Course resource lists are the starting point for many students in discovering content for their learning. Talis Aspire is a leading resource list management system that connects faculty and students to library holdings from directly within their course resource lists to boost student outcomes, increase usage of library content and help faculty do their best teaching.
As 2024 draws to a close, we’re reflecting on how institutions have put libraries at the heart of teaching and learning with Talis Aspire. Guided by invaluable customer feedback, we continued enhancing Talis Aspire’s features and functionality in 2024 to streamline librarian and faculty workflows – and secure better student outcomes.
Read on as we highlight the year’s key developments, new university partners, and share an exciting glimpse of what’s coming in 2025…
Talis Aspire remains a preferred resource list management system for institutions, facilitating the creation of over 1.65 million resource lists worldwide.
In 2024, institutions published nearly 340,000 resource lists, which were viewed by students nearly 40 million times, and generated over 50 million students clicks. This ultimately connected students to content from the library, Open Educational Repositories and online stores, saving students time and money to support their success.
Talis Aspire also supported the development of reading skills, with students setting over 1.2 million reading intentions against resources in 2024, to help differentiate between essential, extra and further reading.
In 2024, we welcomed several new institutions to the Talis Aspire community; In North America, Rollins College implemented Talis Aspire to make more strategic and informed decisions about textbook purchases. We also welcomed new institutions from the UK, including Glasgow School of Art who selected Talis Aspire for its excellent customer support and commitment to actively develop the platform.
Amongst many customer success stories this year, University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) stands out as a prime example of how Talis Aspire can inform acquisitions and make learning more affordable. UNTHSC used Talis Aspire to streamline workflows, provide better analytics and improve access to course materials. The library team can now estimate savings by calculating the cost of each item students used in course lists, for one class alone, the annual student savings exceeded $125,000. Read the full case study here.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam embedded Talis Aspire into its library strategy, using in conjunction with Lean Library, to increase the use of open educational resources, decrease possible copyright infringements of educational materials and reduce the library’s annual spending on academic content. Read the full case study here.
La Trobe University leveraged Talis Aspire Advanced MIS to gain crucial insight into student engagement with digital resources, inform procurement decisions and streamline the library’s overall workflow. This effort resulted in 75% of courses now having a reading list. The library has also successfully tracked the percentage of lists containing ‘all-digital’ prescribed items, currently at 85%. Read the full case study.
We continuously developed Talis Aspire this year to better support the needs of librarians. Below, we highlight a few of the key enhancements made in 2024.
We significantly enhanced the bookmarking process with a new release of the Talis Bookmarking extension and brought key improvements including improved metadata support.
Key improvements included:
Several updates were made to Talis Aspire to simplify and enhance librarian workflows:
British Library EHESS orders: A new solution to streamline British Library EHESS orders directly within Talis Aspire.
New item alerts: Item-specific alerts that highlight changes requiring attention.
Update directly from Reviews: The ability to request resource digitization, update an item’s importance level, and assign outcomes to multiple items at once—all directly from the Reviews section, saving time and eliminating the need for multiple open screens.
Librarians can now take control of platform configurations with new self-serve settings.
System administrators can independently edit account configurations, including language, branding, and item importance settings.
This year, we’ve introduced several key improvements to make the list creation process as seamless as possible:
You can read about even more improvements made to Talis Aspire this year in our blog below:
Exciting new features are planned for Talis Aspire in 2025. Stay tuned as we’ll announce these developments next year. In the meantime, here’s a taste what’s in store:
As always, we thank the institutions within the thriving Talis Aspire community for their continued loyalty and wish you all a happy New Year.
If your library does not yet use Talis Aspire and wants to know how it could benefit from a resource list management system or see how Talis Aspire compares to your current solution, request a demo today.
Lean Library in 2024: Growing Our Community December 19, 2024
Academic libraries are in a transformative period, with the rise of Artificial Intelligence and Open Access driving dramatic changes in user behaviour, discovery workflows and publishing models. Lean Library was originally created by librarians, for librarians, to support them in this transformation by embedding library content and resources in user online workflows via an app on their browser – whether are on Google, PubMed, ChatGPT or beyond.
