The impact of the economic crisis on Spanish university libraries

Abstract

The scope of this study is to examine the impact of the financial crisis on the libraries of Spanish public universities. For this purpose, data from staff, finances, and services provided by the 47 public university libraries during 2008-2014 have been analyzed. Overall, the analysis of the data leads us to assert the following observations: these libraries have experienced a reduction in staff and expenditures for the purchase of information resources, whereas the volume of library lending has matched the evolution of student enrollment. Both interlibrary lending and the number of days that libraries were open during this period have decreased. Expenditures on electronic resources made by libraries and library consortia have increased in the period under study to the detriment of expenditures on monographs and printed journals. In this new economic environment, we consider that library managers should design actions for establishing strategies to ensure efficient and high-quality services to users.Keywords: University libraries; economic recession; Spanish universities; financing libraries; library expenditure. Impacto de la crisis económica en las bibliotecas universitarias españolasResumen: El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo examinar el impacto de la crisis financiera en las bibliotecas de las universidades públicas españolas. Para alcanzar este propósito se han analizado los datos de personal, los datos económicos, y los referidos a los servicios prestados por las 47 bibliotecas universitarias públicas durante el periodo 2008 a 2014. El análisis de los datos nos lleva a aseverar, a nivel global, las siguientes consideraciones: estas bibliotecas han experimentado una reducción en los efectivos de personal y en los gastos de adquisiciones de recursos de información, mientras que el volumen del préstamo domiciliario ha seguido una evolución similar al del número de estudiantes matriculados. Tanto el préstamo interbibliotecario como el número de días que permanecieron abiertas las bibliotecas durante estos años también han disminuido. El gasto en recursos electrónicos, realizado por las bibliotecas y los consorcios bibliotecarios, se ha incrementado en el periodo estudiado a expensas del gasto en monografías y en revistas en soporte papel. En este nuevo entorno económico, consideramos que los gestores bibliotecarios deben diseñar acciones orientadas al establecimiento de estrategias que aseguren una oferta de servicios eficientes y de calidad para los usuarios.Palabras clave: Bibliotecas universitarias; crisis económica; universidad española; financiación bibliotecas; gasto bibliotecario.Copyright: © 2016 CSIC. Este es un artículo de acceso abierto distribuido bajo los términos de la licencia Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) España 3.0.

Copyright literacy of library and information science professionals in Pakistan

“…The results of this study support the findings of Nawazish and Batool (2022) and Arias Coello et al (2020). The findings of these studies indicate that the majority of the items (except for 'caricatures, cartoons and comics') were correctly placed under copyrightprotected materials by the respondents.…”

“…To explore the copyright literacy of LIS professionals in Pakistan, a quantitative web-based survey was conducted using a Google Form adapted from the multinational research project 'Copyright Literacy in Spanish Library and Information Sciences (LIS) Students' by Arias Coello et al (2020). Permission to use the questionnaire was sought from the principal author.…”

“…He found that, in most cases, LIS professionals consulted experts from the academic and scientific community (69%), national library and other professional associations (59%), and the International Council of Museums (49%) at a time of need. The findings of the studies by Arias Coello et al (2020) and Saunders and Estell (2019) reveal that, in Spain and the USA, the majority of LIS students preferred to use websites, books, articles and librarians to learn about copyright and related rights. Patel and Hanumappa (2019) examine copyright and its legal aspects, and discuss the many dimensions of copyright literacy, concluding that the majority of their respondents consulted e-learning sources, journals and their professional counterparts to gain knowledge of legal issues.…”

“…There is a continuous increase on the topic of copyright in the LIS literature (Schmidt, 2019). Arias Coello et al (2020) note several studies that have analysed the inclusion of copyright in the LIS curriculum. Secker et al (2019) recommend professional development and the inclusion of copyright literacy and correlated knowledge in LIS curricula with the aim of equipping LIS professionals with advanced knowledge and preparing them for future challenges.…”

“…The literature suggests that there has been a wide range of international studies undertaken in this area of knowledge (e.g. Arias Coello et al, 2020;Boustany, 2014;Eye, 2013;Hossain, 2021;Kelly, 2018;Kortelainen, 2015;Fernandez-Molina et-al., (2022); Patel and Hanumappa, 2019;Terra, 2016;Todorova et al, 2017), but in Pakistan copyright literacy is a somewhat less-researched area. In this context, the current study has been undertaken to fill this literature gap by investigating the copyright literacy of LIS professionals in Pakistan, which is a potential area of research.…”