UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER
Librarian’s Annual Report, 2003 – 2004
Foreword
2003-04 proved an exciting and challenging year for the University Library with
strong progress on the development of both our physical and virtual services.
The project to extend and redevelop the Main Library building gathered pace with the
appointment in March 2004 of the consultant team led by Faithful & Gould and
including Associated Architects and engineers FaberMaunsell. Six months of
intensive activity have resulted in a clear articulation of the external and internal
design of the building, arrived at in consultation with library users. Close discussions
with the city planners and with English Heritage culminated in a planning submission
to the City Council in September with a decision expected before the end of the year.
The building project inevitably dominated our thoughts and activities, but not to the
detriment of service improvement and collection building. The year saw
unprecedented activity in reviewing and improving the quality of our services, carried
out alongside ongoing work on the Library’s strategy aimed at aligning the Library
more closely with the University’s mission.
For the third consecutive year periodical subscriptions were maintained and the
digital collections grew although concern at the level of spending on books continues.
It is pleasing to record that several externally funded innovative projects have elicited
praise from service users and highly positive external review. We continue to seek
opportunities to raise the profile of the University and the Library in this way and to
develop expertise which is of value to our community of users.
I am delighted to thank the staff for the year’s achievements and their positive
response to change.
COLLECTIONS
Collection Profiles
During the year significant progress was made on collection profiling aimed at
mapping the University’s research and teaching interests on to the Library’s
collections using a template that can be tailored to suit the characteristics of
particular subjects. The template encompasses a description of the Department’s
academic programmes and research interests and moves on to describe the scope
of the Library’s collections and development policies in support of these programmes
in terms of language, chronology, geography and material type. The preservation,
classification and location of relevant collections are also recorded. To date profiles
have been completed in close consultation with academic colleagues for the
departments of Criminology, Engineering, Geology, Museum Studies, Politics, the
Schools of Education and Law and the Management Centre. Profiling is creating an
unprecedented body of information that will be regularly updated and will inform
collection development and space planning. The documents will form part of the
Library’s Freedom of Information statement and are already proving extremely helpful
in subject audits, programme approvals and in quality assurance.
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Collection Management
The newly formed Collections Management team had an extremely busy year,
identifying and moving to the Library Store over 40,000 volumes that are not
recorded in the Library online catalogue. These, along with similar material that
remains on open access, will be prioritised and catalogued by an external agency
working to a detailed specification prepared by the Cataloguing team. When this total
project is complete, all the Library’s holdings will be recorded on the online catalogue
for the first time.
In preparation for the building project, the Main Library’s collections were measured
by classmark, indicating that the building houses 24km of books and journals. The
reorganisation of theses and dissertations was also completed.
Books and Journals
For the third year running the Library was able to maintain existing subscriptions,
although increases in subscription costs continued to cause concern. One of the
highest increases was for the EEBO Journal and EEBO Reports which saw a rise of
almost 90% after the journals moved from Oxford University Press to Nature
Publishing Group. The financial position generally was helped by favourable
exchange rates with the euro and dollar.
Concern continues at the relatively low level of investment in books and in the linked
continuing decline in the number of book issues. However the Education Library and
the Clinical Sciences Library saw an increase in loans which we believe was
stimulated by the additional books bought with the £200,000 extra allocation in 200203 which are more visible in these libraries’ smaller collections.
The Library was pleased to receive a number of gifts of books during the year. Of
particular note was the donation of 600 volumes of 19th century periodicals from the
Guildhall Library enhancing our already significant collection.
Electronic Resources
The Library’s digital collections, now well-established, continued to expand with the
addition of the IEEE digital package, American Chemical Society journal archives,
the American Journal of Physiology and the World Advertising Research Center
database. The Oxford Reference Online service was upgraded and now provides
access to key Oxford companions and the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations as well as
to more than 100 trusted reference works.
