Managing the life cycles of the document and library collections in Finnish academic libraries, case Aalto and UEF

Abstract

Purpose – At the beginning of this millennium renewal of the higher education legislation and structures were decided to be carried out in Finland. The new University act was passed in the summer of 2009. The new act means that the formerly state-owned Universities shall become more autonomous. In addition, the number of Universities in Finland will be reduced by merging some of the old Universities as new ones, like Aalto University and the UEF, from the beginning of the year 2010. This also means a birth of new multi-campus universities as well as new challenges for the management of finances. Simultaneously the digital revolution of scientific information has changed the paradigm of the libraries from ownership to access. It is not necessary anymore to buy paper journals and store them in the library building. Instead, the electronic versions are licensed thus providing the academics as well as students 24/7 access to the materials. This digital change has also generated generation gaps between aging library staff and born-digital student generation. The paper and presentation discusses the management of the life-cycles of different types of documents - printed/digital and serials/monographs - in a rapidly changing environment. Also the distribution of work and outsourcing of the collection storing with the National Repository Library is discussed. Here the emphasis is on enabling the access to the outsourced collections with the help of modern database technologies. Also some evidence on the effects on library expenses and usage is given. Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses the statistical data of Finnish academic libraries in presenting its results. Findings – The National Repository Library has enabled Finnish university libraries in focusing their collection policies and saving in the costs of the premises. Research limitations/implications – Based on Finnish experiences. Practical implications – Models for national and international collection and reservation policies are presented. Originality/value – Paper provides thoughts for the building of global division of work in the longtail management of documents.