Discover how a values-based approach to caring for a collection sets your library up for long-term success.
When you consider the future of your library, what will be your legacy? What you leave behind begins with the choices you make now. The sustainability of your collection goes beyond your technology choice. In fact, it extends to the care and understanding from your service provider when working with you and your collection. Let's explore how a values-based approach to caring for a collection sets your organisation up for long-term success.
How care shapes a future-proof collection
Future-proofing your collection involves ensuring your library can adapt, scale, and change, without the limitation of vendor restrictions. A service provider who understands your values should provide a strong foundation to set your collection up sustainably. Regardless of whether your relationship is short-term or long-term, your service provider should respect and value your collection as highly as you do.
An understanding of your users, goals, and collection ensures your support company can operate in partnership with you and in alignment with your values. To get to this level of understanding, your relationship with your service provider will be ongoing and collaborative as your needs change and grow. A strong working relationship will lead to a more adaptable and sustainable technology choice, rather than starting with a one-size-fits-all solution that needs continued fixes. Your service provider can develop a solution that not only suits the needs of your organisation but is designed to last, for as long as your community needs access to the collection you provide.
Why a values-based approach matters
Auckland University of Technology (AUT) wanted to collate Rainbow research from many sources and make it accessible on one platform with the possibility of scaling up at any time. AUT values open source and open access. Rōpū kohinga at Catalyst collaborated with AUT to develop a solution based on those values. Together they built the world's first Rainbow research portal (Ia) – and used VuFind, a discovery layer to make the resources easy to find. One year since the release of Ia, over 30 countries have accessed the collection. Since Rōpū kohinga built Ia with scalability in mind, AUT can easily include additional authors from other institutions when they choose to expand their collection.
Anticipating your collection's needs
A values-based service provider does more than just give you a system for your collection. Below are a few ways they can show care for your collection.
- Breaking knowledge silos: information about the platform and how to use it should be easy to find and apply. Plus, your service provider should know who the people in your team are, so they can endeavour to eliminate issues around resource capacity or gaps in knowledge.
- Considering your budget: your service provider should provide the ability to scale up and down according to budget allocations.
- Communicating timely: if a change or update is happening. Your service provider should provide adequate notice and keep you informed on the impact to your staff and users.
- Providing support and training: whenever there's a new change, or staff member your service provider should provide effective and timely support and training. Having the ability to access training remotely or in video format also means your team doesn't have to work around someone else's schedule.
- Ensuring your collection is accessible: your collection should be accessible for those who require access. Whether it's being WCAG 2.2 compliant, available in their language, mobile-responsive, or available offline, these should be considered in your solution.
Empowering your staff to care for your collection
With a values-based approach, your service provider should also ensure how to best support your staff to care for your collection. Below are some ways your service provider can support them:
- Transparency and control over your data: you should be able to freely access your data whenever you need. With no vendor-lock in, you won't lose access to your collection if you change providers. Your service provider should ensure that your collection is secure and stable. Plus, if it's important to you to have your users' data subject only to New Zealand law, consider hosting with a New Zealand-based Cloud provider.
- Freedom to customise your collection: if you'd like to update what your users see in the catalogue without vendor support or touching the code, your service provider should provide a flexible system. For example, having the ability to quickly update opening hours or add new items to your collection should take a few moments without the need for technical support. Plus, your solution should be scalable so it can grow as your collection does. Library management platforms like Koha are easy to use because of the intuitive design. Check out how Koha enabled Kolovai Community Public Library to easily set up Tonga's first library who's collection has a lot more than just books!
- A streamlined and hassle-free experience: Your system should have ways of communicating with third-party vendors. It's easier to achieve this with open source technology because it is responsive to the needs of communities who use it. That means work has likely already been done to allow the system to integrate with any number of external systems, and further improvements may be coming. The possibilities for your technological ecosystem of internal systems are endless.
Partner with a service provider who shares your values
Partnering with a service provider who shares your values is key to future-proofing your collection whether it's physical, digital, or being digitised. Rōpū kohinga at Catalyst are a values-based team who care for collections with open source technology. They match technology solutions to the needs of your collection and your team, specialising in Koha, DSpace, VuFind, and Islandora. To learn more about what a values-based approach might look like for your collection, contact Rōpū kohinga.