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The collections concept at the University of Sheffield: a varied approach to the role of research library collections Cover

The collections concept at the University of Sheffield: a varied approach to the role of research library collections

By: Peter Barr  
Open Access
|Feb 2026

References

  1. Barr, P. (2023, April 3). Greater expectations – The academic library should be a benefactor for community‑owned publishing. LSE Impact Blog. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2023/04/03/greater-expectations-the-academic-library-should-be-a-benefactor-for-community-owned-publishing/ (accessed 23 January 2026).
  2. Bullingham, L. (2025, February 19). University libraries must be ‘access brokers’, not knowledge repositories. Times Higher Education. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/university-libraries-must-be-access-brokers-not-knowledge-repositories (accessed 23 January 2026).
  3. Dempsey, L. (2016). Library collections in the life of the user: Two directions. LIBER Quarterly, 26(4), 338359. 10.18352/lq.10170 (accessed 23 January 2026).
  4. Dempsey, L., & Malpas, C. (2018). Academic library futures in a diversified university system. In N. W. Gleason (Ed.), Higher education in the era of the fourth industrial revolution (pp. 6589). Springer. 10.1007/978-981-13-0194-0_4 (accessed 23 January 2026).
  5. Haimé, S. (2025, February 21). OPINION: A librarian’s summary of, and response to, the Clarivate announcement. UKSG eNews, https://www.uksg.org/newsletter/uksg-enews-582/opinion-a-librarians-summary-of-and-response-to-the-clarivate-announcement/ (accessed 23 January 2026)
  6. Lavoie, B., Dempsey, L., & Malpas, C. (2020). Reflections on collective collections. College & Research Libraries, 81(6), 981996. 10.5860/crl.81.6.981 (accessed 26 January 2026).
  7. Levenson, H., & Hess, A. (2020). Collaborative collection development: Current perspectives leading to future initiatives. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 46(5), 102201. 10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102201 (accessed 23 January 2026).
  8. Levine‑Clark, M. (2019). Imagining the future academic library collection. Collection Management, 44(2–4), 8794. 10.1080/01462679.2019.1610680 (accessed 23 January 2026).
  9. Research Libraries UK. (2014). Unique and distinctive collections: Opportunities for research libraries. Author. https://www.rluk.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/RLUK-UDC-Report.pdf (accessed 23 January 2026).
  10. Research Libraries UK. (2023, February 13). UK Distributed Print Book Collection (UKDPBC). Author. https://www.rluk.ac.uk/uk-distributed-print-book-collection-ukdpbc/ (accessed 23 January 2026).
  11. Stubbs, T., & Banks, C. (2020). UKRR: A collaborative collection management success story. UKSG Insights, 33, 19. 10.1629/uksg.503 (accessed 23 January 2026).
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.719 | Journal eISSN: 2048-7754
Language: English
Submitted on: Jun 26, 2025
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Accepted on: Sep 10, 2025
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Published on: Feb 24, 2026
Published by: Ubiquity Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 3 issues per year

© 2026 Peter Barr, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.