2004 has seen the first subscription year in which reliable and comparable usage
statistics for digital resources have become available through the COUNTER
initiative. The Library has made a significant contribution to this important
international project. The Librarian is a member of the international COUNTER
Steering Committee and Executive Board while the Library is a pilot site for the new
service along with Cornell University, the University of California, GlaxoSmithKline
and Cranfield University. In the first seven months of 2004 over 373,000 requests
for full-text articles were made by University of Leicester users to COUNTERcompliant services. The Library will be using detailed reports produced by COUNTER
with other data, to inform collection development decisions in conjunction with
academic colleagues.
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Special Collections
Three exhibitions of works from the Library’s treasures demonstrated the range of
our rare books collections. An exhibition of volumes from the Leicester Medical
Society collection celebrated the completion of the Wellcome Trust funded
cataloguing project while a display of books from the Mathematical Association
collection illustrated the teaching of mathematics from ancient times to the modern
day. Around the Christmas period a varied collection of items with a seasonal theme
was shown. The display of the Roll of Honour once more marked Remembrance
Day, a particularly resonant commemoration in this University.
Political posters from the Gorrie collection were included in an exhibition in the
Guildhall to mark 100 years of the Labour Party in Leicester. During the Spring
Conference of the Association of British Theological and Philosophical Libraries,
Andrew Lacey, the Special Collections Librarian, spoke on the historical importance
of Leicester as a city of dissent. Blue Badge tours were again welcomed to the
Library and visitors were once more impressed with the extent of the Library’s rare
books and manuscripts collection.
Work was completed on the sorting, boxing and listing of material relating to the local
composer Benjamin Burrows, a project funded by EMMLAC. The handlist is available
electronically.
Andrew Lacey, the Special Collections Librarian, left the University during the year
having done much to raise the profile of the collections and to place their
management on a more professional footing. Evelyn Cornell has taken over
responsibility for these collections.
Statistics Collection
Over the summer months the Official Publications section created a defined statistics
collection by drawing together statistical sources from throughout the Library and
arranging them in a new subject classification scheme that encourages user
independence. Users have already found the new arrangement to be more
convenient and complementary to the growing range of electronic statistical sources.
Leicester Institute of Lifelong Learning Libraries
The libraries at Vaughan College, University College Northampton and the Richard
Attenborough Centre are not formally part of the University Library, but the Library
provides professional advice and assistance on the development of these services.
The completion of the project, funded by the HEFCE HE Active Community Fund, to
upgrade the Institute of Lifelong Learning Library at Vaughan College was celebrated
with a formal opening ceremony on 28 April 2004. Some £25,000 has been spent on
new books and the collection is now included on the online catalogue. New study
tables and chairs, signs and an air-cooling unit completed a very successful
refurbishment.
Work began in June to prepare the Institute of Lifelong Learning Library at the
University Centre Northampton for its move to Northampton College at Easter 2005.
The core titles which will be added to the collections at Northampton College to
support courses have been identified with the assistance of tutors and the remaining
volumes are being moved to new homes or sold. Planning for the administrative
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arrangements for the move and for the future organisation of the service are at an
advanced stage.
SERVICES
Improving services
The systematic process of service review, taking an evidence-based approach,
ensures that the Library continues to improve the quality of its services and to be
responsive to the changing needs of the University community. Project groups,
supported by the Staff Development Unit, embarked on fundamental reviews of the
handling of reading lists, textbook ordering and serials processes.