With librarians at the heart of Technology from Sage’s strategy and values, fostering and growing the community of libraries that use Lean Library is as important as the product innovations and developments we make (psst read about those developments here). As the year draws to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the growing Lean Library community, and how libraries are utilizing Lean Library to support student success and mental health, provide more equitable access to off-campus students, and more.
In this blog, we delve into Lean Library’s community highlights of 2024, including feedback from the student and researcher users that Lean Library ultimately benefits.
This year, we were delighted to welcome many new institutions on board with Lean Library from around the world to support their different library strategies. Auburn University Libraries implemented Lean Library to enhance library discovery and support their commitment to provide exceptional student-centered experiences and impactful research by faculty. Similarly, Oral Roberts University adopted Lean Library to help combat student stress, which can be brought on by the overwhelm of new academic tools and skills they need to learn.
Lean Library also welcomed the University of Leeds as a new partner in the UK. Like Auburn University and Oral Roberts University, the University of Leeds is taking all the power of their library into online workflows with Lean Library’s premium ‘Futures’ features.
In 2024, universities continued to improve student success and boost research output with Lean Library. Below we share some inspiring success stories of what institutions achieved with Lean Library this year:
Samford began promoting Lean Library to its campus in August 2024 to enhance resource discoverability, inspired by positive testimonials from other libraries. Lean Library connects Samford students to the university’s extensive digital collections through content integration and personalized notifications. Lean Library allows Samford to set up keywords that link directly from popular web pages like Wikipedia and Google Scholar to their special collections, boosting discovery and usage. Since launching in August, Samford saw a nearly 200% increase in engaged users and saved students nearly 450 hours by streamlining access to resources. Read more about Samford University’s story here.
Vrije Universiteit combines Lean Library and Talis to complement each other, creating a more efficient system. By implementing Lean Library, VU streamlined access to enhance the use of open educational resources and library holdings, resulting in cost savings and improved user satisfaction. This approach has influenced how lecturers design their courses. The recommended workflow involves lecturers having Lean Library installed in their browsers, so when searching for content online, it directs them to materials already available through the library’s WMS/OCLC system, providing a clear overview of accessible resources to add to their reading lists. Read more here.
The University of Hertfordshire saw outstanding success after introducing Lean Library, achieving an over 2,000% increase in engaged users within just three months. Through a range of targeted promotional strategies, the university drove the adoption of Lean Library and achieved impressive outcomes, including streamlining access to library resources nearly 80k times and a nearly 50% increase in interlibrary loans, with 17% directly attributed to Lean Library.
While Lean Library is a library solution, it ultimately benefits the students, researchers and other patrons who the library serves. Students and researchers are strapped for time and overwhelmed by the number of academic tools they need to learn. Lean Library helps reduce this overwhelm as an easy-to-use tool that streamlines the research journey, offering the best user experience. Below we share snippets from what our users say about Lean Library.
2024 has been an exciting year for Lean Library, filled with webinars, conferences, and events that brought librarians together from all over the world – from the United States to Europe to Australia.
This year, we were thrilled to host the Technology from Sage APAC Insight event at the University of Queensland in Australia. Over two days, thirty members of the academic community gathered to dive into important librarian topics, with a special focus on AI, including a workshop and lively discussions.
If this sounds interesting to you for 2025, be sure to register here!
Our 2024 webinar series brought in some amazing guest speakers and sparked great conversations. Here are the top 5 webinars of the year that really stood out:
In 2024, Technology from Sage sponsored conferences around the world to connect with academic libraries, hear about their challenges and opportunities – and always give away our Lean Library Llama mascot prize to winning librarians.
As we wrap up 2024, the Lean Library team would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our university partners for a fantastic year. We’re excited to continue connecting libraries with their users in 2025 and beyond.
If your library would like to increase usage of library resources, boost the visibility of your library or want to embrace a more patron-centric approach, request a demo today.
