Report From UK: “Libraries Coordinate on Book Disposal to Safeguard Rare Texts”

From Times Higher Education (THE):

Plans to ensure that at least seven copies of every scholarly book are kept across UK libraries will help enrich research resources and safeguard rare texts rather than push institutions to downsize their collections, librarians have insisted.

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To address these worries over space and the disposal of potentially valuable rare texts, libraries have been invited to join a new initiative, known as the UK Print Book Collection (UK PBC), to help coordinate library stocktakes to ensure rare academic books are not lost.

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The scheme, which is jointly run by Research Libraries UK, the Society of College, National and University Libraries, the British Library and Jisc, will provide much-needed reassurance for librarians struggling to find space for the new titles arriving each month, said Geoff Lewis, collections and discovery manager at the University of Warwick, which has been a pilot member of the scheme.

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Analysis produced by the UK PBC found that the new seven copies rule would potentially allow academic libraries to reduce their stocks by between 50 and 80 per cent. However, this is regarded as the “starting point”, with staff then taking library-level decisions such as the overall popularity and use of books, the need to maintain disciplinary collections and the uniqueness of certain editions.

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Direct to UK Print Book Collection Website

Filed under: Academic Libraries, Libraries, News