Riding the Waves of Change for Electronic Resources at the Library and Learning Commons, Monash University Sunway Campus: From Vision to Reality

Introduction

Monash University Sunway Campus is a branch campus of Monash Australia. The unique experience of being located in Malaysia as a branch campus of Monash Australia and providing students across campuses with similar e-resource is an ongoing challenge. In general the Sunway Campus Library and Learning Commons manages a budget for its local acquisitions of print books, serials and audio visual materials. However, for electronic resources, access is provided by Monash University to most of the e-resource. Providing access to e-resource in a changing learning environment that is encouraging e-resource has seen rapidly changing acquisitions practices as well as raised concerns and issues of costs, access and usage of e-resource at the Malaysian campus.

This chapter is essentially a descriptive case study that addresses the research question of “how” in the pursuit to progress e- resources for collection development. In 2010, an E-resource Taskforce was set up at MUSC and some of the recommendations of the E-resource Taskforce report were given closure by the actions undertaken and implemented by the Library and Learning Commons, Sunway Campus. The objectives of this chapter are to share the experiences of the two major strategic actions undertaken by the Library and Learning Commons, Sunway Campus to progress electronic resources. These are:

• 1.

  The implementation of an e-book acquisitions policy.

• 2.

  The implementation of Search, a web resource discovery service undertaken in collaboration with Monash University Library Australia. With Search, staff and students can now use Search as a single point of access to the library’s catalogue, to e-books and e-journals and to journal articles in many of the databases that Monash staff and students have access to.

Background To Strategic Actions Pursued

In 2010, an E- Resources Taskforce was established and in November 2010 a report entitled “Report of the Monash University Sunway Campus (MUSC) Taskforce on: Contemporary Collection Development Policy and Procedure at MUSC for E-Book Resources “was presented. The Taskforce comprised 8 members and their purpose was to provide advice to the MUSC President and Chief Executive on how the Library and Learning Commons (LLC) at MUSC may develop a contemporary collection development policy and procedure for E-resource. The E-resource Taskforce Report noted the expanding use of E-resource in higher education which had implications for the whole system i.e. the people, processes and practices. With regards to the people, the whole community, i.e. students, teaching staff, library staff and researchers are affected by the shift and expansion to electronic resources. In relation to processes, accessing and utilizing knowledge in the context of teaching and learning will also change and as for practices, training students and staff in the use of new features, gadgets or innovations, policies of the LLC and IT Services Department and the University at large will also see changes. The report noted literature purporting the great potential for e-resource (e.g. Rowlands et al, 2007) and its advantages in terms of accessibility, enhanced searchability, cost savings particularly on multiple copies, up-to-date or current data and increased visual appeal provided by still and moving graphics, video clips and interactivity. Given the competitive environment on the Sunway Campus and leveraging on the strength of e-resource provided through MUA, the push to transition from print to e-books was seen as advantageous, cost effective over time and allowed for optimal access in the future as recommended in the Report.