Lean Library in 2024: Simplified Access to Library Resources Nearly 50M Times December 19, 2024
Libraries work tirelessly to curate exceptional collections, resources and services to support their users. However, often, these resources are under utilized due to many students and researchers remaining unaware of the full extent of the library offerings – and having to disrupt their usual research workflows to access these offerings.
Lean Library plays a pivotal role in bridging this gap for institutions by embedding library content and services directly into users’ online workflows via a browser extension, whether they were searching on Google, PubMed, ChatGPT or beyond.
2024 was a year of growth and innovation for Lean Library; we welcomed many new library partners (who you can read about in our community round-up post), incorporated librarian feedback into the product, and released brand new features that took users beyond discovery and access through to learning about AI and citation. While building Lean Library’s offering into a fuller, end-to-end research workflow tool, we recognized the need to balance new features with optimizing core functionality as an access broker, so also dedicated significant resource to enhancing performance this year.
As the year draws to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the product’s developments and what our library partners achieved with Lean Library in 2024.
As a division of Sage, Technology from Sage supports Sage’s mission to build bridges to knowledge. This year, libraries around the world used Lean Library build bridges to knowledge by putting their library content, services and resources in front of more students and researchers, while making their lives easier with a tool that boosts productivity, saves time and money, and supports development of information literacy and academic skills.
In 2024, together with our library partners, Lean Library:
Having dramatically increased Lean Library functionality in the last few years, we took the opportunity in 2024 to double down on our commitment to Lean Library’s core functionality and enhancing performance based on feedback from customer librarians. Significant developments and continuous improvements were made “under the hood” to Lean Library in 2024 to improve the user experience and meet the needs of customer librarians.
As a result, the Access and Alternatives functionality now delivers improved performance, providing a more efficient and seamless experience for all users. Examples of these improvements made include:
To learn more about other releases, read the support article here.
Similarly, Lean Library launched a new, refreshed support site to make it easier for customer librarians to search and explore all available support articles, raise tickets directly from the support page, and track progress of the tickets – all to provide an unmatched customer experience and the highest standard of support. 
The recommitment to core functionality did not hinder the innovation that Lean Library is known for, since being the first library solution to bring library guidance and other services into online workflows back in 2021.
In 2024, Lean Library added brand new features to address the ever-evolving needs of libraries, students and researchers. Here are some of the major product releases this year.
Lean Library deepened its integration with scite.ai to incorporate article retraction data into the browser extension. This new functionality flags retracted articles as users access them, helping users assess reliability of resources they use in their research to support their research integrity.
At the start of this year, Lean Library launched Cite; a quick and easy tool that generates and copies references resources users are on to use with any reference manager – whether Zotero, EndNote, Mendeley, Sciwheel, or others. Cite supports both articles and eBooks and librarians, provides alerts when there is incomplete citation metadata, and librarians can select citation styles for their institution. Learn more about Cite here.
With the explosion of AI, students and researchers are increasingly using tools like ChatGPT in their research. To support libraries in navigating this, Lean Library integrated with Sage Campus to surface a free online course, The Art of ChatGPT Interactions, directly through the Lean Library extension when users are on the OpenAI.com domain. Users can complete the course within the extension or in a new tab and earn a certificate upon completion. The integration provides users with academically and pedagogically rigorous guidance right at the point of need as they use ChatGPT, without interrupting their workflow. It demonstrates the value of the library and promotes the academic library as a source of guidance on AI to patrons. Learn more about the integration here. 
Lean Library’s Assist Messages feature surfaces customizable messages from the library on any website. To further streamline the process for time-strapped librarians, Lean Library launched ready-to-use templates of popular and effective Assist Messages that can be toggled on instantly, while still being fully customizable for personalization.
There are some exciting announcements and bold innovations in 2025 for Lean Library, expanding capabilities to take the library deeper into research workflows, boost researcher productivity and support student success. We cannot share the announcements just yet, but in the meantime, here is a taste of what’s in store for next year and beyond:
Deeper insights into research workflows for libraries
Lean Library is further developing the usage stats and insights provided to librarians, with easy export for sharing.
