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The aim of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of business improvement methods (BIM/TQM) in contributing to innovation implementation in SMEs within peripheral regions.

A survey with responses from 606 SMEs in the North West European peripheral regions was administered. The survey explores the role of a range of business improvement methods (BIM/TQM) as an antecedent or stimulant in helping to achieve three levels of effective innovation implementation: introducing new products/services; engaging in innovation that resulted in major product/service innovation (radical), and engaging in innovation activities that did not result in major product innovation (incremental), and non‐innovative.

The findings show that BIM/TQM was likely to stimulate and encourage the development of incremental levels of innovation in the SMEs where there was an emphasis on the people, or organic aspects of BIM/TQM applied, rather than more mechanistic BIM/TQM approaches. However, there was a lack of a clear link between BIM/TQM and radical innovation where newness in products/services and markets was required.

There is a paucity of studies that probe the effectiveness of applying business improvement methods in stimulating innovation implementation, especially in peripheral regions and involving multiple levels of innovation.

DEAR SIR,—Failing being able to provide a really well equipped Reference Library, does it not seem a pity to waste the few funds at the disposal of the average public librarian in a desperate attempt to provide a collection of local books, with the forlorn hope of stimulating interest in the department, or in buying a handful of standard reference works for the benefit of those “serious” readers who frequent the library?

The purpose of this paper is to explain why and how the University of South Australia Library changed its academic outreach model. It discusses the transition from the role of specialist liaison librarian to a team approach to provide support for teaching, learning and research.

Examines the strategies used to build collaborative relationships with the university community and observes how these relationships have influenced the development of the role of the academic library services teams.

Concludes that university libraries need to adapt to pedagogic transformations and changes in scholarly communication. Regular and frequent reviews of staffing requirements and the roles of professional librarians are necessary to ensure that the library meets the strategic priorities of the University and responds to the constantly evolving information and resource landscape.

Provides strategies for building productive partnerships between the library and the university community and gives examples of collaborative endeavours.