Modern libraries put the meaning into ‘meaningful’

By Andrew Barker, Director of Library Services & Learning Development, Lancaster University.

What should we — any member of the higher ed community — do now to ensure a healthy future for academic librarianship?  

About 20 years ago a library colleague said to me, half in jest, but half very much not in jest: “Well, you might just make it to retirement before libraries become meaningless.” His argument then was that a mixture of the internet and the transitioning of the library building from a space where people predominantly use books to one where people predominantly stay to study and which could be managed by any university service, was killing off the library as we knew it. Yet here we are 20 years later and academic libraries and librarians have never been so vital; indeed, during the pandemic many of our library buildings were the university, the demonstration that our institutions were open. So how have we done it, and where do we go from here to ensure an even healthier future for us all? 

One game changer was the open access agenda – and it is that I want to focus on (I could write other blogs on a range of things from the birth of the Network Security Services and the building of new library buildings, new library staff with different skillsets – all of which have been at some level drivers for change, but let’s focus on one thing). Open access – before it widened to include open data and then widened more helpfully to ‘open research’ – helped the library to position itself away from a simple intermediary service, a service providing content already created, to a vital partner in the research lifecycle and involved in the wider scholarly communications ecosystem from beginning to end.  

Andrew Barker, Director of Library Services & Learning Development, Lancaster University.

Five hundred words isn’t enough, but OA was the crack in the Liberty Bell – we went from a position of having to explain why libraries should be involved in discussions relating to research, to a position now where no serious researcher or research office would think about excluding us from their discussions and governance structures, especially in relation to managing compliance. 

However, we need to move on, to ‘transition’ ourselves beyond managing compliance to leading and developing new approaches to the research culture that exists within our universities and the broader sector.  

Part of that transition involves language. As an example, increasingly, I am troubled by the word ‘service’ to describe the library. We are not a service – we have services, certainly – and look, our services are always the highest-rated parts of a university, they are overwhelmingly excellent. But calling libraries services is like referring to open research as open access – it only covers part of what we do and who we are.  

We can start by moving beyond some of what are considered our traditional roles, building on our recent achievements and our skills, and looking to where our skills align with opportunities to partner. That may be in the digital sphere, where our knowledge often plays a major role, it may be data, it may be information, it may be the relationships we have across the university and across the wider sector including our vendor partners. There are a lot of areas where we play a role and where partnership is the key. Indeed, at Lancaster University Library we have several examples where we are named partners in research bids, and we contribute to the intellectual discussions in research, education and engagement.  

It is this move beyond service provision to partners in our university’s strategic endeavors that will ensure a healthy future for academic libraries. The new UKRI OA policy on long-form publications which goes into effect in 2024 is a good place to start. Reflecting on what role we play in creating open access long-form publications can help shape the next generation of academic libraries. Indeed, if I was speaking to a younger colleague now, I’d tell them libraries will never be meaningless – not as long as we bring meaning to what we do. 

About

Andrew Barker has been Library Director at Lancaster University since September 2019.  

Prior to that he held a number of senior roles within a wide range of universities, including both Russell Group and Post 1992 Institutions. Within these institutions he has been responsible for all aspects of library leadership, including content, academic liaison, customer services and archives and museums. At Lancaster Andrew has led on the development of a new library vision and led on the successful application for Lancaster University to become a member of RLUK. 

Throughout his career in HE Andrew has worked visibly, and actively, across the sector, often working closely with publishers on projects and advisory boards. Andrew was chair of UKSG between 2018 and 2022 and is currently co-chair of SCONUL. 

Related posts

This blog post is part of a series from librarian thought leaders sharing personal insights into the challenges and opportunities their profession faces. Read more.