Unlocking Capacity as Academic Libraries Transition from Print to Digital

Abstract

How can academic libraries unlock staff capacity for new initiatives as they transition their collections from print to digital? The following are four strategies for recapturing staff time as libraries adopt new formats while still supporting older ones at a smaller volume. First, librarians should employ strategic collection development that takes into consideration opportunities for efficiencies as they make the print to digital transition. Second, libraries should implement creative reorganizations in order to scale down print services and effectively manage new digital formats. Third, libraries should rightscale their infrastructure, that is, choose the appropriate level – local, consortial/regional, national, or global – where collection management activities should take place. Fourth, libraries, library software vendors, and publishers should develop purchasing and resource discovery infrastructures that harness shared data to enable network level electronic resource management.

Citation

Dahl, M. (2015), "Unlocking Capacity as Academic Libraries Transition from Print to Digital", Library Staffing for the Future (Advances in Library Administration and Organization, Vol. 34), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 153-175. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0732-067120150000034007