The  Status  and  Future  of  Canada’s  Libraries  and  Archives     The  Council  of  Atlantic  University  Libraries  /   Le  Conseil  des  bibliothèques  universitaires  de  l’Atlantique   (CAUL/CBUA)   Response  to  the  Consultation  of  the   Royal  Society  of  Canada’s  Expert  Panel   Presented  by   CAUL/CBUA  Chair  Karen  Keiller   Saint  John,  New  Brunswick   January  27,  2014   Introduction The Council of Atlantic University Libraries / Le Conseil des bibliothèques universitaires de l'Atlantique (CAUL/CBUA) is pleased to have the opportunity to share our views on the future of Canada’s libraries and archives. Our perspective represents the views of a consortia composed of all university libraries in Atlantic Canada as well as the Nova Scotia Community College. The Council of Atlantic University Libraries / Le Conseil des bibliothèques universitaires de l'Atlantique response is in two parts: Section A. The Council of Atlantic University Libraries / Le Conseil des bibliothèques universitaires de l'Atlantique Section B. The CAUL/CBUA community of interest Section A. The Council of Atlantic University Libraries / Le Conseil des bibliothèques universitaires de l'Atlantique 1. What is the nature and make-up of your organization? The Council of Atlantic University Libraries / Le Conseil des bibliothèques universitaires de l'Atlantique (CAUL/CBUA) is composed of the library director of each institution constituting the Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU), or by invitation of the Council. The purpose of the CAUL/CBUA is to enhance university education, research and scholarly communication in the region by: • • • • • • strengthening library collections fostering cooperation and resource sharing coordinating library services among AAU institutions improving the delivery of information services providing for regular discussion of matters of inter-institutional interest advising AAU, as appropriate. CAUL/CBUA is an affiliate of the AAU and establishes creative and mutually beneficial relationships with other relevant organizations. 2. Does your organization provide services: (a) directly to Users? Or, (b) to members who make-up the organization? CAUL/CBUA does not provide services directly to users; as a consortium, services are provided to member libraries, to the benefit of all users. 3. In terms of Question 2, describe the services provided directly to Users, and if they are consortial in nature please describe the mechanisms in place to define, refine and measure the impact of the services, particularly as they relate to Canadians. CAUL/CBUA supports the consortial purchasing of electronic resources, provides a directory of libraryrelated systems in use at CAUL/CBUA Libraries, supports collaboration and innovation through annual grants awarded to staff at CAUL/CBUA member institutions, provided seed funding and ongoing support 2     for the CAUL Atlantic Islandora Repository Network (CAIRN) which is a regional digital asset repository for use by all CAUL/CBUA institutions to steward digital assets of any kind, in a consortial framework. CAUL/CBUA compiles annual statistics for use by members. Through consortial funding CAUL/CBUA provides a document delivery platform (RELAIS). CAUL/CBUA is part of the COPPUL/OCUL/CREPUQ Resource Sharing Agreement, providing students, faculty and staff with borrowing privileges at most Canadian Universities. 4. Would Canadians know of, or understand, the contribution you make to library/archival service in Canada? Library consortia achieve savings through large-scale purchases of library resources, or through a more effective delivery of services, based on economies of scale. The Atlantic region is relatively small and the post-secondary institutions relatively numerous on a per capita basis. Through CAUL/CBUA, each institution is able to achieve more than it could alone. 5. What inhibits you from providing services that ultimately would improve library/archive services to Canadians? One of the greatest inhibitors is the uncertainty of stable funding extending ahead over a two to three year period. All universities in Atlantic Canada are experiencing funding challenges and this has a direct impact on libraries. There are difficulties in capitalizing on provincial grants because CAUL/CBUA spans four provinces, and there are relatively few federal grants which are applicable for post-secondary academic libraries. 6. What do you see as the challenges for libraries and archives in the forthcoming years? Increasing competition between universities for students will undoubtedly create strain on funding levels and the ability to predict long term funding. Inflationary costs are outstripping shrinking institutional budgets and libraries are particularly vulnerable because licensing costs are generally higher than inflation, averaging 4-6% per year. Rapid changes in technology and our ability to respond with appropriate services is an ongoing challenge. Staff need to be diligent in ensuring technological skills are current and applications for technology are incorporated into user service and library operational areas. The increased demand for electronic resources and continuing cost of same has introduced significant pressure to maintaining service while staying within existing budgets. Licensing restrictions imposed by the vendors for e-resources, and the use of proprietary platforms add layers of complexity and additional costs in comparison to the centuries-old print model. Section B. The CAUL/CBUA community of interest Services 7. Libraries are currently hybrid operations, constantly pulled toward traditional services by many core users and pulled, equally, by a concern for relevancy from other users and potential users. What issues are libraries facing as they try to make the transition to new service models? 