As with many such endeavours, the Library Blog for the University Library at Hull was set up with enthusiasm and good intention to share a variety of insights about the Library and everything related to it. And it has certainly achieved that variety, with blog posts ranging from practical skills advice on beating your top study worries through to fascinating insights from the University Archives, via tips on making the most effective use of the various technologies available at (and beyond) the University. The great value of an online blog is that the posts continue to be available and accessible over time, so the knowledge captured with them is there for others to benefit from. So please have a browse and enjoy.
One of the key areas that a number of academic library-related blogs focus on, for example, Lorcan Dempsey and Aaron Tay) is the change that libraries in Higher Education have seen, as they are affected by the evolving environment in which they operate or rapid changes in technology, and the changes they have made, or are looking to make, in response. Since I started in academic libraries in 1991, the type and scope of service provided is, in some ways, almost completely unrecognisable. Libraries have adapted and, in many cases, led the way when it comes to continuing to deliver their value to the audiences and customers they serve. They do so very much in the context of their institutions and the changing HE environment they operate within, and exploit technologies so they can be used to best effect. They can do this because, like the blogs, the underlying value provided, change notwithstanding, continues to inform our service focus.
So, what is that value? I wouldn’t presume to be able to capture all that could be encompassed within that question in a short blog. At its heart, though, for me, the value of a library is in how we facilitate access to knowledge, whether that be through acquiring it, supporting its discovery and location, its use and re-use, sharing it, curating and preserving it, applying it, and, very importantly in this era of fake news, evaluating it. Libraries do this through both tangible – its collections, its staff and the support they provide, its spaces, its technology and access to it, etc. – and intangible – the enabling of learning, the scope for thinking, the creation of knowledge, bringing people together, etc. – means. The detail of how this value is realised has changed, and continues to do so, but the core elements remain. As such, if you ask a group of people what they value about the academic library they use (or work in) there will be a variety of answers, and that helps highlight the many ways library value is perceived and delivered; a bit like the ‘Love is…’ cartoon that sought to capture the many facets of relationships. ‘Library is…’, anyone?
To return to the starting point of this blog, there is clear value in what is shared through it, highlighting the different areas of the Library’s services and collections and what they can deliver and help with. The University Library will continue to showcase that value,
and I’m grateful to the Spotlight Team of Library colleagues in refreshing our showcasing of that through the blog series they have started. This will itself continue to evolve so that that value can be realised in the ways that are most needed in continuing to serve the University of Hull.
By Chris Awre