SCONUL policy statement on Access

SCONUL, Society of College, National and University Libraries
SCONUL is an organisation with membership from 174 library and information services in the UK and Ireland. Its members include libraries in higher education institutions (universities and colleges); the British Library and the National Libraries of Ireland, Scotland and Wales; and libraries in national museums and other specialist institutions.

Summary
SCONUL fully supports the principle of reciprocal access between libraries, both within the HE sector and across sectors. SCONUL member libraries will therefore:

• Develop access policies that recognise the needs of visiting learners, without compromising the quality of service provided to the students and staff of their parent institution.
• Encourage their own students and staff to visit other libraries as necessary, while continuing to meet as fully as possible the teaching, learning and research information needs of their parent institution.

Supporting government policy
SCONUL member libraries currently play a key role in implementing the widening access policies of their parent institutions in support of government strategies such as Aimhigher in England and "Reaching Higher - Reaching Wider" in Wales. Where members of the local community are made welcome in HE libraries, the library can be seen as a gateway into the campus for those who may have regarded universities as "not for them", and hence the first step towards pursuing a formal course of study.

Many HE libraries are also involved in a range of initiatives to raise educational aspirations in their local communities, hosting school visits and offering facilities during specialist summer schools for instance.

In developing reciprocal arrangements with other local libraries, HE libraries can help to create a culture of lifelong learning in their region. Such libraries participate in a range of regional initiatives funded by bodies such as the Museums, Libraries and Archive Councils. Learners who may have exhausted the possibilities of the local library service can be directed to appropriate resources available in their nearest HE library, thus developing pathways to learning supported by experienced information professionals. The work of licensing bodies such as JISC and Eduserv Chest to negotiate "walk-in user" clauses in electronic information service licences is very welcome in this respect.

Access schemes
SCONUL institutions are involved in a range of access schemes at both national and regional level. SCONUL supports all such initiatives, and has particular involvement with the following:

• SCONUL Research Extra - managed by SCONUL, this scheme allows borrowing at member HE libraries for academic staff and research postgraduates. See http://www.sconul.ac.uk/using_other_libraries/srx/
• UK Libraries Plus - managed by SCONUL from 1st August 2006, this scheme allows borrowing at member HE libraries for part-time and distance learning students of any level, and reference access for staff and other types of student. Some members have also piloted visitor access to licensed e-resources via the UK Computing Plus initiative. See http://www.uklibrariesplus.ac.uk/
• ALCID (Academic Libraries Co-operating in Ireland) - supported by SCONUL though managed independently, this scheme allows reference access for higher degree students, academic and academic-related staff in member Irish libraries.
• Inspire - SCONUL is a lead organisation (with the Society of Chief Librarians and the British Library) in this initiative which seeks to develop managed referral partnerships between public and academic libraries. See http://www.inspire.gov.uk/

Key concepts
SCONUL's support for visitor access to HE libraries is informed by the following key concepts:

1. Managed referral
   Formal systems of managed referral (as proposed by the Inspire framework and as currently operate within the UKLP and SRX schemes) ensure that access is granted appropriately. These systems encourage individual formal or informal learners to engage with staff in their "home" library as a first step, often leading to a greater awareness of the resources of that library and possibly obviating the need for a visit elsewhere. If a visit to another library does prove necessary, library staff can advise individuals directly as to the most appropriate library and thus avoid wasted journeys.
2. Reciprocity
   Reciprocal schemes such as UKLP and SRX allow SCONUL libraries to offer a service to external visitors while gaining a benefit for their own students and/or staff. Member libraries keep careful statistics of incoming and outgoing visitor numbers, and the evidence to date shows that no libraries experience unacceptable levels of demand by comparison with others, especially when incoming visitor demand is set against the benefits to their own students and staff of participating in such schemes.
3. Flexibility
   SCONUL member libraries will normally set their own terms for visitor access. Although schemes endorsed by SCONUL may suggest minimum guidelines for participation, SCONUL recognises that member libraries operate under a range of constraints (including rules imposed by their constitution or parent institution) and it is not reasonable to expect all members to offer uniform levels of visitor access. A flexible approach encourages more libraries to provide at least a minimum level of service to visitors while allowing them to retain control. Many HE libraries are already offering significant levels of access and support to underpin their institutional widening participation strategies.
4. Financial contribution
   SCONUL supports the principle that member libraries experiencing exceptional levels of external demand may receive financial support in order to maintain their level of service, especially if the alternative would be the withdrawal of such services. SCONUL members will continue to explore appropriate funding streams to facilitate their participation in widening access initiatives.

Future developments
SCONUL will:

• Work with other organisations to remove barriers to learning, such as restrictive licence clauses in electronic information services which may prevent HE libraries from granting access to visiting learners and academic researchers.
• Keep in mind the needs of the individual library user at all times, supporting initiatives such as Inspire which facilitate access arrangements on a large scale, and creating a national infrastructure within which local schemes can be accommodated or subsumed.
• Encourage or participate in cross-domain initiatives with similar aims.
• Support and encourage collaboration between HE libraries, the National Libraries of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and the British Library.
• Encourage all members to review access arrangements regularly, and as a general principle to participate in visitor access schemes at least on a trial basis.
• Maintain an overview of the issues pertaining to access, and continue to make recommendations for action by SCONUL to meet any new requirements.

1st June 2005
Updated October 2006