ERIC Number: EJ994122
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Dec
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0004-8623
EISSN: N/A
An Exploratory Study of Collaboration in New Zealand Tertiary Libraries
Finnerty, Colleen
Australian Academic & Research Libraries, v36 n4 p228-239 Dec 2005
The shift in policy from market driven behaviour towards a more cooperative tertiary sector is having an effect on New Zealand academic libraries and their relationships. Despite this, there has been no investigation of collaboration specifically targeting New Zealand tertiary libraries. This research project examine the state of collaboration between New Zealand tertiary libraries in early 2004. Its objective was to explore the extent and nature of collaboration, and the attitudes of New Zealand librarians towards this process. The research found that the majority of tertiary libraries are collaborating (88%) in some form with three types of collaboration dominating the results: joint licensing agreements (20%), reciprocal borrowing (20%), and acquisition purchasing agreements (19%). These ventures are initiated by directives from the libraries own institutions, or by the formal and informal gathering of librarians where collaboration was used to solve a variety of problems. Once initiated, these ventures are often informally constructed, with only 10% having a written policy and 22% having a written contract. Despite identified barriers such as a lack of resources, and the need to give priority to local user needs, respondents (79%) felt that collaboration would continue to increase from its present rate. (Contains 4 tables and 23 notes.)
Descriptors: Academic Libraries, Library Services, Foreign Countries, Librarian Attitudes, Library Development, Library Materials, Library Networks, Library Policy, Library Research, Library Administration, Consortia, Barriers, Performance Factors, Organizational Theories, Institutional Cooperation, Mixed Methods Research, Operations Research, Etiology, Group Dynamics
Australian Library and Information Association. P.O. Box 6335 Kingston 2604, Australia. Tel: +61-2-6215-8222; Fax: +61-2-6282-2249; e-mail: enquiry@alia.org.au; Web site: http://www.alia.org.au
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Zealand
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A