Implementing a resource list management system in an academic library

The purpose of this paper is to review the key components of the introduction of a new resource list management system (RLMS) at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) using the Aspire application from Talis Education. It explains the key service goals; the implementation milestones; the main technical challenges which needed to be addressed; and the dynamic relationship between the rollout of the RLMS and existing selection, acquisition and resource delivery processes.

This evidence in this paper is drawn from the experiences of the NTU RLMS project group, which involved colleagues from Libraries and Learning Resources, Information Systems and the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) teams at the university. It draws on both qualitative evaluations and quantitative assessments of adoption and use by academics, students and library staff; and the internal mechanisms of project review.

This paper concludes that the successful technical implementation of a cloud-based mission-critical service for academics and students depends on a successful collaboration between library, VLE and technical teams; and reaffirms that a hosted RLMS service still requires the deployment of local technical expertise. It is essential (although not always straightforward) to try to anticipate the impact that the introduction of a new RLMS will have on existing processes (inside the library and without). Ultimately, however, the successful implementation of an RLMS is dependent on securing its adoption by both academics and students; not least by ensuring that the application meets their needs. Although it is not a technical prerequisite, the prospect of a successful implementation of an RLMS is greatly improved when working with the grain of a supportive institutional policy environment.

Interest in “next-generation” resource list systems which can address the needs of students, academics and library services is likely to increase sharply in the next few years, as library services seek to align both resource spend and resource discovery more closely than ever with the student experience around “directed reading”. The experiences of an “early adopter” implementer of an RLMS highlight some of the key prerequisites and significant operational decisions, and provide a number of insights for those about to embark on a similar implementation process.