The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) recently published a survey of 300 key library and Learning Resource Centre (LRC) staff from 83 higher (HE) and 201 further education (FE) institutions across the UK. The annual survey conducted on behalf of JISC by the JISC Monitoring Unit at the University of Kent, shows that senior academic librarians believe that managing and promoting e-resources and e-content will be their main challenges over the next few years. The survey covered content, licensing, digitisation and communication issues.
The research, supported by SCONUL, found that in both the HE and FE sectors, the perceived shift away from print to a dependence on e-resources creates other challenges such as how to manage the volume of material, how users can access it and how libraries and learning resource centres (LRC) can provide or promote such resources. It also highlights financial issues such as potential funding sources for the increasing amounts of new technology, electronic materials and subscriptions likely to be needed by the learning institutions of the future.
Other challenges included keeping abreast of and incorporating new technologies, pressure on space and information skills and literacy. These findings complement those from the recently released SCONUL Top Concerns Survey 2008, summarising the key concerns currently facing directors of library and information services.
