Flexibility in higher education hybrid libraries : exploring the implications and producing a model of practice

Reports on a literature review of the issues surrounding the call for librarians to have greater flexibility in the skills they acquire and in the services they offer. Illustrates these issues with particular reference to the UK Electronic Libraries Programme (eLib) Phase 3 (specifically the HyLiFe project (HYbrid LIbrary of the FuturE)) where flexibility was found to be central. Includes an analysis of the data on flexibility generated by practitioners who attended HyLiFe regional dissemination workshops in 2000 and the application of this data to produce a model which provides insight into the implications of flexibility for higher education libraries. The model is based on two axes, one (vertical) indicating speed of change from low to high and one (horizontal) indicating the level of flexibility in library and information services (LIS) from low to high. The model also identifies four core areas of learning for hybrid LIS providers, and there is a correlation between the speed of change and the demonstrable level of flexibility needed. Concludes that, as the pace and intensity of change accelerates, LIS structures and staff will have to show greater flexibility to serve a user population demanding flexibility

Staff development in the electronic library : lessons for the health sector from the IMPEL2 eLib project

This paper proposes that the health sector has much to learn from higher education as regards information provision in the electronic age. Information Technology for Library and Information Services is less developed in the NHS than in higher education. Staff training and development is identified as a key issue in supporting the transition to electronic delivery of Library and Information Services. The Electronic Libraries Programme (eLib), developing electronic services in higher education, is outlined, with emphasis on the IMPEL2 Project and its methodology. Findings from the Staff Training and Development strand of IMPEL2 are presented. This study identified that attention should be most keenly focused on two areas, IT skills and skills to support changing roles. A number of success factors in training and development are highlighted. The paper concludes that release of resources from eLib to support staff development must be paralleled in the health sector if effective electronic services are to be developed

Change and conflict in the academic library

It has been observed that "the libraries of colleges and universities are changing faster than their respective parent institutions. Essentially everything in and around the library is changing: services, technologies, organizational constructs, ownership and access policies, values and most of the rest'' (Riggs, 1997). Invariably this intensity of change will cause conflict on different scales and levels and have serious implications for Library and Information Services. Between 1996 and 1998 the eLib IMPEL2 (Impact on People of Electronic Libraries) project was able to monitor how this conflict was being manifested. Using literature from both the management and librarianship disciplines, the general concepts of conflict are discussed, focusing on causes of conflict, positive and negative impacts and different conflict handling techniques. There is an overview concerning how the theories and ideas on conflict drawn from the management discipline apply within an academic library context. After outlining the background to the IMPEL2 eLib project, examples of conflict found in academic libraries are illustrated using data collected. In February 1999 examples of conflict were reviewed at a study day for librarians who identified causes and possible conflict management strategies. These are also presented