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National Library of Scotland

Added by Francine Millard · last edited by Francine Millard · on Apr 23, 2012 (view change)

This exercise is based on the 'Keeping Research Data Safe' series of reports.

For more information about Keeping Research Data Safe see here: http://www.beagrie.com/krds.php
For a guide to using the benefits tool, see here: http://www.beagrie.com/KRDS_BenefitsFramework_Guidev3_July%202011.pdf

Pick List of Popular Generic Examples of Benefits for you to use/ delete/add to/ modify and expand as needed to help populate your Benefits Framework

The National Library of Scotland is one of the 6 largest libraries in the UK.

The National Library of Scotland's mission statement is as follows:

The National Library of Scotland exists to:

Enrich lives and communities
Encourage and promote lifelong learning, research and scholarship
Provide universal access to information by comprehensively collecting and making available the recorded knowledge of Scotland
Promote access to the ideas and cultures of the world
This is also achieved by digitising material and collecting and preserving born-digital content.

Because of the size and diversity of the NLS collections I could identify many benefits of keeping research data safe.

Please go to http://digital.nls.uk/gallery.cfm to see a wide variety of digitised collections.

This Benefits page will be useful to feed into to future Wellcome Trust bids for the Medical History of British India project and also for other funding opportunities within the library (used for individual collections identified)..

New research opportunities - access to collections to users worldwide without having to come to Edinburgh, for free

Motivating new research - see above

New research funding - existing projects do well and encourage others to apply for funding or potential fundees to look favourably on new applications

Increasing research productivity - see above. But also the way people can copy and paste text and download documents will reduce time spent doing routine jobs and admin on research

Stimulating new networks/collaborations - eg - links with Scottish Government - MOU and links with National Library of India

Knowledge transfer to other sectors - sharing good practice and advisory role

Knowledge transfer to industry - sharing good practice and developing techniques/tools eg - mashup sessions and working with digitisation bureaux

Increasing skills base of researchers/students and staff. Staff learn new skills and get to look in detail at collections to be digitised. Even at bid level. Students can do work placements and use resources eg Dundee medical students using MHBI collection.

Increasing economic growth - creates jobs, especially funded posts in digitisation projects, attracts users to Library

Catalysing new companies and high skills employment - using vendors to convert books/items to digital format

Verification of research/research integrity - users can check details online anywhere, free without log in

Fulfilling organisational mandate(s) - see the mission statement of NLS

Value to current researcher & students - very much the driving force and motivation behind NLS digital curation and preservation projects

Secure storage for data intensive research - NLS dedicated to preserving all collections for the future

No re-creation of data

No loss of future research opportunities

Secures value to future researchers & students - keeps collections in a different format as some hard copies fragile and unique

Lower future preservation costs - may not do depending on market

Re-purposing data for new audiences - yes, can put items on Kindle in apps etc.

Use by new audiences - eg John Murray Archive and learning zone for students and casual readers

Re-purposing methodologies - always looking to improve and share

Enhancement of research tools and software by testing on a range of well-curated datasets - see above

Scholarly communication/access to data - through blogs and wikis about digitised collections users can communicate and share with each other and staff

Long-term re-use of well curated data

Short-term re-use of well curated data

Adds value over time as collection grows and develops critical mass - eg Schools Learning Zone, MHBI, Post Office Directories for genealogists, SCRAN

Increased visibility/citation - yes, MHBI Veterinary collection already cited by researchers in first 6 months of being online, family history workshops using NLS resources

Person and institution


Benefits owner	Francine Millard
Institution	National Library of Scotland

Dimension 1: What are the outcomes?

Direct Benefits	Indirect benefits (eg. costs avoided)
	New research opportunities
Secures value to future researchers & students
Motivating new research	Motivating new research
New research funding Increasing research productivity Stimulating new networks/collaborations Knowledge transfer to other sectors Increased visibility/citation Knowledge transfer to industry Increasing skills base of researchers/staff/students Increasing economic growth Catalysing new companies and high skills employment Verification of research/research integrity - yes, users can check bib details online anywhere Fulfilling organisational mandate(s) Value to current researcher & students Secure storage for data intensive research Availability of data underpinning published findings Use by new audiences	No re-creation of data No loss of future research opportunities Lower future preservation costs Re-purposing data for new audiences Re-purposing methodologies Enhancement of research tools and software by testing on a range of well-curated datasets Scholarly communication/access to data Long-term re-use of well curated data Short-term re-use of well curated data Adds value over time as collection grows and develops critical mass Fulfil research grant obligations

Dimension 2: When are the benefits received?

Near term benefits (up to 5 years)	Long term benefits (5+ years)
New research opportunities	Long-term re-use of well curated data - yes
Secures value to future researchers & students
Motivating new research
New research funding Increasing research productivity Stimulating new networks/collaborations Knowledge transfer to other sectors Increased visibility/citation Knowledge transfer to industry Increasing skills base of researchers/students/staff Increasing economic growth Catalysing new companies and high skills employment Verification of research/research integrity Fulfilling organisational mandate(s) Fulfil research grant obligations Value to current researcher & students Secure storage for data intensive research Availability of data underpinning published findings Use by new audiences No re-creation of data No loss of future research opportunities Lower future preservation costs Re-purposing data for new audiences . Re-purposing methodologies Enhancement of research tools and software by testing on a range of well-curated datasets Scholarly communication/access to data Short-term re-use of well curated data Adds value over time as collection grows and develops critical mass	NOTE: I consider that with the National Library and its diverse collections of digitised material and born digital content all benefits listed except for one above have both short term and long term benefits.

Dimension 3: Who benefits?

Internal benefits	External benefits
Many benefits above are internal, but equally many are external and many are both, eg to NLS staff, the NLS itself and other institutions and most importantly, the readers/users. It is in the interest of the Library to preserve its collections for future users to access, guaranteeing that the Library may still carry out its mission and also to comply with and receive funds from the Scottish Government. Digital Collections raise the profile of the Library as much as hard copy collections such as the Post Office Directories and maps online. Others, like the John Murray Archive and Medical History of British India, consist of both hard copy and digital collections preserved and made available. NLS staff benefit by learning new skills, gaining promotions to work on digital collections and networking with others in the NLS and outwith (an external benefit).	Readers benefit by being able to access collections without visiting the library, for free and also to use digital formats to make their work quicker and easier. By preserving digital content the Library keeps items for current and future readers.
This is a summary of Dimension 3.
Please go to http://digital.nls.uk/gallery.cfm to see a variety of digitised collections.