Improvements to Additional Library Search
As requested by our librarian partners, Lean Library plans to integrate with ExLibris Summon for our Additional Library Search feature that will enable more institutions to bring their library discovery layer deeper into their patrons’ workflows. In addition, there will be other targeted improvements made to Additional Library Search to drive more usage of library-licensed content.
Faster, more intuitive set-up in the Librarian Dashboard
As librarians are increasingly strapped for time, Lean Library is investigating ways to provide faster, more intuitive set-up and configuration via our Librarian Dashboard.
Continued commitment to streamlining access to content
Early next year, Lean Library is launching Print Alternatives that will transform how patrons discover print materials by directly integrating into the library’s discovery system, helping bridge the entirety of library resources into patron workflows with Lean Library. And, as always, we will look to continuously improve our access features, focusing on more sophisticated control of Open Athens authentication and new discovery service connections for Alternatives.
Taking the library into the authoring stages of research workflows
Early next year, we will announce new developments to Lean Library that offers users support right through to the authoring stages of their workflows. While we can’t say more just yet, this will be a one-of-a-kind offering for libraries and a game-changer for researchers. Stay tuned!
If you are interested in Lean Library for your institution, request a demo today.
Future-proofing the library: Auburn University adopts Lean Library to enhance library discovery December 18, 2024
Auburn University Libraries has partnered with Technology from Sage to implement Lean Library at their institution to enhance library discovery and streamline access to information resources. This adoption aligns with their commitment to providing exceptional student-centered experiences, supporting impactful research and creative scholarship by faculty, and fostering a culture of excellence and innovation in support of Auburn University’s Strategic Plan 2035: Grounded & Groundbreaking.
Lean Library, an app that sits on the patron’s browser, integrates library collections and services into patrons’ everyday online activities. This seamless integration not only increases the visibility and usage of library resources, but also enhances patrons’ productivity by saving them time and effort in accessing necessary research materials. By bringing the library directly to where patrons are, whether on Google Scholar, PubMed, or other academic sites, Lean Library will ensure that Auburn’s researchers can easily access the wealth of resources available to them.
This partnership marks a new chapter in Auburn University’s ongoing efforts to enhance library discovery and support the academic success of its community. By leveraging Lean Library, Auburn is poised to further its mission of inspiring, innovating, and transforming the future of higher education.
Find out more about Lean Library.
If you’d like to hear more or receive a product demo, get in touch.
Bringing Special Collections to Students: A Case Study from Samford University December 17, 2024
We collaborated with Samford University and AM on a poster case study exploring how Samford are using Lean Library and Quartex together to seamlessly integrate digital and physical resources into student workflows, maximizing engagement of library-subscribed resources.
Contributors:
Samford University has uncovered a bigger need to promote their rich special collections and drive more students to the library.
Libraries put in a considerable amount of time, money and effort developing special collections, but in today’s digital landscape, they can struggle to increase visibility and usage.
Patrons don’t always start their research at the library, and often must step outside their workflows to access library content.
Special collections are still very much viewed as physical collections, and as a result, patrons aren’t aware they can find them in the online digital library space.
“Samford University’s archives hold a distinctive collection of materials that document the history of Alabama with a particular focus on the state’s religious heritage. Significant time, effort, and financial support has been dedicated to the preservation and digitization of these materials by the university. These collections serve not only Samford students and faculty, but also attract researchers globally who are engaged in the study of the American South. The proactive efforts of archivist and digitizing these resources serve as a form of pre-emptive research assistance, which is only successful if materials are discoverable and accessible.”
Carla Waddell, M.L.I.S., Chair, Reference and Research Services, Government Documents Librarian
“Quartex provided us an opportunity to bring all our digital collections to one location online and at the same time, highlight unique and important materials found in Samford’s Special Collection.”
Jennifer Taylor, MLIS, DAS, Chair of University Archives and Special Collection, University Archivist, Samford Library
Accessibility
With Quartex’s platform, Samford ensure that the wide scope of resources available at the library are accessible to students by:
Usage of features that lead students to library-owned resources:
Using Lean Library and Quartex together has helped Samford library in two ways:
1. Using Quartex to present Samford’s digitized collections has meant that Samford is making rare or fragile materials freely available online to provide equal opportunities to users regardless of location or ability.