3     Academic Libraries have traditionally been at the forefront of change. This has been especially true in the past few decades as academic libraries went from labour intensive staff centered and manual routines to the current scenario of user centered and automated online workflows. Traditionally libraries have functioned as an entity that required the user to learn how to use the library and the user had to be physically present in the library space to have service and access. Neither of these are relevant into the future. This is the greatest challenge for academic libraries. Skilled staffing for knowledge work will be greater than what is currently available. Skilled staffing is an issue. There is an assumption made by some users that access to information is all that is needed for success, missing the vital companion requirement for assessment of information as to relevance, reliability, balance, etc. In the absence of a user’s presence in the library, and also an absence of interest in library services, how does the library achieve the end result, which is of informing the user and helping to develop the user’s ability to evaluate retrieved information. The third vital issue is in the scholarly publishing cycle. University budgets are increasingly under stress, and the publish or perish requirement for faculty success, combined with the stranglehold that large academic publishers have on the cost charged back to the universities for this research has become unbearable. It is unsustainable both in the quantity being produced and the untenable cost of production. The academic library will be interested in open access and other alternatives. How will this be funded, how will it be supported and what is needed from the Library beyond what was traditionally done in support of academic publishing. Some libraries have become part of the publishing cycle. Will that become the norm or just one of many options available in future? 8. How do libraries and archives measure outcomes of their service and community impacts? Most CAUL/CBUA libraries participate in LibQUAL surveys as a means of demonstrating service effectiveness and also to support alignment of library activities with institutional goals. There does not appear to be any systematic tool for measurement of effectiveness or outcomes for service yet, though consideration is being given to the development of measurements and tools. 9. Are libraries the appropriate institutions to catalog, store, and provide access to research data? If not, which institutions should provide these services? Libraries have a long and demonstrated history of being effective managers of data. Initiatives for data storage typically are led by libraries because of the skill set and philosophy of access that are fundamental to libraries. Librarians have transferrable skills based in traditional cataloguing and classification methodologies that apply to dataset design, metadata development and the application of international data harvesting and metadata standards. The commitment of academic libraries and their archives to the long-term preservation of information and the provision of access to the information is format agnostic and elastic, and the commitment to a user-centric approach to associated services make libraries the most appropriate institutions for data curation, stewardship and preservation. Libraries are also poised to be the provider of choice for research data management planning services for their institutions, working in conjunction with IT departments, regional groups such as ACEnet and Acorn, and national organizations including Compute Canada and CANARIE. 4     Community Outreach and Awareness 10. In the digital era, what support for patrons do/should libraries provide? Libraries have historically existed in great part to provide service to the many types of users reflected in our institutions. The format for content may have changed but the philosophy for service remains the same. This can perhaps be summed up by one of our academic librarians who said: “My vision of future libraries focuses on the things we can do better than Google/Apple/Microsoft. Being a real third space: a community and learning space where people interact and discover. Being an expert space where skillful staff know the subjects and their clients, and have relationships with the communities they serve. Being an intermediary space that recognizes that often research and researchers are complex, and maybe there is work to do before we have a question to ask SIRI. Books, journals, data, information, etc. will always be part of what we do, but it is what we do with it that helps make it all useful.” (David H. Michels MA MLIS PhD (candidate), Public Services Librarian, Sir James Dunn Law Library, Dalhousie University, as posted on the APLA list serve, January 14, 2014 regarding a discussion on the future of libraries). New Directions 11. What are the main challenges of born-digital material for your institution? One of the greatest challenges is identifying the digital material, if created within the institution, and then ensuring an adequate level of staffing, infrastructure and technical support to provide long-term access to the data and preservation that is forward migrating. Even with commercially acquired born-digital resources, platforms remain difficult to use and the information is not easily discoverable; considerable refinement is needed to ensure the user discovery experience is successful and not unduly ponderous. 