![\"Library-flip-\"](\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Library-flip-.jpg\")
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If you\u2019re like me, one of your biggest travel fears is not having something to read while on the road, in the sky, etc. The difference between my being irritable versus relaxed after a two-hour layover can come down to whether I have something good to read during the wait.<\/p>\n
About five years ago, though, I noticed a change in my travel reading routine. I was browsing in an airport bookstore and found a fun novel that was, frankly, too thick to fit into my already overstuffed laptop case. So, I stepped out of the store, found it on Amazon on my smartphone, and bought the e-book. On the way home, however, I found a slim nonfiction title that I didn\u2019t just want to read, but share with a colleague. So, I bought the hardcover (and wedged it in there somehow).<\/p>\n
The advertising guru Roy H. Williams famously said, \u201cThe first step in exceeding your customer\u2019s expectations is to know those expectations.\u201d What my airport reading adventure points out is this: when it comes to print versus electronic resources, expectations have become pretty challenging.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s obvious that library users have shifting preferences about print versus electronic materials. In response, many libraries have devoted larger and larger portions of their budgets toward e-resources. But, like my travel reading preferences, complex user requirements point to the need for a more nuanced response rather than simply, \u201cbuy more e-stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staff at Edith Cowan University Library created this image that does a great job of showing how more traditional library services start with collections, whereas today\u2019s libraries are switching that up to start with discovery. That\u2019s a great model, as it keeps the focus on customer behavior (discovery) as opposed to library processes (cataloging).<\/p>\n
We talked to several libraries about what steps they\u2019re taking to make this flip, and we\u2019ve shared their responses in a report, Continuing to meet the e-resources challenge<\/a><\/em>. Here are three snapshots from these interviews that speak to customer-focused attitudes and programs.<\/p>\n One of the promises of e-resources is full-text, 24\/7 access from anywhere. That\u2019s especially important when being on the road is part of a user\u2019s job, as is the case for home healthcare providers. Like many libraries, the one supporting Australian home nursing and health care provider RDNS SA Ltd found that records for e-resources change frequently. Getting the right resources to their nurses is imperative, and they\u2019ve come to rely on the fact that OCLC\u2019s partnerships with publishers automatically update records when URLs or other information change.<\/p>\n![\"jit_discover\"](\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/jit_discover.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFlipping a library takes a lot of small changes. #OCLCnext <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\nThree libraries, three different sets of expectations<\/h2>\n
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