Using Lean Library has enabled Samford students to more easily access library resources and digital collections (Quartex), making them even more discoverable in student workflows. This has been via personalized Assist messages, content features and enhanced Google Scholar search which directs students to library-subscribed materials and collections even when they begin their search outside of the library.
2. By using learning technology, Samford has been able to share resources with other institutions via AlabamaMosaic.org and the Atla Digital Library. This shows how technology can contribute to longer-term strategies to promote cross-institutional collaboration and increased availability of primary sources to a wider pool of students.
“Lean Library and Quartex provide opportunities for more discoverability and accessibility in a digital research heavy environment for patrons. The unique resources held within Samford University’s Special Collection are highlighted demonstrating Samford’s place as a source for Baptist, Alabama, religion, and local history resources.”
Jennifer Taylor, MLIS, DAS, Chair of University Archives and Special Collection, University Archivist, Samford Library
Read MoreWant to see Lean Library in action? Request a demo now!
Each month we select a Library of the Month to honor libraries who have been using our library technologies in interesting and innovative ways, from creating well-curated reading lists with Talis Aspire to encouraging uptake of the Lean Library browser extension amongst their students. We’re also appreciating the intensive work of librarians in curating these technologies and improving learning outcomes for their students.
The winning library will be awarded a prize to share amongst their team or a donation to a charity of their choice as a way for us to say thank you.
Samford University, located in Birmingham, Alabama, is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools.
We’ve awarded them our Library of the Month Award for December, as the library team are incredibly passionate about student success and user needs and are strong advocates of Lean Library. Since rolling out Lean Library to students in August 2024, they have highlighted library-purchased content and enhanced resource discoverability by meeting users where they search, increasing the value of their digital collections.
We asked Carla Waddell, M.L.I.S., Chair, Reference and Research Services, Government Documents Librarian and Jennifer Taylor, Chair of Special Collection and University Archives at Samford University to tell us more about the university library and what winning Library of the Month meant to them:
“Samford University is a private, Christian institution with a 183-year history of excellence rooted in its mission and in efforts to continually expand educational opportunities and experiences for its students. Samford University Library serves both the undergraduate and graduate populations as well as all faculty and staff at Samford. Recognized for our outstanding customer service, the University Library proactively supports our stakeholders and collaborators by providing resources and services in a welcoming physical and online environment.
As part of these goals, Samford University Library implemented Lean Library in August 2024, to highlight purchased content and enhance resource discoverability by meeting users where they search. This tool empowers us to serve our community more effectively while promoting responsible stewardship of library and university resources. Being Technology from Sage’s Library of the Month recognizes our efforts to match our resources with our users’ needs and our commitment to constantly improving our services. We are honored to be Technology from Sage’s Library of the Month!“
Discover our previous winners below:
Could your library be next?
Join us next month to see who’s won.
How the library can combat student stress: Oral Roberts University puts students first with launch of Lean Library and Sciwheel December 10, 2024Oral Roberts University (ORU) library is partnering with Technology from Sage to implement Lean Library and Sciwheel at the institution to enhance library services and support ORU’s mission of developing students holistically, through whole-person education.
ORU is dedicated to educating the whole person, preparing graduates to be professionally competent and socially adept. The introduction of Lean Library and Sciwheel aligns with these goals by providing tools that streamline access to resources, reduce time spent searching for articles, and simplify referencing, making the learning and research experience easier for all students.
Lean Library integrates library collections and services directly into patrons’ online workflows, making it easier for students to access the resources they need without leaving their current tasks. This seamless access will be particularly beneficial for first-year students, who often encounter overwhelming amounts of information and numerous tools that can hinder their productivity. Lean Library addresses this challenge by streamlining access to academic resources, allowing students to find what they need quickly and efficiently. This reduction in search time means students can focus more on their studies and less on navigating complex systems, leading to a more manageable and less stressful academic experience.