12. What role libraries and archives should take in the digitization, the dissemination and the long-term preservation of Canadian heritage (print publications and archives)? Working with the regional consortia, and in conjunction with national bodies such as Library and Archives Canada, Canadiana, the Canadian Research Knowledge Network, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, Research Data Canada, and the Digital Infrastructure Leadership Council, libraries and archives are well positioned to lead in the stewardship of print and digital Canadian heritage, in terms of existing knowledge management expertise and transferrable skills. There are additional requirements for infrastructure, equipment and staff time which will be difficult to address within the current funding envelope for most libraries and archives. 13. What will be the function and future of a brick and mortar library or archive in a paperless future? It is uncertain if we will ever be truly paperless, however in a less physical, less print-centered future, libraries will function as they initially were intended. Originally libraries were collegium and community and they have an opportunity to be that in future. Storing books and materials was something that 5     evolved from the creation of space to meet and exchange ideas and transfer knowledge. We don’t need the paper any longer but we do need the space for community and collegium. While virtual space can be effective, we still to need to meet in person to build relationships, generate ideas, foster effective collaborative learning, and to share our expertise and skills. Libraries by whatever name we give them in future should be that space both for the public in general and for the informed citizen. Conclusion This brief was authored by members of CAUL/CBUA and is submitted by Karen Keiller, CAUL/CBUA Chair. We are grateful to the Royal Society of Canada and Members of the Expert Panel for the opportunity to present the views of CAUL-CBUA. We look forward to reading the findings and recommendations from the Panel. Karen Keiller Chair, CAUL-CBUA Director of Information Services and Systems University of New Brunswick (Saint John) PO Box 5050 Saint John, NB E2L 4L5 kkeiller@UNB.CA Members of the CAUL/CBUA – RSC response team include: Donna Bourne-Tyson, University Librarian, Dalhousie University Marie DeYoung, University Librarian, Saint Mary’s University Lynne Murphy, University Librarian, Saint Francis Xavier University Tasya Tymczyszyn, Interim Librarian, University of Kings College 6     Appendix 1 CAUL/CBUA DRAFT Strategic Plan 2014 - 2016 Introduction This plan was developed after a planning session held at the University of Prince Edward Island campus on May 13, 2013. In attendance were most of the CAUL-CBUA Directors and representatives from CAULCBUA committees and working groups (Appendix I). The plan has ten strategic goals set out in alphabetical order. This is an aspirational plan and as we progress and priorities change we will review the plan. The Executive and the Board, in consultation with committees, will determine priorities as opportunities arise or when it is appropriate to leverage existing resources or activities. Strategic Planning Milestones Action Date Completed Planning Day May 2013 ✔ Consultation on Draft Plan Fall 2013 ✔Director’s consulted with librarians and a webinar was held in December. Many comments in the Google Doc were incorporated. Plan Approval February 2014 ✔Plan approved by the CAUL/CBUA Board on Feb 13, 2014 Priorities Set February 2014 ✔Board set priorities for 6. Preservation and Digital Collections, 7. Research Data Management, and 9. Scholarly Communication. Plan Review Fall 2014 7     Plan Review Fall 2015 Plan Review Fall 2016 Vision CAUL-CBUA supports member institutions in the provision of exceptional library services and resources to help our institutions achieve academic and scholarly excellence. Mission CAUL-CBUA enhances teaching, learning and research in Atlantic Canada through the provision of information resources, library resource sharing, preservation programs, and shared professional development. Values We value creativity, collaboration, engagement and decisions based on best practices. Committees An important part of the organization are CAUL-CBUA working committees. 1. Communications Committee 2. Copyright Committee 3. Digital Preservation and Stewardship Committee 4. Document Delivery Group 5. Scholarly Communications Committee Each committee has Board representation. It is the Board that is responsible for ensuring the actions in this plan are implemented, but many of the initiatives will be done by CAUL-CBUA committees. Ten Strategic Goals 1. Collective Purchasing 2. Communication 3. Funding & Accountability 4. Open Textbooks / Open Educational Resources 5. Professional Development 6. Preservation and Digital Collections 7. Research Data Management 8     8. Resource Sharing 9. Scholarly Communication 10. User Needs and Expectations 1. Collective Purchasing We will continue to make efficient use of resources in collective purchasing. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Investigate consortial ebook purchasing / leasing Communicate how consortial purchasing works within CAUL Assess best practices for consortial buying with peers (e.g. CRKN) Investigate other possibilities (for example, storage or software) for consortial purchasing Provide support on managing consortial purchases, either by technology (shared ERM) or by best practices. 