Collaborating in the digital era : challenges and rewarding experiences of library collaboration among JULAC libraries

Abstract

The rapid changes in the environment of information technology and scholarly communication present both opportunities and challenges for university libraries, especially in regard to information access strategies and library collection development and management decisions. A prevailing theme of discussions at many library forums or meetings in recent years is how to collaborate further among academic libraries and with other stakeholders in higher education. This paper identifies what the presenter believes to be salient factors that are influencing the general climate of deeper collaboration for academic libraries, as well as the emerging trends in scholarly information management and access strategies. It also focuses on the ongoing challenges and rewarding experiences in collaboration among the university libraries in Hong Kong. These wonderful experiences and ongoing challenges in library collaboration and new trends in information access will be presented against the transformations underway in university libraries and in the context of the continuing changes of academic institutions and higher education. Transformation in academic libraries and library collaboration among them to a large degree mirror the ongoing change and changing information needs of the academic institution or university, just as the transformation of the institution reflects broader changes in higher education. The challenges and opportunities in collaboration among academic libraries to support the research and teaching community cannot be understood apart from this larger context and the changes and trends that shape higher education