Implementing Sciwheel will also simplify the process of discovering, reading, annotating, writing and sharing research. The tool offers features such as smart citation suggestions, easy collaboration on projects, and the ability to save references directly from the web. These capabilities support ORU’s objectives of driving better student success and retention by making academic work more manageable and efficient.
Reducing stress levels is a crucial goal for ORU. Studies have shown that students with high stress levels are more likely to experience mental health issues, which can lead to lower academic performance and increased drop-out rates. By providing tools that reduce stress and improve access to resources, ORU aims to enhance student success and improve the learning experience for the whole-person student.
This partnership marks a significant step in ORU’s ongoing efforts to leverage technology to support its educational mission and improve the academic success of its students. By implementing Lean Library and Sciwheel across the campus, ORU is poised to provide a more efficient, supportive, and stress-free learning environment for its community.
Find out more about Lean Library and Sciwheel.
If you’d like to hear more or receive a product demo, get in touch.
Smoothing course resourcing: Rollins College adopts Talis Aspire to improve textbook affordability December 10, 2024Rollins College is partnering with Technology from Sage to implement Talis Aspire as their integrated resource list management solution at the institution. With this implementation, Rollins College hope to enhance the student experience by streamlining access to course materials, improve student research outcomes, and further their commitment to excellence in undergraduate teaching.
Talis Aspire is an online resource list management system which connects faculty and students to library holdings directly within their course resource lists. The system offers a holistic view of course material needs, with data on student numbers and item importance to inform acquisitions, aligning with Rollins’ goals of strengthening interdepartmental collaboration leading to more informed collection development. The library can better track and estimate course reserves spending, improving availability for students and combating student spend on course resources.
Derek Malone, Library Dean at Olin Library, Rollins College was impressed by the capabilities of Talis Aspire and how it aligned with the institution’s textbook affordability initiative:
“We are thrilled to bring Talis Aspire, a transformative tool that will revolutionize how we support teaching and learning, to Olin Library at Rollins College. With Talis Aspire, we look forward to enhancing our ability to make more thoughtful and strategic decisions around textbook purchases, ensuring that we align our investments with the resources our students and faculty need.
Additionally, this platform will provide a comprehensive view of Open Educational Resources (OER) already in use across campus, giving us a full perspective of our current status and opening the door for expanded adoption of these cost-saving and impactful materials. Talis Aspire will help us identify critical opportunities to supplement traditional textbook materials with library subscription content, ensuring students have seamless access to high-quality resources.
We are excited about Talis Aspire’s possibilities to advance affordability and accessibility in education while strengthening our commitment to student success. This is an essential step for Olin Library in building a more inclusive and resource-rich learning environment.”
This partnership marks an alignment with Rollins College’s strategic goals to make course resources more accessible and affordable for both the library and students. By putting the library at the heart of learning with Talis Aspire, Rollins is positioned to ensure that students have access to the course materials they need, as and when they need them.
Find out more about Talis Aspire.
If you’d like to hear more or receive a product demo, get in touch.
Print or Digital? Both have their Place in Library Collections December 10, 2024Technology from Sage’s Library Patron Consultant, Matthew Weldon, shares his thoughts on the wealth of accessible resources currently available to researchers and the need for affordable course materials.
I vividly remember, just a few weeks into my first year of university and working on my first proper assignment, standing in the library opposite a fearsome bookshelf stacked with everything from contemporary textbooks to leatherbound hardbacks from decades prior. I realized that this bookshelf held more information than I’d ever be able to get through. And there were at least a dozen of those bookshelves on that floor. And there were at least a dozen such floors in the library. And that’s just one library.
Often when people talk about why they love books and libraries, they mention the smell of the books or the texture of the sepia paper. For me it’s the scale of libraries, the way they’re visibly brimming with stuff to lose yourself in, that gives libraries their particular allure.