2. Communication We will collaborate to implement a communications strategy that is responsive to the changing needs of CAUL-CBUA. 1. Develop and implement a communications strategy 2. Ensure website continues to meet our needs 3. Funding & Accountability We will be sustainable and accountable. 1. Identify a select number of projects that require funding 2. Explore potential funding sources (for example ACOA, tri-council, MPHEC, private foundations, etc) 3. Provide awareness and training opportunities for the CAUL-CBUA community 4. Develop a process for identifying key areas where there is a value for collaboration 5. Develop an open process for gathering ideas from entire CAUL-CBUA body. 4. Open Textbooks / Open Educational Resources We will encourage the creation and adoption of open textbooks and open educational resources. 1. Investigate and communicate best practices for adopting open textbooks and open educational resources 9     2. 3. 4. 5. Identify possible subject areas and content for open textbooks and open educational resources Identify or implement a platform for open textbooks and open educational resources. Seek funding (e.g. MPHEC) Create grants for faculty and librarians to collaborate on the development of open textbooks / open educational resources. 5. Professional Development We will develop initiatives that foster sharing of knowledge and optimize our resources and expertise. 1. Continue the Experience Exchange webinar series. 2. Provide a mechanism for keeping CAUL-CBUA Members aware of relevant professional development opportunities. 3. Develop cross-training opportunities (for example, staff / work exchanges). 6. Preservation and Digital Collections We will ensure that our scholarly collections will be available to future generations. 1. Continue to develop CAIRN e single point of access and search for Atlantic Canadian collections 2. Continue to build a strong network supporting best-practices in data stewardship, ensuring the continuance of the history, culture, and research performed in this region. 3. Develop a plan for reaching out to CAUL members with workshops and educational activities around digitization, preservation and best practices. 7. Research Data Management Infrastructure 1 We will support research data activities across the research lifecycle. 1. Provide best practices for research data management services. 2. Advocate for policies on our campuses and beyond. 3. Investigate opportunities for collaborative research data management infrastructure. 8. Resource Sharing We will continue to provide traditional resource sharing (interlibrary loan and document delivery) while leveraging new technology to provide new innovative resource sharing solutions.                                                                                                                         1 RDMI is the configuration of staff, services, and tools assembled to support data management across the research lifecycle and more specifically to provide comprehensive coverage of the stages making up the data lifecycle. http://preservingresearchdataincanada.net/ 10     1. Explore licensing options to enable better e-resource sharing. 2. Ensure that our systems (e.g. Relais) are providing the best solutions. 3. Develop a plan for last print copy in the region. 9. Scholarly Communication We will support best practices for libraries providing scholarly communications initiatives. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Conduct an assessment of scholarly communications activities within CAUL institutions. Coordinate CAUL-CBUA Open Access Week events. Investigate potential for Open Journal Systems collaboration. Explore Open Access business models. Support teaching and communication in the area within CAUL-CBUA libraries. Develop best practices in the areas of scholarly communication, potentially including: a. Research Repositories (e.g., formats, copyright, staffing and workflow, preservation, automation) b. Author funds policies c. Open Access content recruitment strategies d. Funding models for Open Access support (e.g., external funding for editorial support of OJS journals, administering authors fees) 10. User Needs and Expectations We will work together to determine faculty and students needs and expectations. 1. Conduct an Ithaka-style faculty survey. (http://www.sr.ithaka.org/research-publications/us-facultysurvey-2012) Appendix I List of Participants on May 13, 2013 Name Affiliation CAUL-CBUA Role Jennifer Richard Acadia Communications Committee Gillian Byrne CAUL-CBUA Manager of CAUL-CBUA Shawn Bethke CBU Director Nicole Dixon CBU Communications / Digital Preservation & Stewardship Elaine MacInnis Dal CRKN NRT Gwyn Pace Dal CAUL DDG 11     Donna Bourne-Tyson Dal Director Tasya Tymczyszyn Kings Director Katie Puxley MSVU CAUL DDG Tanja Harrison MSVU Director Marc Truitt Mt. A Director David Mawhinney Mt. A Digital Preservation & Stewardship Laura Snyder Mt. A Representative Slavko Manojlovich MUN Representative Lisa Goddard MUN Scholarly Communications Lorraine Busby MUN Director Andrea Stewart NSCC Director Peter Webster SMU Document Delivery RFI /CRKN NRT Marie DeYoung SMU Director Lou Duggan SMU Representative Suzanne Van den Hoogen St. FX Representative Lynne Murphy St. FX Director Marthe Brideau U de M Director Pamela Maher U Ste A Director Erik Moore UNB Digital Preservation & Stewardship John Teskey UNB Director Jocelyne Thompson UNB Digital Licensing Coordinator David Ross UNBSJ Representative Karen Keiller UNBSJ Director Mark Leggott UPEI Director 12     13