‘The Engagement is Announced …’: Collaborative Ventures between the British Library and the Higher Education Sector

Abstract

Following the appointment of Lynne Brindley as Chief Executive of the British Library – the first professionally-qualified librarian to lead that institution – a new spirit of collaboration between the BL and UK Higher Education libraries was to emerge. This article identifies the factors that led to an environment in which innovative strategic partnerships between the two sectors could bear fruit, and it describes and assesses two significant collaborative ventures, EThOS, an online, electronic thesis service delivered by the BL on behalf of HE under a shared service arrangement, and the UK Research Reserve (UKRR).