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Creating a Strategy for the Development of Online

Information Resources at Dublin Business School

By Marie O’ NeillHead Librarian

Some Facts about DBS Largest private higher education institution in Ireland

with 9,000 students. Originally the Accountancy and Business College,

established in 1975. In 2000, DBS acquired LSB College. In 2003, DBS was acquired by Kaplan, Inc., the

education division of the Washington Post. Kaplan, Inc. is a world leader in education, serving

more than one million students per year in over 600 locations in 37 countries.

In 2008, Kaplan had a revenue of 2.3 billion. In 2006, DBS acquired European Business School. In 2007, DBS acquired Portobello College.

Accreditation DBS now offers undergraduate, postgraduate,

professional and executive education across the arts, life sciences, business and law.

Programmes validated by the Higher Education Training and Awards Council in Ireland (HETAC), John Moore’s University, Liverpool (LJMU) - DBS has institutional status and the University of Wales.

The majority of programmes at DBS now have joint validation status, e.g. LJMU and HETAC.

Professional Body Recognition

First private higher education institution to receive recognition for its BA from the Irish Psychological Society.

DBS regularly gets first place in the world in ACCA exams. MSC in Information and Library Management- Joint

award from John Moore’s University, Liverpool and HETAC.

Backed by CILIP.

Online Information Resources: Starting Point

Commenced as Head Librarian in 2006. Previously worked in the libraries of the King’s

Inns; DIT; SEHB; Welsh Office; UCD and the Oireachtas.

There were already highly developed library resources at DBS

Undergraduate Library had recently been extended to twice its size and the Postgraduate Library had recently been established.

Collection covered business, life sciences and arts.

Library Collection included: 50,000 books, 350 print journals and a large portfolio of databases

Online Information Resources: Starting Point contd..

In 2007, DBS acquired Portobello College acquiring a third library. Collection now expanded to include law.

Staff now up to 24 of which 10 were full-time staff. 5 staff with professional library qualifications.

Library Management system: Heritage Due to the cost of extending Library sites;

establishing and acquiring new libraries as well as a sign of a downturn in the economy, the remit was to keep the Library budget stable for the next few years.

DBS Library: Three Library Site

Undergraduate Library, Postgraduate Library, Portobello Library

Aungier St. Dame Street

Online Information Resources: The Challenges

Multiple database vendors: Heavy workload/administration; varying levels of customer and technical support; numerous interfaces for Library users to navigate.

Database portfolio: heavily biased towards business.

No access management system: Multiple passwords for the Library’s online resources as well as non-Library resources e.g. Moodle, email.

No federated searching software: multiple databases could not be searched simultaneously.

No link resolver software: Lack of connectivity between the Library’s e-holdings.

Print journals no longer consulted. Coated in a fine layer of dust! Costly overlap between print and online journals. Print Journal Management Services: Journal supply and customer

support from subscription agency was unreliable resulting in heavy workload/administration for Library staff.

Not enough specialist library posts. No systems librarian or head of reader services.

No e-book collection. Digitisation: Parts of the collection were not digitised e.g. student

theses. Assistive technology underdeveloped. Hampered access to online information for Library users

with disabilities.

Challenges continued..

Step 1. Released dormant capital/generation of

income

Reviewed existing vendors Consolidated vendors. Sourced new vendors. Explored new, innovative and more competitively priced products Availed of outsourcing opportunities Greater use of open source software Automation (cataloguing and circulation). Elimination of duplication between print and online journalsIncreased income (introduced colour printing/ alumni and external membership)

Releasing dormant capital- Approach

Review of Vendors Consolidation- scope to buy more products from one

vendor. Price (could they offer the same/better products at

cheaper prices?) Coverage of databases Usability of products for Library users Innovation Customer/technical support Customisation Vendor Neutral (will the vendor work with other vendors’

products) Feedback/ recommendations from other libraries Facility to provide feedback to vendor. Trials (length etc) Management of transition (support provided by vendor)

Automation Undergraduate Library at DBS,

first fully RFID enabled Library site in the higher education sector in Ireland.

Used 3M for RFID conversion. Cost recouped in first six months

through part-time staff savings. Quickcat: import British Library

and Library Congress records via Heritage for a flat fee of approx 400 Euro per year.

