ABSTRACT
The Electronic Libraries Programme (eLib) was a direct response to the 1993 Libraries Review commissioned by the UK Higher Education Funding Councils (HEFC). The review was critical of UK higher educational libraries’ failure to embrace technology for the development of networked electronic information services, in order to alleviate some of the problems brought about by declining book funds. The review made clear that ‘there needs to be a sea-change in the way institutions plan and provide for the information needs of those working within them. The traditional view of the library as the single repository of information needed for teaching, learning and research is no longer adequate’ Qoint Funding Councils, 1993: 5). The review also suggested that university libraries should be more involved in helping shape university information policy for, as Watson says, ‘information services contribute to the institutional development through the activities of information management, information technology and learning support’ (Watson, 1998: 6). Consequently, the primary aim of the eLib Programme was ‘to engage the Higher Education community in developing and shaping the implementation of the electronic library’ Qoint Information Systems Committee, 1997: 2). Since the eLib Programme began, a number of UK government-initiated reports have highlighted the need for academic institutions at all levels to utilize technology more fully, and to integrate it into their programmes of study to improve teaching and learning for an ever growing student body of lifelong learners (Department for Education and Employment, 1997; Fryer, 1997; Further Education Funding Council, 1997; National Committee of Inquiry, 1997). Together with the development of a more competitive, client-focused ethos, a greater emphasis on research and publication by academic staff and a focus on teaching quality assessment, the UK HE sector is undergoing a radical culture change.
