Presentation at this year's IFLA WLIC looking at the findings of SAGE's latest research report into the percieved value of academic libraries in the developing world. The presentation looks in depth at: the background to the report; the findings of the report and its implications for practice moving forwards.

1. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Library Value in the Developing World
Nell McCreadie, SAGE
IFLA WLIC, Singapore, August 2013

2. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Scholarship is changing: we are on the
journey together

3. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Libraries are changing: we are working
together for the future
Washington Post, 7 August 2013: ‘The digital age is forcing libraries to change. Here’s what that looks like.’
‘Libraries are really
transforming themselves into
technology hubs’ Kathryn
Zickuhr, Pew Research Centre

4. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Working together: evolving value for
academic libraries
1. Value measurement and perception
2. Working together with faculty
3. Raising awareness about library products and services
http://libraryvalue.wordpress.com/

5. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Library Value in the Developing World

6. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Participant universities

7. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Librarian perception of value
● 67% of librarians perceive their value for both faculty and university
management is measured via the resource collection
‘Through the value the library
contributes to teaching and
learning, we fulfil the mission of
the university and the whole
business of our university’
‘The library’s value is connected
with the library’s popularity in
the eyes of faculty and students’

8. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Faculty perception of value
● 75% of faculty perceive value through resource collection accessibility
● 20% of faculty do not use of are not aware of the electronic collection
● 96% of faculty use the library building
● 39% visit the library website at least once a week
‘The thing I would change about
my library would be the seating
arrangement and space’
‘The best thing about my library is
that I am able to access e-journals
anywhere’

9. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Evaluating and measuring value
● 67% of librarians measure the library’s value through resource
collection usage statistics
● 40% of librarians are starting to use evaluation methods beyond
collection usage stats (testimonials, questionnaires, monitoring traffic)
‘(Our) evidence of value is measured
by visit statistics to the library, visit
statistics to the intranet, and e-
Resource usage statistics’

10. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Evidence and perception of services
● The majority of librarians do not offer a cohesive set of services in
beyond the traditional roles of collection development
● 35% of faculty said they were not aware of all the services offered by
the library
‘I do not think I appreciate all
the services offered by the
library I tend to use mainly the
e-resources.’

11. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Communication and marketing
‘faculty don’t take it upon
themselves to communicate what
they want from the library. We try
to engage them, but they are not
forthcoming’
‘The link connecting flow of
information between me and
the library is lacking. The
library doesn’t even know I
have an email address’

12. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
So what now?

13. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi
Singapore | Washington DC
Conclusions
● E-mail: nell.mccreadie@sagepub.co.uk
● Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nell-mccreadie/2b/806/933