There is a lot of misinformation about the way eBooks and online articles have supplanted the more tangible things we love about libraries, and the dwindling importance of the physical collection. Claims which are inaccurate! There are plenty of reasons that physical collections remain relevant to the academic library today. In a blog post for Times Higher Education[1], Caroline Ball highlights that online resources essentially only exist for as long as publishers allow them to, and that access can simply disappear for a number of reasons – a publisher going out of business for example, or a library’s subscription lapsing and their access being removed, or anything in between. A physical book meanwhile can live on the shelf essentially indefinitely, a permanent addition to a library’s accumulated knowledge, with a one-off cost – empowering librarians to act confidently as long-term custodians of knowledge for patrons.
As for students, data from several studies seem to suggest they don’t want to have to choose between either a physical or digital collection – they want both. It’s far easier to carry an ePUB file to and from campus on your phone than it is to cram a textbook into your pocket, and digital resources can be easily customized to meet individual accessibility needs. Research from a 2023 Course Materials Survey from Illinois on student perspectives[2] found that if cost were no object 40% of students would choose print resources, compared to 20% preferring digital.
But there’s some evidence to suggest that student comprehension is higher when reading from physical rather than digital texts. I know from my own experience that, when I have a serious piece of research to do, I find it far easier to extract key information when I have a printed copy of a resource in front of me and a bundle of post-it notes. Plus, you can’t download Instagram or TikTok on a book – so you’re less likely to get sidetracked!
And as accessible as digital resources can be, Caroline Ball also emphasizes that physical resources have an important access and accessibility role for many too. Digital-only resources require some sort of equipment to read them, whether that’s a phone, tablet, or laptop. They also require an internet connection to download them, and potentially a constant internet connection for DRM purposes. These are not guaranteed and, by assuming they are, digital-only provision might exacerbate educational inequalities. Physical conditions like eye strain and screen fatigue are common accessibility concerns and physical resources can be important for those individuals affected.
So, it’s not that physical is better than digital or vice versa – it’s that they have different affordances, and both have a place in the library collection. Fortunately, Ithaka S+R’s most recent Library Survey[3] seems to suggest that, although many see an increasing role for digital resources, physical collections are not going anywhere – just 9% of respondents reported believing that digital collections would make hardcopy books obsolete in the next five years. And in the ACRL’s recently released report “The State of U.S. Academic Libraries” [4], they flagged that just under half of the reported collections were physical. The perceived importance of physical collections therefore remains high, but according to that same study circulation rates for physical items have dropped to their lowest level in a decade. To address the falling use of essential resources, we’ve taken steps to support libraries in bringing their print collections into the patron workflow.
With the new Print Alternatives feature, Lean Library will flag physical items in the collection to patrons researching online. Patrons will now be able to see whether a physical version of a resource is available and on the shelves in the library without leaving the site they are on, enhancing the patron experience and increasing the circulation of your valuable print resources. It’s just one of the ways we aim to help libraries maximize their return on investment of their collections and bring the entirety of the library into the patron workflow.
If you’d like to find out more about how Lean Library’s new Print Alternatives feature can maximize usage and impact of library collections, Request a demo now!
[1] https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/printed-page-remains-essential-scholars-and-students
AI in Libraries: December Edition December 2, 2024The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is significantly impacting higher education, compelling college professors to adapt to new teaching methodologies and address emerging challenges. Institutions like Florida Atlantic University (FAU) are proactively introducing AI resources to integrate this technology into their academic frameworks. This integration aims to enhance educational experiences and equip students with essential skills for an AI-driven world.
However, the incorporation of AI in academia presents challenges, including concerns about academic integrity and the potential for AI-generated content to undermine traditional learning assessments. Educators are tasked with developing strategies to effectively utilise AI tools while preserving the quality and authenticity of education. This involves rethinking assessment methods, fostering critical thinking, and ensuring that AI serves as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, human instruction. The ongoing dialogue among educators, students, and administrators is crucial in navigating this evolving landscape and harnessing AI’s potential to enrich higher education.
A recent survey by Clarivate, involving more than 1,500 librarians worldwide, highlights a growing interest in adopting artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance library operations. The findings reveal that 60% of libraries are actively evaluating or planning for AI integration. Many librarians view AI as a promising tool to automate routine tasks, such as cataloging and administrative functions, with 42% identifying these areas as key opportunities. This shift toward AI reflects a broader interest in leveraging technology to improve efficiency, support student learning, and enhance research capabilities.
