All Change at Manchester

Dominic Broadhurst

Academic Engagement Manager

Relationship Management for the 21st Century Academic LibraryFriday 19th April

Drivers for change

• The existing structure was designed around a very different environment

• Faculty teams were required to do a bit of everything• New skills and approaches are needed for new

priorities• The Library is insufficiently integrated into Faculty

and School teaching and research agendas• VPs for Teaching & Learning and Research are

placing new demands on the Library• We will not overcome inertia without change

Set up workstreams

• What we do now, how, why and with what results• How we engage with staff and students• How we provide training and skills• How our researchers and students work, and where gaps in provision exist• The priorities and strategies of Heads of Schools and Associate Deans • How Faculty Teams work with other Library colleagues• What other research libraries are doing

Workstreams investigated

Consultation!

• 38 library staff (plus exercises reaching all Library staff)

• 148 students

• 57 academics

• 21 Heads of Schools/Associate Deans (plus School directors of research & teaching)

• The President, Deputy President and VPs for Research and Teaching & Learning

• 5 university libraries (Aarhus, LSE, Sussex, UCL, Warwick)

Consultation

What did we find out?

The Findings• Inconsistencies in what we offer• Too much routine administrative work• Complete lack of awareness of Library services in

some Schools• Primary focus on the users of physical library

buildings• Insufficient awareness of teaching and research

needs• Difficulty in supporting new ways of teaching and

conducting research• Concerns about contacts and collections

Where next? –venturing into unknown territory…

Recommendations

• Create functional teams• Reduce routine process work• Standardise the teaching & training offer• Expand the research support offer• Develop the liaison role & improve engagement• Develop new training methods• Establish dedicated space for researchers

Arts EPSSocial

SciencesMBS MHLS

From this to…

Teaching & Learning

Academic Engagement

Research Services

Staffing commitment

• We will retain the same number of staff as there were in the Faculty Teams

• We will increase the number of professionally graded posts

• We will recruit additional staff:

- eLearning Technologist - Research Information Analyst - Learning Development Manager

PLUS

• New Head of Strategic Marketing & Communications