ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author examines the latest library technologies at the time of writing Summer 2011 and tests them against the central tenets of the boutique approach to see whether they complement or contradict each other. The author draws on two specific practical case studies from his own experience at their former employer, Royal Holloway, University of London Library Services (RHULLS), and also illustrates how easy it is now to set up a boutique library service from scratch thanks to web technologies. The key issue for boutique libraries with the application of such technologies and processes boils down to autonomy and this in turn relates to organisational structure. Demand-driven or patron-driven acquisition is a new business model for providing access to e-books. The e-strategy team monitors the usage of the e-books purchased during the pilot study, to see whether they are used on an ongoing basis.