A study of the handling of reading lists confirmed that improvements were required to
ensure that reading list items are available for use in a more timely way. Some
80,000 reading list items require checking every year usually in a very short time
during a period when staffing resources are at their lowest. The vast majority of
items are already in the Library stock and those that are not often cannot then be
ordered in time. Special software for handling reading lists was trialled for a year,
supported by a grant from the New Teaching Initiative, but it was concluded that this
was not a solution; academic staff were unenthusiastic about mastering another
software product and the functionality was inadequate in some areas. A radical
solution to the reading list problem is being piloted in the 2004/05 academic year with
the support of the Library Users’ Consultative Group. This new approach
concentrates on the identification of core reading and new items on reading lists,
which are communicated to the Library on a Module Requirements Form. Lists for
new modules and those prepared by new academic staff will be comprehensively
checked. Early indications are that this system is succeeding in improving the
availability of books. Linked to this investigation, the textbook review resulted in the
streamlining of book ordering operations, the adoption of shelf-ready services from
our suppliers and the identification of a performance target of ordering textbooks
within 14 days of receiving a request. Fast track electronic ordering is also being
implemented. The serials review identified the need for an integrated serials team to
deal with these complex publications from the point of order to availability to users;
this will be established in the near future.
Library staff undertook a detailed examination of the efficacy of the weekly loan
period. It emerged that this arrangement was not achieving its aim of improving the
availability of material in high demand as many of these items were repeatedly
renewed. There was also evidence that short loan periods deterred some users from
borrowing the book in the first place. With the agreement of the Library Users’
Consultative Group, it was decided that the weekly loan period would be
discontinued and that a more targeted approach would be taken. Books would be
assigned a standard loan period with the demand management function of the library
management system being used to reduce the loan period of specific books to one
week at the point at which they are in high demand.
Support for distance learners was also reviewed in consultation with academic
departments. As a result of the review, a more integrated approach is being adopted
which retains the extremely high quality service established by the Distance Learning
Unit while allowing the service to be extended in the future. A key aspect of the new
service is the enlargement of the Information Librarian team to allow Information
Librarians to assume responsibility for the support of distance learners in the
departments for which they are responsible. A new Document Supply Service will be
created based on the existing Inter-Library Loan section. This section will deal with
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inter-library loans, postal loans and other forms of document supply for all users. A
re-designed enquiry service, supported by enquiry management software, will be
equipped to deal with all personal, telephone and e-mail queries relating to
operational matters and to refer other enquiries to the appropriate individual. It is
planned that these new arrangements, which will be introduced gradually, will pave
the way for the Library to extend services to all learners at a distance.
Electronic document delivery from the British Library was successfully introduced,
allowing articles to be delivered directly and speedily to the requester’s desktop
rather than as a photocopy.
Email notifications of looming return dates are now routinely sent, allowing borrowers
to manage their accounts more effectively.
LIBRARY BUILDINGS AND ENVIRONMENT
The New Library
Planning for the new building provided a strong focus and was informed by visits with
the architect to four new library projects in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
The guiding principles for the project are that it should deliver a landmark building for
the University and the wider community that would be adaptable and capable of
response to changing needs. The plans being considered by the authorities show a
striking glazed structure, doubled in size, which is sensitive to the neighbouring listed
buildings. Internally, 1500 reader places will be created, an increase of 600,
providing a choice of study environments from quiet individual study, to PC areas, to
group study rooms, to a postgraduate reading room. Space for 20 years’ growth in
printed collections is included along with the incorporation of the Education Library
and the creation of a Special Collections suite that will provide storage and
consultation rooms to the appropriate environmental standards. Print collections in
close proximity to PC areas and a wireless network will encourage the use of digital
resources in conjunction with print. IT Training Rooms and a seminar room will
provide much-needed facilities for information literacy teaching, special events and
for general university use.
Other developments
The Library was delighted to house in the foyer an impressive sculpture by Dr
Helaine Blumenfeld that was donated to the University by Dr Frank May and
Katherine May. Shadow Figures: Dialogue is dedicated to the memory of Frederick
and Mary Attenborough and commemorates their care for Irene and Helga Bejach
after they fled from Nazi Germany in 1939.
The Library Store was completely reorganised during the year after the removal of
material belonging to De Montfort University. The Library acquired its own tail-lift van
with specially designed trolleys, enabling material to be transported between sites
with minimal handling.
Over the summer the Computer Centre installed a wireless hotspot in the Library –
requests for its extension were received within a week of it going live!
