Libraries have power in numbers to provide students with the resources they deserve
At the University of Plymouth library, we’ve been struggling to gain access to a lot of the e-textbooks and e-resources that our students need, much like the vast majority of university libraries. It has been big problem when many students have been studying remotely, and even more so now with the more commonplace blended approach.
During the first lockdown, when teaching very quickly rolled into an entirely online provision, academic staff had a lot of work to do in terms of learning new digital skills and repurposing their course delivery.
They understandably didn't have the headspace or time to re-evaluate previously assigned course materials and were still relying on printed content previously supplied by the library.
Library staff worked hard to try and support academic colleagues and students as best as we could, but in reality, it was a very difficult task.
The knock-on impact is that almost every library has seen their National Student Survey (NSS) results suffer, and student satisfaction with library services has dropped.
It is, of course, difficult to assess whether this is because of a lack of access to physical buildings, or lack of access to resources. Nonetheless, all libraries work hard to support students with their studies and want to give them the best experience possible.
It’s a huge shame that many students have suffered from a lack of access to the materials they need.
Taking action
These challenges led us to working with Jisc on a recent statement, in which Jisc and other representatives and sector bodies pledged to help students and teachers in UK higher and further education to gain equitable and sustainable access to e-books, e-textbooks and related teaching content.
As part of the statement, I co-produced two briefing papers. One aims to help senior managers to have conversations at an executive level, raising awareness of the issues being faced. The other is for academic colleagues - to help them understand the agency they have as part of the book selection process.
At the University of Plymouth library, we’ve also released a collection development policy, full of guidance for academic staff about how to work with the library to select sustainable resources for their courses.
A positive future
The future for libraries could be very exciting. I’ve been a librarian for about 25 years, and the library sector is at the cutting edge of digital development. It’s important for us to think ahead, and plan what students are going to need from us in the years to come.
We can’t do that, however, without equitable and sustainable access to e-books and e-textbooks, which is why we’ve taken this next step.
The reaction from the sector since the statement has been optimistic. There seems to be an understanding that we can work together, and that now is the time to do that.
We have strength through a consolidated customer base to leverage our spending, working with publishers to identify the models we need, the value and quality we expect, and costs we can afford.
There’s certainly a cultural shift on the horizon, with collaboration set to be the key to success. I am hopeful that this is the start of a new beginning for libraries - a fresh start that will ultimately, and most importantly, have a profoundly positive impact for students and their studies.
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