Library Technologies

We were joined by Roger Schonfeld, Vice President, Organizational Strategy and Libraries, Scholarly Communication, and Museums, ITHAKA and members of the SCONUL Horizons Strategy Group to explore the evolving landscape on library technologies on 25 June from 13.30-15.00.

The webinar marked the launch of a new project considering the community’s relationship with its suppliers in the context of the increasing vertical and horizontal integration of the provider markets, and growing pressure on library budgets in the UK. 

The project will be informed by the results of the SCONUL Technology Survey, launched 23 May 2024, which will provide data on perceptions around value for money and functionality, this will serve to identify the uses of emerging technologies and new uses for established technologies in the UK context. 

Roger C. Schonfeld is vice president of organizational strategy for ITHAKA and is responsible for Ithaka S+R’s libraries, scholarly communication, museums, and research enterprise programs. He also serves as a board member for the Center for Research Libraries. Roger's work focuses on digital strategy, organizational leadership, and business planning. Roger previously worked in the president's office of the Mellon Foundation, was an Association of Research Libraries Leadership Fellow, and received degrees in library and information science from Syracuse University and in English Literature from Yale University. 

Roger spoke on:
Libraries rely on an array of infrastructure through which they run their operations individually. Such infrastructure also enables their collaboration with suppliers and one another. It is essential that such infrastructure keep up with the changing needs of libraries and their users, which in turn relies on a healthy marketplace. This talk will review the current state of this marketplace for infrastructure, how it has changed in recent years, and some of the directions in which it appears to be heading.