With changing user preferences and expectations, shifts in publishing, advances in technology, and ever-present financial constraints, we need to continually review, modernise and streamline the e-resource discovery and delivery infrastructure. The current national infrastructure includes HDAS, the national link resolver and knowledge base, OpenAthens authentication; there are multiple regional and local library management systems (LMS) in place, and a growing number of local discovery systems.     

Having collected data and opinion about all the current systems, we recently commissioned Ken Chad Consulting to lead a series of stakeholder workshops on future options for resource discovery and delivery, and write a report with recommendations.   

The report recommends a single national gateway to enable NHS staff to access trusted, high quality resources, services and support, and highlights the need to provide end users with a better experience, and to reduce the complexity of the existing infrastructure, which complicates access for end-users and carries high maintenance costs.  

The report proposes a single national discovery system, with an integrated knowledge base and link resolver, end-user article requesting and a library staff interface for mediated document sourcing and supply.  It also recommends a transition from legacy library management systems, to fewer, more modern systems which would use the discovery layer of the national discovery system. 

For more information please contact Helen Bingham.