Senate House Library - sustainable future secured

Board of Trustees approves five-year Strategic Plan to refocus

At its meeting on 13 May 2009, the Board of Trustees approved a recommendation from the Collegiate Council that the University of London Research Library Services (ULRLS), which includes Senate House Library (SHL), should continue as a collectively owned and shared library resource, complementary to College resources, and managed on behalf of Colleges by the University.

The Vice-Chancellor, Sir Graeme Davies, commenting on the decision, said: 'This is a very important decision for the Libraries as it brings to an end a prolonged period of uncertainty. It is also important for the future strength of the Federation as the University, through its Collegiate Council, retains oversight of the ULRLS's governance.'

Professor Paul Webley, Director and Principal of SOAS, and Chair of the Senate House Library Review Steering Group, added: 'This decision provides a vision for a low-cost, rationalised and modern ULRLS, consistent with the general shift across the library community from print to digital resources and from physical to electronic access. It recognises the Libraries' ongoing value as a shared service which complements the College collections.'

Acting co-Directors, Christine Muller and Paul McLaughlin, believe the decision provides a clear path for the future and a platform upon which to bring the Libraries into step with developments in the rest of the sector, combining innovation with tradition. The Directors said: 'We also wish to acknowledge the unstinting hard work and commitment shown by ULRLS staff in maintaining excellent levels of service throughout this difficult period.'

Details of the decision

Owing to the interdependence between SHL and the libraries of the School of Advanced Study (SAS), which together comprise the ULRLS, the Board's decision relates to them both.

The option approved by the Board, known as 'Refocusing the ULRLS', extends the implementation of staff, space and other savings presented in Option 1A of the Final Report of the Review of Senate House Library, undertaken by CHEMS Consulting.

Whereas Option 1A, as originally formulated, would have resulted in a recurrent deficit of some £0.5M at 2007–08 College Subscription levels, the revised plan aims to eliminate the recurrent deficit by 2012–13 and establish a balanced and sustainable budget containing College and the SAS contributions at acceptable levels.

There will, however, be transitional costs also to be met by Colleges and the SAS over the period to 2012–13.

The option is underpinned by a collegial and collaborative approach to collection development and electronic resources so that, under the five-year Strategic Plan (2009-14), there will be:

  • a reduction of Library space in 2010 following the completion of the refurbishment and upgrading of facilities in Senate House;
  • a reduction in the Federal print holdings by de-duplication, deselection, and removal to store, as part of an agreed Collection Development Strategy. This means resources can be directed strategically, in line with the research and learning needs of both the SAS and the Colleges, thus exploiting the strengths of all their libraries and providing efficiencies for Colleges and potential savings;
  • a gradual but marked shift to increased reliance on e-resources and digitised materials over the planning period;
  • Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with Colleges and the SAS, including the development of consortia for the purchase and delivery of e-resources; for collection development/management and storage; and for the digitisation/preservation of archives and special collections;
  • a new Library Strategic Planning Board, reporting directly to the Collegiate Council, responsible for the development and implementation of the Strategic Plan.

Background

Since 2003, following a decision of the University Council, SHL and the SAS libraries have been engaged in a convergence programme to form the ULRLS, one of the main central, shared services of the University.

The financial difficulties facing the ULRLS are not new, but were brought to a head by the withdrawal of part of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Special Funding from SHL as a result of a HEFCE review carried out by Sir Ivor Crewe. The SHL budget for 2008-09 showed a deficit of £1.4M and, when the SAS libraries were added, this became £1.8M.

The Crewe Report also recommended that a fundamental review should be undertaken of the future role of SHL. In March 2008, CHEMS Consulting was appointed to carry out the work, with terms of reference set by the Heads of Colleges Committee. CHEMS consulted widely with Colleges and other interested parties in order to find out what they valued about SHL and how they thought it could be improved.

At its meeting on 12 December 2008, the Collegiate Council received the Final Report of the Review of Senate House Library by CHEMS Consulting. The Collegiate Council agreed that a final decision should be delayed until the proposals of the SAS (Option 2) and of UCL (Option 3) were fully developed. These proposals were duly received on the deadline of 12 March 2009.

The Senate House Library Review Steering Group, previously established by the Collegiate Council, met on 3 April 2009 to consider all remaining options. In addition to the proposals by the SAS and by UCL, the Steering Group also received a report, Option 1 - Refocusing the ULRLS, which proposed the extension of Option 1A as contained within the CHEMS Report. The proposal ('Extended Option 1A') was commissioned by the Vice-Chancellor on behalf of the ULRLS Restructuring Group established by the Collegiate Council at its meeting on 12 December 2008. The Collegiate Council had agreed at that meeting that the restructuring of the ULRLS would be necessary regardless of whichever option was selected for the long-term.

The Steering Group was unanimous in favouring the Extended Option 1A and this recommendation was put to the Collegiate Council meeting of 30 April 2009. The Collegiate Council in turn agreed the recommendation for final approval by the Board of Trustees at its meeting on 13 May 2009.

13 May 2009