On becoming a university in 1992, the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) had perhaps the poorest university library in Australia. New management was prepared to commit funds to remedy the situation and a strategic plan was prepared. [Editor's Note: the University is located in the rural centre of Toowoomba in the Darling Downs Region. A general map of this area can be found at [http://www.rcin.org.au/der/derstart.html]
Although there were many things to be done, the challenges were basically twofold: to improve the Library as a resource, and to improve the regard in which it was held. Years of underfunding in the Library meant that the additional funds would be insufficient to develop a library service along 'traditional' lines. The alternative has been to develop cost-effective electronic services that complement collection development. An important rationale for this direction was that some 68% of students in 1995 were enrolled in studies by distance education.
Successful measures were considered to be increased utilisation of the library and an attitudinal change to that previously existing i.e. the perception that the Library was a closed, defensive place with minimal impact on the life of the university. Factors that have contributed to the repositioning of the Library within the University include its organisational structure, its involvement in a project known as University Campus Academic Network (UCAN), and the evaluation and development of electronic services.
Statistics demonstrate a high level of uptake of library services, particularly those in electronic format, by academic staff and students. This uptake is not solely the result of local (i.e. USQ Library) activities but relies on state (Queensland) and national (Australia) initiatives. Each of these will now be discussed in detail.
Major changes were necessary to begin rectification of the weaknesses in the USQ Library. The development and adoption of a strategic plan using a consultative process that involved Library staff, academic staff and students was vital in setting a direction. The rationale and development of Electronic Services was clearly articulated. Because this plan predated the impact of the World Wide Web, the exact shape of an electronic library was still somewhat conjectural. The plan spelt out that USQ could not expect to become a major paper-based library, therefore the emphasis on electronic resources seemed a reasonable gamble.
Such a dramatic shift in emphasis meant that the traditional organisational structure was no longer functional. The Electronic Information Services Librarian in particular works across all sections of the Library as well as in the faculties. The Collection Management Librarian, through her involvement in Collection Development and Quality Assurance, also deals with all staff. A new, flatter and more flexible structure was designed and implemented.
Substantial investment in technology has allowed the Library to position itself for the electronic future. A Library LAN (Local Area Network) was installed, the CD-ROMs connected to the campus network, and new PCs provided to all full-time staff. An upgrade to the Library system (VTLS) gave users a better OPAC (online public access catalogue). Training in electronic services increased and the Library took a leading role in establishing a Campus Wide Information Service; the local CWIS is known as Funnel Web
None of these things are by themselves remarkable, but the rapidity of change, the fact that the Library was seen to be setting the pace in areas that were of general interest around the university ('quality', staff development, networking) gave it a high profile, and credibility as a partner in planning for the university's future.
Choosing such a direction was not without its difficulties. Whilst the reach of the Ethernet backbone was reasonably good, the extent to which connectivity to the LAN was achieved closely reflected a faculty's financial comfort. Thus the Faculty of Business was fully networked, the Faculty of Arts not at all. The Distance Education Centre (DEC) and Information Technology Services (ITS) were also concerned to see 100% reach of the network, and at the planning retreat in 1994 joined with the Library in urging its completion. The project was represented to the gathering as strategically vital, given the University's involvement in distance education, an area where networked technologies are likely to have a great impact in the near future. The participants accepted the arguments surprisingly readily, and approved as a special initiative the completion of the network to each desk, the provision of workstations to each member of the academic staff, technical support, and the provision of training in networked resources.
However while the project (titled UCAN) became part of the University's Strategic Plan, success in the budgetary process proved much more difficult. In order to maximise the amount available for the faculties, the original budget for the UCAN project was trimmed drastically. The original UCAN budget had provided for staffing for the Library to relieve Faculty Liaison Librarians from desk duties for this function, but we believed so strongly in the importance of the initiative that we decided to fund it from our own resources. In retrospect it is obvious that when the retreat accepted our vision of a fully networked campus, they did not quite understand what it meant. Support was by no means universal - the most 'technologically challenged' faculty said that if there was money to be had they would rather spend it on extra marking assistance. There were vocal opponents in other areas, often people who had been using computers for years, but couldn't see why anybody needed anything more that a 286 and a serial port - or perhaps had the elitist view that to make new tools and skills popularly available was dangerous!
It has been fascinating to see these erstwhile sceptics become the most enthusiastic supporters of the project. Undoubtedly the rising public awareness of the Internet and all it promises (truthfully or otherwise) has helped. The Library has come to be seen as a centre of expertise in areas beyond traditional library activities. This is in turn has led us to reconsider our role, and to wonder whether, in this university as least, we should be content to be just a catalyst for change, or whether we owe it to the institution and ourselves to assume new responsibilities.
The need to continually monitor and apply appropriate information technology, as well as continuously improve those developments has seen the Library devote additional staff and equipment. A microcomputer support officer and a Networked Information Services Librarian have been employed. The CWIS Controller has been leading an on-campus interest group for Web Publishing. The Library, in conjunction with ITS and DEC, is organising a 'Technology Expo' to raise the awareness of academic staff of the initiatives involving educational technology that are being undertaken by the University and expose them to possibilities for the future.
In conjunction with our DEC, we tendered to develop a generic training program in Library Skills for Open Learning students throughout Australia for Open Learning Australia. This program incorporates 2 videos and 2 computer assisted learning programs, as well as a handbook. This project is on time for completion. Formative evaluation by librarians from institutions Australia-wide has endorsed the products developed thus far.
A fundamental premise was that the development of electronic services
would only be successful if resources were committed to training.
The liaison librarians were seen as the key in delivering this
training to their respective faculties. We have
chosen to present generic training of the basics needed to access
Funnel Web (our CWIS) and Internet sources. Subject-specific
training is only delivered at a later stage. Recent statistics
demonstrate a dramatic increase in the uptake of these electronic
services when compared to a sample of other Australian Universities
(see Figure 1).
Queensland University Libraries have sought to maximise use of their resources and prevent unnecessary duplication through co-operation and collaboration. Initially an alliance was formed amongst the university libraries in Brisbane that was later expanded to include all university libraries in Queensland. This alliance is known as the Queensland University Libraries Office of Cooperation (QULOC). Chaired by the University Librarians, working parties have been formed to investigate issues in areas such as Co-operative Resources, Staffing, Information Skills, Document Delivery and Networking.
The Networking Working Party is responsible for identifying the 'technical' issues involved with current and emerging networked services in libraries. At the point where these are operationalised, the task is passed to the most appropriate working party. Current projects include advising the University Librarians on problems and possible solutions with Internet response times and implications of EdNA (Educational Network Australia).
The Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) have sought to work together to maximise cooperation amongst the university library sector.
This approach has seen the Australian Government through its Department of Employment, Education and Training make funding available. As a result, projects have been commissioned for electronic document delivery, provision of Internet training and the development of Web-based information delivery.
Initiatives undertaken include negotiation of consortia pricing for the mounting of datasets such as Current Contents, ABI/Inform, those running on SilverPlatter's ERL technology, FirstSearch and IAC (Information Access Corporation). Uptake of these services has been particularly encouraging and has demonstrated the advantages to the majority of University libraries in Australia.
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