OCLC Report Suggests Research Libraries Face Major Risks

Some could be mitigated by cooperative action, but others require big changes

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 04/15/2010

• Based on interviews with 15 directors
• New types of professionals needed
• Urgency of need to cooperate
• Not aimed to inform OCLC product strategy (but seems consonant)

A new report, Research Libraries, Risk and Systemic Change, from OCLC Research describes several threats to the future of such libraries, include a reduced sense of relevance; lack of prepared staff; the cost of collections; the development of new technology; and the uncertain grip on intellectual property.

The report suggests that numerous risks may be mitigated by ongoing changes—such as shared infrastructure and restructured workflow. But it suggests that the first risk category, “an uncertain library value proposition,” may be met only via collective new strategies and services. Meanwhile, a second risk category may be met with a “new generation and type of professional,” not necessarily from an LIS background.

Of 26 risks, ten (38%) were judged to have a high potential impact and likelihood, a sign, according to the report’s authors, that “the heat is on and it’s intense.”

The report suggests major changes: a shift from print; library systems that better support the transition to digital content; and a greater attention to evaluating current services. These might lead to a significant reallocation in library resources, thus “resulting in a service profile that is more visible and valuable to the research library clientele.”

Methodology
OCLC Research engaged a consulting firm that does corporate risk assessments. That firm, in cooperation with OCLC Research, worked to identify, characterize, and rank risks, based on interviews with 15 directors whose libraries are members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL).

“We chose library deans and directors because they manage the enterprise we were assessing,” James Michalko, VP of OCLC Research, told LJ. “Provosts and other university administrators would be interesting and have a different perspective on the library as an academic cost center. We don't have any plans to do further research on risk.”

Impact on OCLC
Michalko said the research was aimed to inform the agenda of the OCLC Research division, not inform product strategy. In partnership with research libraries, OCLC Research aims to establish a collaborative action agenda.

“That said,” Michalko added, “I think much of OCLC's product strategy is consistent with these findings particularly the re-conception of our service offerings as cloud services.”

Value Proposition
Among the high risks under the category of a “reduced sense of library relevance from below, above, within” are:

• Availability of online and other resources (e.g., Google) may weaken the visibility and necessity of the library
• User base erodes because library value proposition is not effectively communicated

Human Resources
Among the high risks under the category of “Uncertainties about adequate preparation, adaptability, leadership in face of change” are:

• Recruitment and retention of resources is difficult due to competitive environment and reduction in pool of qualified candidates
• Difficulty identifying candidates for evolving library management roles
• Human resources are not allocated appropriately within the library or university to provide the training and development
• Current human resources lack skill set for future needs (changing technology, etc.)
• Conservative nature of library inhibits timely adaptation to changed circumstances

Durable Goods
There were no high risks under the category of “Changing value of library collections and space (prices go up, value goes down; accounting doesn't acknowledge the change).” 

Rather, the increased challenges in building and maintaining collections in an atmosphere of rising costs, limited budgets, and turbulence in foreign exchange rates was considered only a medium risk, as was lack of investments in deteriorating physical space. 

Legacy Technology
Among the high risks under the category of “Managing and maintaining legacy systems is a challenge; replacement parts are hard to find” are:

• Library cannot adjust fast enough to keep up with rapidly changing technology and user needs
• Increased inefficiencies and expenses due to lack of functionality of legacy systems and IT support
• Due diligence and sustainability assessment of local or third party services and initiatives is not completed, tracked, or analyzed

Intellectual Property
There were no high risks, interestingly enough, under the category of “Losing some traditional assets to commercial providers (e.g., Google Books) and not assuming clear ownership of others (e.g., local scholarly outputs)."

Rather, the move to content controlled by commercial agents and online service providers was seen as a medium risk, as was the challenge of public-private partnerships with external agents like Google.

“We expected to see serious concerns emerge about the custody of intellectual property (peer-reviewed literature, locally created content) that supports the research enterprise,” the report’s authors state. “Interestingly enough they did not.” 

Mitigation strategies
An increased reliance on shared infrastructure along with increased outsourcing and regional consolidation of services could mitigate the risks of keeping up with technology and user needs, managing legacy systems, and assessing local or third party services.

Similarly, restructured workflows could lead to a new workforce better able to address the challenges.

Residual high risks: collective action and cultural change
Two such risks—the availability of online information resources like Google weakens the library value, and the general erosion of the library user base—might be mitigated by collective action, the report suggests:

If the research library community could disclose its assets in the networked environment more effectively and with an associated set of common service expectations, it might be possible to retain some of the traditional user loyalty even as these services become one of many within the Amazoogle information environment. A more direct approach to the value proposition challenge is to deploy new services within the academy that are in the flow of current networked research practices. Presenting assets and services where the research library academic clientele do their work might renew their view of and reliance on library services.

As for finding more qualified candidates and changing the “conservative nature” of the library, the report suggests that “[t]he pool of potential library workers might be very different after the library has restructured traditional workflows in favor of a new emphasis on and investment in research support services.”

Libraries coming around
In an epilogue, the authors note that the initial findings—made 18 months ago—were “met with resistance and skepticism.”

“More recently there has been a general acceptance that these challenges are real and need to be met with collective effort and a new vision of services,” the report states, citing efforts at cooperation, such as the HathiTrust project for digital storage; the 2CUL partnership for collection development by Columbia and Cornell universities; and the consolidation of regional library consortia.

Still, the authors warn that business as usual—directing resources toward “operations that are marginal to institutional and national research priorities, towards processes and services that are ignored or undervalued by their clients and towards staff activities that are driven more by legacy professional concerns than user needs”—isn’t sustainable.

Rather, “research libraries need to come together around an action agenda aimed at improvement of the research enterprise they serve.”

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