SCURL is a partnership of Scottish higher education institutions and cultural organizations that aims to improve library services through collaboration. It coordinates large-scale procurement of digital content which supports over £5 million in annual spending and provides access to resources from major publishers. SCURL also facilitates communities of practice, task forces, and working groups to promote sharing of best practices and expertise among members. While budget constraints and digital transitions present challenges, SCURL has been successful in advocating for members' interests and delivering cost savings through collaborative collection agreements.

1. SCURL: PARTNERSHIP, COLLABORATION,
SUCCESS
Jill Evans
SCURL Service Development Manager
CILIPS Conference June 2014

2. Membership
• All Scottish Higher Education
Institutions
• National Library of Scotland
• National Museums Scotland
• Edinburgh City Libraries
• Glasgow Life
• Royal Botanic Garden,
Edinburgh
• Open University in Scotland
• Scottish Library & Information
Council
National Library of Scotland
CILIPS Conference June 2014

3. SCURL aims
• to improve services for users
and maximise resource
through collaborative action
• to work with other
organisations, & sectors
towards the creation of a co-
operative library infrastructure
in Scotland
• to lobby funding and planning
bodies on matters of shared
interest
• to provide mutual support for
members
Sir Duncan Rice Library,
Aberdeen University
CILIPS Conference June 2014

4. Governance
• SCURL is an independent voluntary association, launched in
1977.
• Has a constitution, officers, representatives and operating
procedures:
• SCURL Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer
• SCURL Service Development Manager
• SCURL Minute Secretary
• SCURL SHEDL Digital Library Administrator
• SCURL Business Committee: constituency representatives
• SCURL Constitution
• SCURL Business Plan and Strategy 2014-2016
CILIPS Conference June 2014

5. Business Plan and Strategy 2014-
2016
• Effective collaborative content management
• Showcase Scotland’s research & collections
• Effective advocacy & promotion
Dundee University Library and Learning Centre
CILIPS Conference June 2014

6. Procurement
Three main procurement
strands
• Scottish Higher
Education Digital
Library – SHEDL
• SCOPnet Journals
• Scopnet books – print
and ebooks
St. Andrews University Library
CILIPS Conference June 2014

7. Procurement - SHEDL
Scottish Higher Education
Digital Library
• Works to secure
collaborative access to
digital content for
Scottish HEIs
• Set of guiding policies
and criteria
• Procurement and
licencing through JISC
Collections
Glasgow School of Art,
Mackintosh Library
CILIPS Conference June 2014

8. SHEDL achievements
• Supports about £5m of
procurement per annum (10-
15% of member institutions’
total journals budgets)
• Existing publishers include:
Springer, ACM, ACS, ASME.
CUP, EUP, OUP, Sage, Project
MUSE, Web Of Knowledge,
Brill, Karger, JoVE & Social
Sciences Directory
• Ebook content from Springer
and CUP
Edinburgh Napier University
LibraryCILIPS Conference June 2014

9. SHEDL operations
• Steering Group
• Working Group
• Received the Shared Services
Award in the Scottish Parliament
• Invited by Universities Scotland to
document SHEDL for Shared
Services Case Study
National Museums of
Scotland Library
CILIPS Conference June 2014

10. SHEDL – negotiating principles
• All-in for a deal rather than opt-in
• Usually 3 year contracts, some deals extended to include the
National Library of Scotland, National Museums Scotland and
NHS Scotland
• Single invoice via JISC Collections
• Minimal annual increases
• Member contributions shared jointly and proportionately
• Strive to include transfer titles when negotiating
• Admin assistance provided
Sir Duncan Rice Library, AberdeenCILIPS Conference June 2014

11. Task Forces, Working Groups & Events
Task Groups
• SCURL Walk In Access
• SCURL Scottish Library
Services Platform
• SCURL Scottish Metadata
• SCURL Communications
Working Groups
• Health Group
Events
• Annual Ebooks
Conference
• Annual SLIC FE Conference
Glasgow Caledonian University
Library
CILIPS Conference June 2014

12. Communities of Practice
Across staff roles
• Deputy Directors
• Institutional Repositories
Managers
• System Librarians
• Liaison Librarians
Topic/interest related
• Collection Management
• Mobile Devices
• Reading Lists
• Legal Issues
Robert Gordon University Learning
café
CILIPS Conference June 2014

13. SCURL Affiliated Groups
• Rare Books in Scotland Group
• Scottish Universities Special Collections & Archives Group
• Scottish Visual Arts Group
• Scottish Working Group on Official Publications
University of the
West of Scotland
library
CILIPS Conference June 2014

14. Extending Partnerships in New
Sectors
• NHS in Scotland
• first collaborative procurement of content agreed via SHEDL
• Further Education
• FE representative on SCURL Library Services Platform Task
Force
• FE representative on Scotland Colleges Development Network
• Extend relevant SHEDL content to FE
• Membership of SCOPnet groups
• Northern Collaboration England
• Reciprocal invitations to meetings to share good practice in
relevant aspects of service provision
CILIPS Conference June 2014

15. Challenges for SCURL Libraries
• Budgetary constraints
• OA and research data management
• Importance of the student experience and impact
of surveys, especially National Student Survey
• Digital transitions:
o Traditional – books, print journals, storage, disposal
o Digital – wifi, mobile devices, power & data, bandwidth, VAT for e-
materials, formats, transitional change
o Exploitation – digital literacies for both staff and students
University of
the West Of
Scotland
Hamilton
campus library
CILIPS Conference June 2014

16. Any questions?
SCURL website http://scurl.ac.uk/
Sir Duncan Rice Library, Aberdeen University
CILIPS Conference June 2014