Strategies for sustainable services in academic libraries

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore distinctive yet simple strategies for sustainability in academic libraries focussing on structured communication templates for stakeholders, pre-planned daily programming, and regularized, self-sustaining staff development. Design/methodology/approach Case study of unique strategies implemented at Nanyang Technological University Libraries. Findings Each of the three strategies has been successfully launched though they are at various stages of maturity. The first two strategies (structured communication templates and daily programming) have been implemented quite recently, whereas the staff development programme has been running for some time. Findings indicate that sustainability in all of these cases is directly linked to good planning which either minimizes daily, weekly or monthly work, and/or helps to clarify goals and focus action. Practical implications These strategies are feasible, transferable, malleable, and impactful such that other academic libraries with varying staffing structures can adopt and adjust them to their local needs. Originality/value Implementing simple sustainable services and strategies can have real impact and can provide alternatives to large-scale projects that may be too resource intensive for many to undertake on a regular basis.

Libraries, sustainability and sustainable development: a review of the research literature

“…Publications on sustainable library development are characterized by the optimization of internal library practices and workflows. We see this in publications on sustainable organizations and leadership (Michael, 2010) or sustainable strategies and services (Cottrill et al, 2015;Cmor, 2016). University librarian Wilson (2012, p. 78) stresses that "sustainability is the capacity to endure," which entails making the most of the library's resources, understood both as monetary resources but also as staff competencies, time and material equipment.…”

“…This goes for both material resources, such as electricity, paper and plastic bags (Beutelspacher and Meschede, 2020), and immaterial resources, such as practices and workflows (cf. Michael, 2010;Cmor, 2016;Cottrill et al, 2015). The optimization rationale also concerns optimizing digital services (see Michnik, 2015;Koukopoulos et al, 2019) and finding new creative solutions for doing more with less (cf.…”

“…Singh and Mishra, 2019) resonates with the economic perspective of optimizing and improving library practices and workflows (cf. Michael, 2010; Cmor, 2016; Cottrill et al. , 2015).…”

“…This goes for both material resources, such as electricity, paper and plastic bags (Beutelspacher and Meschede, 2020), and immaterial resources, such as practices and workflows (cf. Michael, 2010; Cmor, 2016; Cottrill et al. , 2015).…”

Collaborative and Co-curricular: Programming and Academic Library Impact

“…(2) what was offered to our users; and (3) impact of the service/event/resource/tool." 18 Sarah McNicol discusses ways that strategic plan priorities and results are communicated to campus actively, such as in formal committee settings, or passively, such as through annual reports. 19 Kaitlin Springmier, Elizabeth Edwards, and Michelle B. Bass provide a benchmark on how academic libraries communicate their assessment projects publicly and found that libraries are using not just numbers, but also narratives and stories to provide context for the quantitative data collected.…”