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Horizon scanning and market intelligence
The library systems markets in the Nordic region, Europe and South Africa. The work was undertaken for a major global technology company.
The preservation and management of primary research data in UK Higher Education. Our project mapped and analysed the current situation.
A JISC & SCONUL commissioned evaluation and horizon scan of the HE LMS landscape. The project covered institutions across the UK and the major library system vendors in the HE market. Ken Chad Consulting was part of a highly experienced multi-disciplinary team that also included Sero Consulting, and Glenaffric.
Advice to the House of Lords Library on current library-related technology and the state of the library management system market. We also facilitated workshops to engage library staff in the process, to promote team building and identify key system related needs prior to the library beginning a formal procurement process.
Evaluation of strategies for library systems. A UK research library commissioned this study to assist in achieving the best return on investment for future library technology decisions, taking into consideration the broader institutional, HE and global contexts.
Higher Education Library Technology wiki. SCONUL (Society of College National & University Libraries) employed Ken Chad consulting to set up and manage the Higher Education Library Technology website. HELibTech provides data on library technologies used in UK HE and has articles on major library technology related issues.
Local Government Library Technology wiki (LGLibTech) Ken Chad Consulting established this resource and acts as ‘wikimaster’. LGLibTech provides data on library technologies used in UK public libraries and has articles on major library technology related issues.
The impact of technology on a planned joint university and public library. A leading UK construction company commissioned this study. The review considered the strategic implications of new technologies and included a detailed review of the options for RFID (Radio Frequency ID).
Improving library systems infrastructure
A shared library system infrastructure across a number of UK public libraries. We worked with the Greater Manchester Libraries Shared Services Project board to evaluate and analyse the library systems options for providing a one library card based entitlement across 10 Greater Manchester library authorities. The Project Board reported that: ‘The report has given us a clear overview of the options for us to move towards an integrated library systems solution and provide better services to our users. It has helped us clarify the direction for the future’
Library system strategy and business case
We helped develop a new library IT strategy and the business case to ‘realign’ the library systems infrastructure employed by a UK university. The project reviewed library requirements, analysed the wider technology context and reviewed the market for library systems. We produced a roadmap for change and made recommendations about how the infrastructure can better aligned with current needs to the aspirations of the library and the university as a whole.
A new technology infrastructure for a major UK public library service. We helped the library frame its requirements for a major step change across a range of library technologies. These included public access, resource management, customer engagement and the staff desktop infrastructure.
Making a business case for library technology change. We helped a UK University make a robust business case for major changes in their library technology systems and infrastructure.
Realigning library systems. We worked with the John Rylands University Library (JRUL) in Manchester – one of the world’s major research libraries – to help them re-align their systems to support a new library and institutional strategy. We looked at a wide range of systems including discovery systems, the library management system LMS), archives, imaging and the institutional repository (IR).
National digital library: Pakistan. Ken Chad facilitated workshops encompassing over 30 institutions to help improve the library infrastructure. They were organised by the charity International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publication (INASP) and the Pakistan Higher Education Commission (HEC).
Systems and strategies for electronic resources. A major UK HE institution and global brand has commissioned Ken Chad to evaluate workflows and systems related to the management of electronic resources.
Evaluation of library system replacement options. We worked with a UK HE library to help select the best replacement for their end-of-life Library Management System.
Research
Ebooks: User (patron) driven acquisitions for ebooks. We are working on a JISC project to address the current knowledge gap in the discovery, selection and acquisition of e-books to discover what the main drivers are for user (‘patron’) driven acquisitions/recommendations. The study will seek to identify the relationship between the user’s motivation for selecting an e-book and the role that metadata plays in the discovery, selection and eventual acquisition process. The project wiki is open to all
Open Source: Building and sustaining open source community capacity in UK academic libraries. We contributed to the (JISC supported) SCONUL ‘OpenEdge: Open source for libraries‘ event held in Edinburgh in January 2011. More information on the outputs from the event and Open Source in general is available on SCONUL’s HELibTech website which is managed by Ken Chad Consulting
User activity data. The JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) MOSAIC Project investigated the technical feasibility, service value and issues around exploiting user activity data, primarily to assist resource discovery and evaluation in Higher Education. Ken Chad Consulting worked in partnership with Sero Consulting, Mark van Harmelen (PLE Ltd), Paul Miller (Cloud of Data) and Dave Pattern (University of Huddersfield).
Electronic Resource Management (ERM): Shared, ‘above campus’, Electronic Resource Management (ERM) for UK HE. We worked as part of team of consultants lead by Sero Consulting on the SCONUL project supported by JISC. The outputs are available from the project blog.
Shared Services feasibility study into the library systems landscape in UK Higher Education. The study was commissioned by SCONUL and funded by HEFCE. Ken Chad worked in partnership with Sero Consulting (project lead) and Curtis + Cartwright. There is more information on the Shared Services page of HELibtech.
Bibliographic data: Research Information Network: bibliographic data creation and flow patterns. The broad aims of this project, completed in 2009 were to identify and map the current arrangements through which bibliographic records are created and the flow between publishers, libraries and other service providers in the UK . The result was the RIN report ‘Creating Catalogues: bibliographic records in a networked world’.
Web 2.0/Library 2.0 and e-learning: A JISC project on Library 2.0 and the e-framework for learning. The ‘TILE’ project began in March and completed in the summer of 2008. Ken Chad Consulting was part of a multi-disciplinary team that also included Sero Consulting and Psydev Ltd.
