Library Director’s overview of the year 2023

In early 2023, the University Board of the University of Turku decided on the Financial Balancing Programme, the goals and measures of which applied to all the University's units. In this situation, it was clear that the most important task for the Library was to define, anticipate and ensure the best possible financial and operational conditions for its activities and core services.

The objectives of the operational model review carried out a few years earlier included assessing whether the services provided by the Library to the University community were organised in a manner that was as purposeful as possible from the point of view of both the service users and the Library. The underlying concern at the time was that while the Library's responsibilities were increasing in line with the changing needs of its customers, it did not seem likely that the number of personnel would increase. In fact, the key objectives in implementing the operational model reform were to identify changes in customer needs and to target human resources in a considered and prioritised way to secure and develop relevant services. The measures based on the operational model reform, both implemented and planned, also proved beneficial for the Financial Balancing Programme. On this basis, development continued throughout the Library, while concrete savings measures were implemented.

Savings through centralisation and new facility solutions

Savings were primarily sought from facility solutions. In fact, when it became possible to relinquish the Quantum Library, it was possible to reduce the facility costs. After the Library of History, Culture and Arts Studies moved from the Teutori building to new facilities in the Faculty of Humanities, Arcanum was able to centralise the libraries serving the medical, mathematical, scientific and technical disciplines into a single library in Teutori.

A reduction in the budget allocated to the Library's acquisition of information resources was also anticipated, but the need for savings remained moderate, in part due to savings achieved through facility solutions. The supply of information resources in our Library has therefore remained at a good level. Savings in personnel costs were achieved by not filling some positions that became available during the year. With these measures, the objectives of financial balancing were well achieved for the part of the Library.

Discipline groups provide single window services for faculties

Throughout the year, the Library maintained and developed its activities and diverse services with an innovative approach. In particular, the way in which discipline-specific services are delivered was reformed: the new discipline groups modified their operation as a single-window service for faculties. For customers, the reforms are expected to mean a smoother service experience. The aim is to ensure that the content of services both meets the current needs of different customer groups and anticipates future needs. The range of services directed at each discipline is based on the idea that the same services should be available for everyone. However, there are differences between the disciplines, which are acknowledged in the development work with different emphases in the range of services.

Reforms in teaching and customer service

The same objective of ensuring equal services applies to training services of the Library. During the year, the training services were revised in terms of content, structure and channels used. Hybrid teaching was increased and open science and data management were taught more widely to basic degree students. The integration of the Library's training services into degree studies was successfully promoted in collaboration with the Vice Rector and the vice deans responsible for education. The Library also produced an AI guide, which received a lot of attention.

Having multiple channels and good accessibility is also a goal of face-to-face customer service. Customer service was renewed by increasing and expanding the self-service use of the facilities. In terms of facilities, the increase in utilisation rates after the pandemic years was remarkable: in the autumn season, the number of visits already reached 2019 levels. Student feedback highlighted the importance of the Library facilities and new needs in their use, such as the possibility of group work during remote teaching. These wishes are being piloted in the renovation of the Library facilities in Turku School of Economics, which started during the year and is expected to be completed in 2024.

255 metres of legal deposit material and over €4M in information resource acquisitions

Information resources have long been the Library's biggest area of expenditure. This is the result of deliberate development, and a cause for satisfaction, since a legal deposit library continuously requires space for printed collections. In 2023, the Library acquired information resources for the University community and the University Hospital for a total of more than €4 million. It also supported open access publishing, for example, by centralising the payment of publication fees included in a number of information resource agreements.

The Library fulfilled its statutory mission by receiving and processing 255 metres of legal deposit material. A renewal of the Library's Information Resource Policy was launched in 2023.

Networks and cooperation projects with different stakeholders

The Library also cooperated with its stakeholders and customers in a wide range of ways. There was active participation in the implementation of the University's Digitalisation Programme and Digivision work. Open science services were promoted, for example, in the policy work on open learning. The Library was involved in the working group for knowledge-based management and continued its long-term work on accessibility and availability. The Turku University Library, the Levd religion i medeltida Finland project, and Turku Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (TUCEMEMS) collaborated to create a wonderful commemorative exhibition of St. Bridget of Sweden in the Feeniks Library and online. 

In the past year, the Library was represented in Open Science Coordination and National Library of Finland working and steering groups, DMPTuuli steering group, FinELib strategy group, FUN Finnish University Libraries' Network, and the national and Nordic Alma network. Internationalisation was promoted, for example, by hosting Erasmus programme visitors and through membership of the Sparc Europe Steering Group and the Research Data Alliance.

Long live the Turku University Library!

The beginning of the year brings new changes both for the Library and myself. The year 2023 marked the end of my almost quarter-century career as a university library director, the last 14 years of which I have spent at the Turku University Library. Over the past years, I have been pleased to see that the competent, innovative and development-oriented Library has every chance of continuing to thrive, regardless of the winds of change blowing around it.

Finally, I would like to thank the Library staff and all our partners in various fields for all the unforgettable years. Long live and thrive the Turku University Library!

Ulla Nygrén 
The author was the Library Director of the Turku University Library in 2010–2023.