Time and cost savings has resulted in redeployment of staff in professional library posts e.g. cataloguing, systems, reader services.

Elimination of duplication between print and online journals

Ceased subscriptions to print journals where a full-text version is available on a database even with embargoes.

Ebsco did not encourage us to cancel individual journal subscriptions just because a database may contain the same publication electronically. If publishers’ core business (individual subscriptions) is being threatened by including their content in a database, publishers may withdraw their journals from all databases. EBSCO consider their databases to be complements to a journal collection, not its replacement.

Post rationalisation, continuity of journal supply has not been affected at DBS for reasons explored on the next slide but it is important to be aware of risks and evaluate this decision carefully in the context of your own collection and Library users’ information needs.

Elimination of duplication between print and electronic journals

contd.. Launched Ebsco’s A-Z software which pulled together

full-text journals. E-books can also be accessed there. Cost: 600 Euro per year.

A-Z software vendor neutral 45,000 full-text journals on the A-Z software British Library’s secure electronic delivery ILL

service. ‘Switched from ‘Just in Case’ to ‘Just in Time’

journal management. Buy in from academic staff/School Executive and senior

Management is key. A-Z software was very useful with this.

A-Z software is very useful for marketing the Library’s

print journal collection to accrediting bodies.

A-Z Journal Software

Income Generation

New photocopiers: Upgraded photocopiers via MJ

Flood. Papercut software used for printing and photocopying.

Colour printing 25 c per page (black and

white 7c) Alumni and external

membership: Business Source Complete

Alumni database, Emerald Alumni database. Alumni databases can also be accessed off campus.

Savings Annual print journal costs down 75% Annual binding costs: down 50% Annual stationery costs: down 56% Annual printing costs: down 75% Move to Ebsco resulted in a 20 percent decrease in

database costs. Part-time staff costs down 46,000 Euro in 2009. Savings redeployed into acquiring new products

and creating more professional library posts.

Income Up 50 percent over the last three years

Step 3: Ceased or strengthened existing vendor relationships.

Established new vendor relationships.

New Vendor Relationships

Ebsco Information Services for journal and database management, (database products will be discussed under access and searching).

Papercut: Also used at the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown. (2,000 Euro initial cost for 9,000 students. Maintenance fee 500 Euro per year).

MJ Flood: work with Papercut.

Ebsco’s Journal services

Switched journal management to Ebsco. Ebsco managed the transition which was

seamless Initial savings of 30 percent on annual journal

changes just by initial switching to Ebsco. Stronger customer support. More efficient delivery of issues and processing

of claims. Missing journal bank very useful. Huge reduction in staff time allocated to

management of journals. Ebsconet: Central location to manage the

Library’s journal subscriptions. It is possible to conduct a title search, order placement, claims and renewals via Ebsconet. Ebsconet provides information about publisher and title changes. There is also the facility to run detailed reports. DBS Library’s online journals are stored in E-journal software which can be searched by Library users (also stored in A-Z software).

Strengthening Existing Vendor Relationships

Strengthened relationship with Dawson’s book suppliers

Outsourced book covering (70p per book including covering). Savings in stationery budget and staff time.

Launched Dawsonera; Dawson’s e-book platform. Books from multiple publishers on one platform.

E-books also have audio.

Dawsonera

Other new database subscriptions

Firstlaw Justis Mintel Marketline JSTOR (DBS became the first

private college library worldwide permitted to subscribe)

Open Source Products Technical/ customer support important Financial director will love it but you may

need to secure buy in from IT manager. Trial is the best way to convince IT

Manager Web 2.0- DBS Library’s Staff Blog;

DBS Library’s student blog. DBS Library recently launched an instant

messaging service: Ask a Librarian Assistive Technology: Readplease and

Virtual Magnifier. DBS Library –first private college library

to join Edugate Federation Edugate established by HEAnet with the

aim of piloting single login access using open source software: Shibboleth.

Step 3. Simplify access and searching of online

information resources

Migration to new database Platform: Ebscohost

Replaced existing databases where possible with Ebsco databases which are located on user friendly platform: Ebschost

Replaced Psycarticles and Psyinfo with Ebsco versions for example. Uptake of these two databases surged.

Replaced business databases with Ebsco’s Business Source Complete.

