New OCLC Research Report: The Library Beyond the Library

Having recently released a Data Insights briefing on the Italian presence in the global published record, I’m inspired to introduce our latest OCLC Research report with a quote from Machiavelli:

Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration. (Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince)

What’s the connection? Read on …

Our new report, The Library Beyond the Library: Recasting the Library Value Proposition for Visibility and Impact, begins with the observation that academic libraries are taking on important new roles throughout the research lifecycle: from publishing, to research data management, to impact assessment. In doing so, their value proposition to the rest of the institution is evolving, and at the same time, becoming more complex and potentially more opaque to campus stakeholders.

Libraries have a long-standing, well-understood value proposition centered around collections—a perception that has persisted even as libraries have developed new offerings across a wide range of emerging areas of research support. Fixed ideas about library roles and impact create a challenge: despite significant library investments, institutional stakeholders often don’t understand, recognize, or are simply unaware of library service offerings in these new areas. Instead, the traditional collections-centric view of the library endures.

Collection stewardship remains a vital aspect of the library mission, but increasingly, academic libraries face a disconnect between their evolving services and institutional perceptions. As Machiavelli observes, appearances often overshadow reality. Academic libraries offer valuable capacities and expertise well-calibrated to meet institutional research needs and priorities, but the perception that library impact is limited to its traditional role of collections steward will nonetheless prevail if nothing is done to correct it.

This has real consequences. Perceptions of the library’s value proposition based on fixed ideas of its role and impact make it difficult for the true scope of library capacities and expertise—the “reality”, as Machiavelli expressed it—to filter through to institutional stakeholders. This makes it hard for the library to get a seat at the table for institution-wide discussions and policy-making on topics like data governance, research metrics, or open research practices; moreover, it can lead to diminished influence, and ultimately, reduced funding.  

This is a challenge, but also an opportunity for libraries to clarify their continued relevance to the institutional research enterprise. And that brings us back to OCLC Research’s new report, The Library Beyond the Library: Recasting the Library Value Proposition for Visibility and Impact. Based on in-depth interviews with international research library leaders, desk research, and accumulated insights from our previous studies of research support services, The Library Beyond the Library helps libraries navigate these trends by providing a framework and insights that support strategic planning aimed at elevating the library’s visibility and impact within its parent institution.

While the report findings were derived in the context of research support services in academic libraries, we believe they apply equally to many other areas of strategic importance to academic libraries, such as institutional priorities for student success, as well as to public and other types of libraries.

What do we mean by “the library beyond the library”? It’s an operational principle that emphasizes engagement “beyond the library” with the broader institutional environment, in support of the institutional research and learning mission. In our report, we argue that this operational principle increasingly shapes libraries’ ability to fulfill their mission, retain influence, and demonstrate impact and value.

The library beyond the library principle focuses on engagement through three channels:

• Strategic Alignment—Aligning library priorities with institutional goals
• Collaboration—Partnering with other institutional units to advance shared priorities
• Storytelling—Communicating the library’s evolving value proposition to stakeholders

These channels of engagement translate into important strategic questions for libraries:

• How can library services and expertise support, or in some cases evolve in response to, institutional priorities?
• What partnership opportunities exist with other institutional units, and how can libraries structure them effectively?
• How can libraries construct and communicate compelling narratives about their evolving value and impact to stakeholders?

The reality of the academic library on campus has expanded well beyond its traditional role of collections steward, but its appearance to many stakeholders—its perceived value proposition—often has not kept pace. This creates risks, because visibility combined with a clear stakeholder understanding of impact drives influence, inclusion in institutional decision-making, and funding.

“The library beyond the library“ is not a slogan, but a practical response to mitigate these risks as part of a process of updating and communicating the library’s evolving value proposition. By investing in intentional strategic action across all three framework channels—strategic alignment (tying services and expertise to institutional priorities), collaboration (building relationships and shared commitments with key units), and storytelling (making impact clear to stakeholders)—the library can demonstrate it is and will continue to be a dynamic partner in shaping the future of scholarship and research at its parent institution.

We invite you to read the Library Beyond the Library report and consider how you might use the framework at your institution to assess current services and expertise, identify cross-institutional partnership opportunities that showcase library capacities, and reimagine narratives about the library value proposition.