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PROJECTS
The Library continues its involvement in a range of externally funded and
collaborative projects:
Historical Directories
Historical Directories, the New Opportunities Fund project to create a digital library of
local and trade directories, has almost completed its current phase. 663 directories
are now online (compared with a project target of 425 volumes), incorporating
340,000 digitised pages (against a target of 300,000). A re-design of the project
website was launched in July 2004 to improve accessibility and search functionality.
Online help has also been enhanced and the History Notes section provides
extensive background information on directories and their value to historical
research. User feedback on the site has been very positive. Comments include:
‘This project is very worthwhile. I live in Canada and when I started my search for my
Greenwich and Devonport relatives, I never expected to find such a wonderful
resource on line. Well done and please keep up the good work.’
‘You have a great website and I’ve found it very useful in my research.’
‘I find your directories excellent and easy to move around within them’.
Suzanne Nash, the Project Co-ordinator responsible for these developments, left in
August to take up a new post with the Derbyshire Police, having made a huge
contribution to the success of the project. Evelyn Cornell is overseeing the final
stages of the current funded phase of the project.
Clinical Librarian Service
Sarah Sutton, the Clinical Librarian, took the lead in a project to develop a document
management system for University Hospitals Leicester. Evidence-based digests
based on clinical queries will be available on the intranet alongside local guidelines.
One of the services major projects, the use of handheld computers piloting Dr’s
Companion software, has been extended to include junior doctors.
Outreach Library Service
‘This is an essential service to support the health care community in its work and it is
very well run’
‘It’s set up for real people in clinical areas’
‘We feel that if this library service was not available this would be to the detriment of
our clinical practice and to the service we offer our clients’
These were some of the comments included in a very positive external review of the
Outreach Library service which concluded that the ‘The Outreach Library Service is
clearly performing strongly against its existing project brief’. The Outreach Library
Service aims to meet the information needs of NHS staff working for the
Leicestershire Primary Care Trusts, the Leicestershire Partnership Trust, the
Leicestershire Northamptonshire and Rutland Workforce Development Confederation
and the Strategic Health Authority. Over the year the service has developed an
eLearning package PrimarE-Learn for GP trainees, trainers and registrars. It has also
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offered support on a fee basis for the Primary Care Audit Group’s distance learning
course on clinical audit.
Development of an Information Literacy Module in a Virtual Learning
Environment
This project, funded by the New Teaching Initiatives fund aimed to produce a pilot
learning unit on searching for information for use on Blackboard. Learning materials
were produced, including multimedia demonstrations, interactive tutorials and
diagnostic quizzes. As well as being piloted in the VLE the materials are available on
the Web and are being used in face-to-face teaching. The Library is also
collaborating with other University libraries over the use of diagnostic testing for
information literacy and the formation of an information skills question bank, incuding
case studies of how the tests are used.
Research Support Libraries Programme (RSLP)
The Library received funding for a fifth year under the RSLP to improve access to our
collections and services. This supported extended services at weekends and
evenings and funded the part-time post of Special Collections Librarian.
The ‘New Walford’
Joanne Dunham and her colleagues in the Clinical Sciences Library completed work
on editing the Medicine section of the ‘New Walford: guide to reference resources.
Vols 1. Science, Technology, Medicine’, the most authoritative work of its type.
STAFF
We were pleased to welcome Keith Nockels who joins the Information Librarians’
Team at the Clinical Sciences Library.