However, significant challenges accompany this optimism. Budget constraints were cited by 47% of respondents, while over half (52%) reported a lack of AI expertise within their institutions. Additionally, concerns about security, privacy, and research integrity remain critical barriers to implementation. These findings emphasize the need for upskilling library staff, investing in resources, and developing ethical frameworks to address potential risks. Despite these hurdles, libraries remain committed to exploring AI’s potential to transform their services while maintaining their core values of accessibility and trustworthiness.
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is significantly impacting higher education, compelling college professors to adapt to new teaching methodologies and address emerging challenges. Institutions like Florida Atlantic University (FAU) are proactively introducing AI resources to integrate this technology into their academic frameworks. This integration aims to enhance educational experiences and equip students with essential skills for an AI-driven world.
However, the incorporation of AI in academia presents challenges, including concerns about academic integrity and the potential for AI-generated content to undermine traditional learning assessments. Educators are tasked with developing strategies to effectively utilise AI tools while preserving the quality and authenticity of education. This involves rethinking assessment methods, fostering critical thinking, and ensuring that AI serves as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, human instruction. The ongoing dialogue among educators, students, and administrators is crucial in navigating this evolving landscape and harnessing AI’s potential to enrich higher education.
At Technology from Sage we believe that the right technology can remove barriers to knowledge. We recently launched an AI in Libraries feature to round-up the latest AI developments for academic librarians.
Read on for December’s edition, collated by Rajeh Shaikh, Product Manager at Sage.
Virginia Tech’s University Libraries, in partnership with the University of California, Riverside, has secured a $115,398 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to establish a Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Incubator Program. The initiative aims to train librarians in the practical use of GenAI tools to enhance library services. Through workshops and hands-on projects, participants will learn how to apply AI in areas like literacy programs, collection management, preservation, and research support. This program seeks to empower librarians with the skills needed to adapt to technological advancements and better serve their communities.
In addition to skill development, the program focuses on fostering ethical and responsible AI practices within the library profession. Participants will be equipped to address challenges such as privacy concerns, data security, and equitable access to AI technologies. By preparing librarians to lead AI integration efforts, the program highlights Virginia Tech’s dedication to innovation while ensuring that libraries maintain their impact in the evolving digital landscape.
A recent survey by Clarivate, involving more than 1,500 librarians worldwide, highlights a growing interest in adopting artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance library operations. The findings reveal that 60% of libraries are actively evaluating or planning for AI integration. Many librarians view AI as a promising tool to automate routine tasks, such as cataloging and administrative functions, with 42% identifying these areas as key opportunities. This shift toward AI reflects a broader interest in leveraging technology to improve efficiency, support student learning, and enhance research capabilities.
However, significant challenges accompany this optimism. Budget constraints were cited by 47% of respondents, while over half (52%) reported a lack of AI expertise within their institutions. Additionally, concerns about security, privacy, and research integrity remain critical barriers to implementation. These findings emphasize the need for upskilling library staff, investing in resources, and developing ethical frameworks to address potential risks. Despite these hurdles, libraries remain committed to exploring AI’s potential to transform their services while maintaining their core values of accessibility and trustworthiness.
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is significantly impacting higher education, compelling college professors to adapt to new teaching methodologies and address emerging challenges. Institutions like Florida Atlantic University (FAU) are proactively introducing AI resources to integrate this technology into their academic frameworks. This integration aims to enhance educational experiences and equip students with essential skills for an AI-driven world.
However, the incorporation of AI in academia presents challenges, including concerns about academic integrity and the potential for AI-generated content to undermine traditional learning assessments. Educators are tasked with developing strategies to effectively utilise AI tools while preserving the quality and authenticity of education. This involves rethinking assessment methods, fostering critical thinking, and ensuring that AI serves as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, human instruction. The ongoing dialogue among educators, students, and administrators is crucial in navigating this evolving landscape and harnessing AI’s potential to enrich higher education.
