Evidence-based librarianship : a case study of a print resource cancellation project

Abstract

This article sets out the background, operation, challenges and opportunities entailed in providing access to Management Information System (MIS) data to the subject librarians to enable accurate profiling of print resource usage in a time of severe financial cutbacks in the Library of University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland's largest university. Evidence-Based Librarianship (EBL) provided the framework within which the Library could make these hard decisions as well as providing an iterative process within which decisions could be critiqued, stress tested and ultimately accepted. As the literature shows, flatter, team-based organisational structures can be linked to successful implementation of EBL processes and a discussion of a serials review between Jan 2009 and May 2009 using EBL principles is provided to illustrate the link between EBL and active, effective use of management data.