Introduction
The Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL) is the principal association of research libraries in Scotland and has been working collaboratively and cross-sectorally for over 25 years.
SCURL is a sub-committee of the Board of Trustees of the National Library of Scotland. Current membership comprises the Scottish University and HEI libraries, the two major public reference libraries in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and the National Library of Scotland and the Open University. The two research libraries in Northern Ireland (Queen's University of Belfast and the University of Ulster) have observer status. Representatives of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC), the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), and the Scottish Further Education Unit (SFEU) attend meetings.
The Confederation's aims are:
- to improve services for users and maximise resource through collaborative action
- to work with other organisations, sectors and domains towards the creation of a co-operative library infrastructure in Scotland
- to lobby funding and planning bodies on matters of shared interest
- to provide mutual support for members
History
The Confederation began work in 1977 (as the Working Group on Co-operation in Acquisition) when a group of eleven Scottish university and research libraries (the then eight university libraries, the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Edinburgh Central Library and the National Library of Scotland) began to meet regularly to advance projects of mutual benefit to their users and to exchange views on important topics of common interest. During the intervening years the Confederation has expanded both its membership and its remit in line with developments in Scottish university and research libraries in the 1980s and 1990s.
Organisation
The full Confederation normally meets five times a year. A Chairman and Vice-Chairman are appointed from the membership, and the Secretariat is provided by the National Library of Scotland. A Business Committee was set up in 2001 to progress work between full Confederation meetings.
Working Groups, standing or temporary, carry out specific aspects of SCURL's agenda and allow wider staff involvement.
Current Working Groups are:
- Access
- Health Group
- Special Needs
- Preservation
- E-Licensing
It has also a number of specialist subject groups that promote research collections and advance co-operative work in their fields. Membership is drawn from all Scottish organisations that have a specialist interest in the relevant subject.
Current Affiliated Groups are:
- Scottish Working Groups on Official Publications (SWOP)
- Scottish Visual Arts Group (SVAG)
- North American Studies Group (NASG)
- Rare Books in Scotland Group
- Scottish Higher Education & Research Acquisitions Librarians Group (SHERAL)
- Scottish Universities Special Collections & Archives Group (SUSCAG)
More information on the history of SCURL is available by referring to this dissertation by Jan Usher of the National Library of Scotland which was submitted to the University of Strathclyde in part fulfilment for the degree of MSc Information and Library Studies in 2003. