Abstract
The way that researchers generate, analyse and share information keeps evolving at a rapid pace. To ensure that it is well equipped to serve its global user base for years to come, the British Library is transforming the way it works too, from the physical buildings to its digital service portfolio. One key programme, Everything Available, will ensure the Library’s continued support for research with services to enable access to information in an open and timely manner. This paper will describe the activities planned within Everything Available, with a particular focus on the aims of the Library’s recently refreshed Research Data Strategy. It will give an insight into the challenges and opportunities faced by a National Library in providing relevant services in an ‘open’ world.
Highlights
As the National Library for the United Kingdom, the British Library has had, since 1973, a statutory role in supporting research1
Instead readers were faced with computers, and the space designed for the card catalogue was subsequently occupied by the iconic King’s Tower3
We need to think much more on how we can help to make material outside our collections findable and usable, and how we can maintain usability of that material by contributing to its preservation. These issues are challenging for any research library, but are arguably even more difficult considering that the British Library serves a global audience that extends well beyond higher education
Summary
As the National Library for the United Kingdom, the British Library has had, since 1973, a statutory role in supporting research1 During this – relative to an organisation with hundreds of years of history – short period, the research environment has changed significantly. The British Library’s Living Knowledge vision for 2023 – the 50th anniversary of the British Library Act – is for the Library to be the most open, creative and innovative institution of its kind in the world. To achieve this vision, the Library is undergoing a period of change that will touch almost every process and aspect of the organisation. ‘Everything Available’ encompasses the continued development of the Library’s services so that they remain relevant and supportive for individual researchers and research organisations in a rapidly changing digital environment
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