RLUK

This jointly commissioned RLUK and RIN report presents the findings of a systematic study of the value of the services that libraries in the UK provide to researchers, and of the contributions that libraries from a wide range of institutions make to institutional research performance. The aim of the report was to identify the key characteristics of library provision to support research in successful UK universities and departments. Libraries have changed and are changing, developing new roles and services. The findings are summarised in the form of map which sets out the key characteristics and behaviours of libraries, and the links between them and the performance of individual researchers and institutions. The detailed findings are thus presented in the form of ten stories – summarised in the map - about the different kinds of value that libraries provide in supporting both individual researchers and the research performance of their host institutions.

The fieldwork and data analysis were undertaken by Curtis+Cartwright Consulting Limited, in partnership with the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Professor Charles Oppenheim (University of Loughborough). 

The reports can be downloaded as below.