Ebsco databases have a uniform interface: Ebsco 2.0 which resembles a Google search interface.

The platform offers a basic and advanced search screen; subject and publications clustering, relevancy and date ranking; personal folders (MyEsbcohost) and alerts; visual search.

Image Bank. Branding

Ebscohost continued. We have since taken out subscriptions to

Esbco’s Academic Search Complete; Computers & Applied Science Complete; Film & TV Literature Index with Full-Text; Hospitality & Tourism Complete; LISTA (full-text), PEParchive and SocINDEX with Full-Text. to respond to new programmes introduced in the College.

Ebsco Mobile: Ebsco databases can now be searched on mobile phones and other handheld databases.

Esbco Admin- enables you to retrieve user stats quickly and easily.

Journal content of the databases readily accessible on the Ebsco website.

508 compliant One login for Ebsco databases Ebsco managed the transition which was

seamless.

Ebscohost

Federated searchingWebfeat Ebsco was an agent for Webfeat. Webfeat is a federated searching software, equivalent

of Serials Solution; Metafind or Cross Search for example.

Enables students to search multiple databases simultaneously including the Library Catalogue.

Competitively priced at approx 5,000 euro per year. Other federated searching solutions up to five times the price.

A couple of extra connectors were built at a cost of approx 1,000 Euro each.

Vendor Neutral Webfeat has an authentication module. Down to one

login and just one other login for e-books.

Webfeat at Dublin Business School

Federated Searching contd.Ebsco’s Integrated Search: Replacing Webfeat Half the price of Webfeat. Allows more databases to be searched

simultaneously especially in the area of law. Connectors: quicker, easier and cheaper to

build. Retains features of Ebscohost interface Ebsco Admin enables library users to be added

by systems librarian. Appealing Google type interface Also authenticates users via smart proxy Vendor Neutral

Esbco’s Integrated Search

Connectivity/LinkageEsbco’s Linksource Cost similiar to Esbco’s Integrated

Search software. Linksource is a vendor-neutral,

OpenURL link resolver Linksource links Library users to

full-text content across databases as well as additional information on the Library OPAC and websites.

Reduction in ILL requests, reduction in staff workload; increase in database hits.

Ebsco’s Linksource

Step 4 Digitise

Projects Exams papers Completed and

available on Moodle Student theses under

way Institutional

Repository- proposal submitted to Academic Director and Registrar.

Creation of a digitisation librarian post proposed.

Library without walls.

Step 5: Promote and Educate

Marketing and Buy-In

New Library Website launched 2008

Library newsletter established 2007.

Library blog Library Committee

established in 2006 I sit on the Academic Board

and School Executive

Educate Library Tours Library inductions Subject specific sessions Library classes Library guides Proposal for redeployment of

staff member as an information literacy librarian to expand and formally embed information literacy activities into academic programmes.

Step 6. Forward planning

Ideas from journals or databases on librarianship. Set up alerts. Emerald database has a librarian portal. Other Library websites Vendor websites/events Technical fairs Next big goal is single login using Shibboleth software.

One login for each student to all online College resources.

Library Website upgrade. Ebsco can isolate search box of Ebsco’s Integrated Search.

Expand assistive technology

New developments

Some tips

Know your limitations. DBS Library tried to produce in-house tutorials using Camtasia. Very time-consuming, requires specialist equipment etc. Many vendors produce high quality online tutorials e.g. Ebsco

Learn from mistakes: Our current website too wordy. New website under construction. Leaner with built in Web 2.0 functionality to reduce leakage of hits.

Ebsco’s Support Site

What can be learned from our strategy?

DBS Library utilised new vendors and competively priced products in the Irish marketplace.

Has eliminated expensive duplication between print and online journals tackling thorny issues such as online embargoes.

Has explored new revenue streams including new online alumni products such as Ebsco Alumni and Emerald Alumni databases.

Has exploited new technology such as RFID. Has responded to new library and staffing

requirements whilst keeping library costs stable. Currently 7 of 20 library staff have professional library qualifications with a further 3 pursuing professional library qualifications. Proportion of professional library posts increasing at DBS Library.

Important to step outside of our comfort zone as a profession and explore new vendors, products in the marketplace as well as library practices.