The British Library's Strategy 2008 - 2011: Our Purpose

The British Librarys Strategy 2008 2011
Overview
As a great national and research library we have responsibility

both for our recorded past and access to present day content
for researchers and for future generations. The environment
in which we operate has arguably changed more in the past
two decades than in the preceding two centuries, driven
particularly by technological developments. Such change is
gradually transforming traditional scholarly dependency on
the physical library as a major source for meeting research
needs into a complex network of options, with varying levels
of accessibility, authoritativeness and depth.
Across disciplines there remain widely differing expectations
of the role of the library but research increasingly functions
in a world of e-resources, virtual tools and collaborative
communities, and choice of where to work physically. The
commercial sector and the web shape expectations for rapid
service innovation, access and easy processes. But at its core
the British Library aims to provide resources, tools, experts
and services to inspire creativity and to support a vibrant
and diverse research population.
The British Librarys strategy for 2008 2011 builds on

the foundations we established through our strategy for
2005 2008. We will build on existing strengths and seize
opportunities to enhance our proposition to researchers and
business. We will develop strategic collaborations in those areas
of activity likely to benefit most from partnership working.
In addition we intend to continue our distinctive public,
educational and cultural programme, delivered both on-site
and virtually. We will also lay the groundwork for a new
digital research centre and services in support of UK
biomedical research.
Over the coming months we will develop a vision for 2020
through which we hope to refresh the public debate on
how a great national and research library contributes to
the intellectual, social and economic success of the nation
as the digital era enters its third decade.
OUR PURPOSE
Advancing the worlds knowledge.

OUR VISION
We are central to the world of research, providing a trusted source of content that opens minds,
solves problems and creates opportunities.
We provide services to anyone who wants to do research. We aim to provide both physical and
digital access to world-class information where and when people need it.
We inspire people around the world with our outstanding content and expertise and we
complement this by engaging the knowledge and expertise of others where it adds to the quality
of experience for our users.
By providing these services effectively, the British Library plays a vital role in society and the
economy, both today and for future generations.
DELIVERING OUR STRATEGY

Action Plan for 2009/10
We have an innovative and exciting programme to deliver. These are the highlights for 2009/10.
We will report progress and achievements in our Annual Report for 2009/10.
STRATEGIC PRIORITY 1
Capture extensively and store UK digital publications
Continue to work through the Legal Deposit Advisory Panel

(LDAP) of which the British Library is a member, to make
recommendations to Ministers on how to collect digital
publications.
Continue to collect offline digital items, e-journals and publicly

available web content through voluntary schemes.
Transform access and preservation for newspapers
Continue to implement the plan for a dedicated newspaper

storage building at Boston Spa and state of the art digital access
to newspapers, working closely with the newspaper industry, at
our St Pancras site in London.
Build our digital infrastructure
Continue to develop the digital library system to provide storage,

preservation and long-term access to digital material.
Continue to lead development of the European Union funded

PLANETS Project in which national libraries and other bodies are
developing a framework to support the long-term preservation
of digital material.
Integrate storage and preservation of physical collections
Implement the Collection Security Workplan to safeguard and

steward the national collection and enhance the security of
vulnerable material.
Begin relocating collection items to the newly built high-density

book storage facility at Boston Spa and commence retrieval and
delivery services.
Connect our users with content
Enhance access to the Librarys digital material by extending the

scope of our resource discovery system to new content including
newspapers, journal articles, audio and the web archive.
Pilot the creation of scanned catalogue data as an alternative to

traditional cataloguing.
Continue to develop an integrated system for the provision of

access to the Librarys archives and manuscripts.
Integrate Web 2.0 approaches more deeply into the Librarys

website and online discovery tools to improve the user experience.
Support UK research with innovative services and
integrated processes
Work in partnership with the Higher Education Funding Council

for England and the Higher Education community led by Imperial
College London to implement the UK Research Reserve which
will secure long-term access to research journals.
Modernise the search, ordering and delivery mechanism used for

the Librarys remote document supply services to Higher Education.
Establish the potential for the development of the land to the

North of the St Pancras site and continue to develop the case
for the creation of a digital research centre.
Continue to develop a Research Information Centre in

partnership with Microsoft. Launch a full beta service for
biomedical researchers.
Implement the Librarys Science Technology and Medicine

(STM) content strategy. Assess user needs and behaviour to
develop new products and services exploiting STM material.
Test the incorporation of datasets as a content type.
Continue to engage with the World Collections Programme

which aims to share British cultural and curatorial expertise
with institutions particularly in Africa and Asia.
Develop as an organisation
Continue to develop and implement an integrated Talent

Development and Succession Planning framework.
Continue to develop and implement the Librarys Corporate Social

Responsibility Strategy which supports the quality of life of the
workforce and impacts positively on the community, wider society
and the environment.
Continue to develop and implement the Librarys Diversity Strategy

to build a diverse workforce and increase engagement with wider
communities.

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The British Librarys Strategy 2008 2011

As a great national and research library we have responsibility

The British Librarys strategy for 2008 2011 builds on

Advancing the worlds knowledge.

DELIVERING OUR STRATEGY

Continue to work through the Legal Deposit Advisory Panel

Continue to collect offline digital items, e-journals and publicly

Continue to implement the plan for a dedicated newspaper

Continue to develop the digital library system to provide storage,

Continue to lead development of the European Union funded

Implement the Collection Security Workplan to safeguard and

Begin relocating collection items to the newly built high-density

Enhance access to the Librarys digital material by extending the

Pilot the creation of scanned catalogue data as an alternative to

Continue to develop an integrated system for the provision of

Integrate Web 2.0 approaches more deeply into the Librarys

Work in partnership with the Higher Education Funding Council

Modernise the search, ordering and delivery mechanism used for

Establish the potential for the development of the land to the

Continue to develop a Research Information Centre in

Implement the Librarys Science Technology and Medicine

Continue to engage with the World Collections Programme

Continue to develop and implement an integrated Talent

Continue to develop and implement the Librarys Corporate Social

Continue to develop and implement the Librarys Diversity Strategy

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