set books used for the ‘Book Box’ service to
another suitable, central location; and vacating the premises at 8-10 Berkeley Square.
The timescale for the second phase depends on the space and staff resource
available for the project.
Background
The Continuing Education (CE) Library, based in 8-10 Berkeley Square, originally served
the needs of the Department of Continuing Education, with CE staff and CE teaching
based primarily in that building. Since the late 1990s, when teaching of CE programmes
began to be dispersed to other departments, it has become less important to maintain a
separate library in 8-10 Berkeley Square, and Library staff have been steadily withdrawing
stock which is no longer used (eg, duplicate items), and moving books which are used to
other appropriate branch libraries or to the library’s Store. Approximately 5,000 items
have been withdrawn, and 3,000 items relegated to the Store. Staffing in the branch has
also reduced from 2.33 FTE to 1.95 FTE, with an additional 15 hours per week during
term time.
At present, the CE Library houses approximately 33,000 books. Five thousand of these
books are still heavily used by Continuing Education teachers and students (and also by
other University staff and students); approximately 5,000 books are used but less
frequently, and 15,000 books are duplicated in other branch libraries or no longer needed
and can therefore be withdrawn. The CE Library also houses sets of books (about 8,000
volumes in total) which are lent to CE students, via their tutors, through the ‘Book Box’
service, which is currently run from the CE Library. Finally, the AddLibS service, which
offers additional library support to disabled students and others with specific support
needs, is currently run from the CE Library, though it provides support for users of all of
the University Libraries. 1.3 FTE staff are required to run these services, which will
continue beyond the closure of the CE Library.
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PHASE 1 (September 2007 - September 2008): Project Definition
Objectives
Phase 1 will:
o Create space in the Arts and Social Sciences Library (ASSL) for 5,000 heavilyused items from CE. This involves withdrawing or relegating to store 5,000
ASSL items, a task which requires reclassification of the item, or deleting its
catalogue record, as well as a physical move.
o Move 5,000 heavily used items from the CE Library to ASSL. This task also
involves reclassifying each item, and changing its catalogue record, and in some
cases cataloguing the item from scratch, as some CE records are currently in
manual (card catalogue) form only.
o Move the AddLibS service and the Book Box service to ASSL, with 1.3 FTE
staff who run those services.
o Redeploy .65 FTE staff from CE to the Library’s Relegation Team.
o Close the CE Library to the public in September 2008.
Project Benefits
The relocation of heavily-used CE Library stock and service to ASSL will:
o Improve the service to users of the CE library resources by consolidating the
resources used most in one place (ASSL), and extending access to those resources by
providing longer opening hours. (Ie, the CE Library is open 48 hours per week
during term-time, while the ASSL is open 86 hours per week in term-time.)
o Save £5,190 per year in staff costs from 2008/09 by reducing the overall library’s
staffing by 15 hours per week in term time.
o Redeployment of .65 staff from the CE library will enable the library to carry out the
book withdrawals, moves and relegation to Store associated with several forthcoming
building and refurbishment and projects -- including those listed under ‘Constraints’
below, as well as those associated with the Nucleus programme – without employing
additional Relegation staff.
Exclusions
The removal of 5,000 heavily-used items and the AddLibS service will leave 28,000 items
still housed in the CE Library. After its closure to the public, this space will be needed to
house those collections until the books can be withdrawn or relegated in Phase 2.
Library users can get access to these collections in the same way they access materials in
the Library Store. Because not all of the items which will remain in CE are on the
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catalogue, users can also be given browsing access to browse the collection by
appointment with the CE Subject Librarian or other relevant library staff.
In addition, because there is no space in the ASSL to house the sets of books used for
the Book Box service, those books will continue to be housed in the CE Library until the
completion of Phase 2 (described below.)
Constraints
The constraints concern space and staff time.
With regard to space: the ASSL is currently full and, indeed, overflowing, leaving no
space to incorporate other collections without first moving less-used material to the
Store. There are also other urgent moves of library stock from branch libraries to the
Library Store currently underway, including:
o The Biological Science Library is also full and stock is double-shelved, making it
inaccessible to users. 2,700 items (80 metres) must be moved to Store within the
coming year.
o 10 metres of ASSL materials need to be relegated by October 2008 to
accommodate an important gift of German materials.
o The Geography Library will be losing space in order to accommodate a new lift
which meets the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act. To create
this space, 20 metres of shelf space must be vacated in ASSL by withdrawal or
relegation of items to the Store.
o The Medical Library will be refurbished to make the space more student-centred.
This will require a significant stock move, requiring both 1100 metres of space in
the Store, and staff time.
This means that there will be no space in the Store for 5,000 additional books
from CE until June 2008, when the Library increases the size of its Store.
With regard to staff constraints: there are currently 1.8 FTE library staff dedicated to
withdrawal and relegation of items. This team can process an average of 400 items per
week, which must include the projects listed above as well as the CE Library project.
Relegation also requires Subject Librarian input, which is normally only available outside
term time. However, even if additional staff were employed to carry out this project,
space constraints would make it impossible before June 2008.
Risks
The Library has bid for funds to refurbish the ASSL. If that bid is successful, the project
will require a significant stock move, requiring both space in the Store and staff time.
A reduction in Library staff numbers, for financial or other reasons, would also delay or
impede the completion of Phase 1 of the project.
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PHASE 2: Project Definition
Objectives
o Withdraw ca 15,000 items currently housed in the CE Library.
o Vacate space in other branch libraries for 1,000 items, and transfer that number of
items from CE.
o Identify space within the University precinct which would house the set books (8000
items, occupying 200 metres) and move those books to the new location.
o Move 4,000 items to Store.
o Vacate the library’s premises at 8-10 Berkeley Square.
Benefits
The library in 8-10 Berkeley Square is an inefficient use of space to store books which are
used only infrequently in or near the University precinct. Moving those books to the
Library Store, or withdrawing those which are not used, would free up those facilities for
other, more appropriate academic or academic-related purposes.
Constraints
As described in the Background section above, it has taken eight years for existing library
staff to relegate or withdraw 8,000 items from CE, as that work must be absorbed into
their numerous other ongoing tasks. Without additional staffing resource, therefore, it
would require considerable time to move the remaining 28,000 items described above.
Additional staff required to enable this work to take place in one year, between
October 2008 and September 2009, are outlined below.
Staff costs
In order to vacate the CE Library premises over the course of a year (September 2008September 2009), the Library would require:
Redeployment of .65 FTE staff currently running the
CE Library service to the Relegation Team, as described
in Phase I above.
No cost.
1 FTE professional cataloguer (Grade J) for one year
£37,624
.3 additional CE Subject Librarian hours for one year
£12,000
TOTAL COSTS
£49,624
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