An exploratory study of collaboration in new zealand tertiary libraries

Abstract

The shift in policy from market driven behaviour towards a more cooperative tertiary sector is having an effect on New Zealand academic libraries and their relationships. Despite this, there has been no investigation of collaboration specifically targeting New Zealand tertiary libraries. This research project examine the state of collaboration between New Zealand tertiary libraries in early 2004. Its objective was to explore the extent and nature of collaboration, and the attitudes of New Zealand librarians towards this process. The research found that the majority of tertiary libraries are collaborating (88%) in some form with three types of collaboration dominating the results: joint licensing agreements (20%), reciprocal borrowing (20%), and acquisition purchasing agreements (19%). These ventures are initiated by directives from the libraries' own institutions, or by the formal and informal gathering of librarians where collaboration was used to solve a variety of problems. Once initiated, these ventures are often informally constructed, with only 10% having a written policy and 22% having a written contract. Despite identified barriers such as a lack of resources, and the need to give priority to local user needs, respondents (79%) felt that collaboration would continue to increase from its present rate. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.