The city library and scholarly research

Abstract

European public libraries frequently have to reconcile the continuance of a traditional scholarly role with the provision of modern public library services. In Britain the great city libraries share this dilemma. Official policy has not offered useful solutions to the problems of two decades of financial pressures, social change and the demands of information technology. The case study of Leeds Library and Information Services shows how one city library has begun to devise strategies that involve improving access to research stock, making hard decisions about the continuance of some research collections, and providing enhanced networked access to outside resources, as part of an overall policy based on the assessment of user needs and preferences.

Citation

Sturges, P. (1998), "The city library and scholarly research", Library Management, Vol. 19 No. 6, pp. 356-362. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435129810220921