The UK Research Reserve (UKRR) programme, a collaborative initiative of higher education libraries led by Imperial College London and the British Library, has been launched. Under the initiative, the British Library will store low-use journals for the HE community and make them accessible to researchers and others using the latest ordering and delivery systems. In July 2008, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) announced £9.84 million of funding for a five year programme to build upon the success of Phase 1.
The UKRR will safeguard the long term future of printed research journals. Low-use journals will be stored and maintained at the British Library, enabling quick and easy access to research materials. Building on the strengths of the British Library's document supply service, researchers can choose to access journal articles in printed or electronic format. The British Library will ensure efficient use of resources allowing universities to reclaim the space from journal storage and re-purpose it for new opportunities, for example research and learning. By the end of the five-year programme 100 km of shelf space will have been released, amounting to capital savings of £29 million.
The programme builds on the successful 18 month pilot phase which proved the concept in eight participating libraries from the Universities of Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Imperial College London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Southampton and St Andrews.