Our staff continued their active engagement with a wide range of professional
organisations including:
Association of British Theological and Philosophical Libraries
British and Irish Association of Law Librarians
British Business Schools Librarians Group
CILIP
COUNTER (Online usage statistics) Executive Board and Steering Group
East Midlands European Information Providers Steering Group
EMALIDS
EMALINK
EMRLS
EMUA Librarians’ Task Group
European Documentation Centres Committee for the UK
European Information Association
European Information Providers National Training Group
Forum for Interlending
INSPIRAL; linking digital libraries and VLEs, University of Strathclyde
LAILLAR
LISE
NEYAL Executive and Books Purchasing Group
OPAL (Online Personal Academic Librarian Project Group (Open University)
SCONUL
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UK Serials Group Committee
UNICORN User Groups
Staff presentations:
Jo Aitkins, Anne Colling and Carolyn King
Managing frontline services. May 2004. EMALINK training session
Evelyn Cornell
The virtual world of nonconformity and multiculturalism. Association of British Theological and
Philosophical Libraries Spring Residential Conference.
Christine Fyfe
Deputy to Librarian: reflections. June 2004. SCONUL Meeting of Senior Managers.
Prioritising the spend. February 2004. ASA Conference 2004
Publishing Training Centre course – sessions on the librarian’s view of academic publishing,
Oxford, November 2003, May 2004.
The role of the academic librarian. May 2004. 14th International Course in STM Journals
Management
Louise Jones
(With Simon Bevan) Using COUNTER statistics; a practical perspective. March 2004. UKSG
Annual Conference
Using COUNTER statistics: a practical perspective. July 2004. NEYAL AGM.
Heather Keeble
Distance learners: a first class remote service. November 2003. UKSG Seminar, The Radical
Library; Taking the Plunge. (With Lou McGill)
Distance = Diversity. July 2004. E-learning, E-Teaching, E-Support conference, University of
Leicester, July 2004
Selina Lock and Joanne Dunham
Information literacy at the University of Leicester. May 2004.
Selina Lock
Virtually there: Virtual Learning Environments & Libraries conference, CPD25 London
Libraries Group
Information literacy model in Blackboard July 2004. Case study in the ‘What is possible?’
strand of the E-learning, E-Teaching, E-Support conference, University of Leicester,
Sarah Sutton
The clinical librarian – what it is and how it is different. October 2003. Irish Health Libraries
Group Annual Conference.
The role of the clinical librarian. September 2003. Clinical Effectiveness Group Meeting, Royal
Bolton Hospital
Poster session on the Clinical Librarian Perspective. October 2003. Evidence in Practice
Conference.
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Publications, journal editorships:
Evelyn Cornell
‘The Jain Centre in Leicester’, Bulletin of the Association of British Theological and
Philosophical Libraries, vol.11, no 2, 2004
Heather Keeble
(With Lou McGill) ‘Guerillas in the mist; breaking through boundaries to provide a first class
remote library service’, Serials, vol 17, no 1, 2004
Roy Kirk
Editorial Board member and Business Manager of Education Libraries Journal. Leicester,
Librarians of Institutes and Schools of Education.
Isla Kuhn
‘Reach out for support with audit – the Outreach Library Service can help’. Leicestershire
Primary Care Audit Group Newsletter on Clinical Governance in Primary Care
http://www.leicester.pcag.org.uk/images/PCAG%20Governance%2010.03.pdf
SHINES Interim: Helicon-base evaluation of an Outreach Library Service for Primary Care
and Mental Health NHS staff
Keith Nockels
Review of Alec Reed, Capitalism is dead:peoplism rules, McGraw-Hill, 2003. Information for
Social Change, vol. 18, 2004
Your library can help you get the most from the Internet (letter). Nursing Times, vol 100, no.
12, 2004.
Sarah Sutton
(With K. Jackson) ‘Supporting evidence based children’s nursing guidelines’. In: Bath, P. et al
(eds) (2004) iSHIMR 2004. Proceedings of the 9 th Internatinal Symposium of Health
Information Research: June 15-17, 2004, Sheffield. Sheffield, University of Sheffield.
David Welding and Suzanne Nash
‘The Historical Directories Digitisation project at the University of Leicester.’ Local Studies
Librarian vol. 23, no 1, 2004.
Christine Fyfe
October 2004
University of Leicester Library - Key Operational Statistics
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