Welcome to the second (and final) part of our exploration into the changing landscape of education – and how digital collections are an essential piece of the puzzle.
If you haven’t read our piece on the advantages of digital collections for academic librarians and patrons, you can check it out here.
In this blog, we’re looking at the challenges of creating digital collections in academic libraries and how software like cHQacademic can streamline and simplify the process.
The cons of the digital library
Increasing the digital divide
In most cases, digital resources open up new methods of access to academic resources, particularly for remote students and staff.
However during the pandemic, the Office for Students found that 52% of students said their studies were negatively impacted by a slow internet connection, and 18% were impacted by a lack of access to a computer, laptop, or tablet.
In response to this survey, The University of London introduced a fund to help cover the cost of essential IT resources for students under a certain household income, and ensured students who couldn’t study at home could book a desk with a computer and internet access.
Alongside committing to providing digital and open education materials, academic librarians need to ensure they advocate for all students to have the same access to online resources.
Data security concerns
Checking out physical materials usually only requires a valid student or faculty card.
With digital services in academic libraries, these requirements increase.
Online accounts will typically involve sharing a certain amount of personal data with third-party providers of content.
While AI tools can use this information – alongside search history and reading habits – to provide more personalized experience for academic library patrons, librarians must understand how long this data is stored for, what it is used for, and how it is protected from security breaches.
Librarians should also ensure they have a clear understanding of exactly what data they are feeding to Large Language Models (LLMs) – such as ChatGPT – to ensure they aren’t in breach of any data privacy laws.
A fragmented collection
Of course, there are also concerns that the combination of physical and digital resources can lead to a fragmented experience for patrons.
Technology is constantly changing. If the collection isn’t proactively managed, you could end up with duplicate materials, outdated resources, and critical gaps in essential course content.
Create effective digital collections with cHQacademic
In recent years, academic librarians have become digital curators – and the demand for accessible resources isn’t slowing down
Reading, learning, and research habits are continuously evolving. Students aren’t always on campus, so providing digital resources will improve the student experience with the academic library as a whole.
As you think about how to expand the digital footprint of your library, it’s important to keep the entire collection in perspective.
cHQacademic has been designed to create collections that inspire learning, while simplifying collection management workflows for librarians.
Our collection management software helps you ensure that physical collections make the best use of your available space, and that the collection as a whole is balanced and prioritized by what is most useful to the patrons.
Right-sizing the collection, for example, becomes significantly less time-consuming. You can run reports in minutes to identify outdated, grubby, understocked, and overstocked materials, and create reminders for key collection management activities. To ensure essential curriculum materials aren’t removed during the weeding process, you can mark them as ‘Core’ and set reminders to ensure they remain up-to-date and in good condition.
If you would like to find out how cHQacademic can help you manage your physical and digital items, get in touch to book your free demo.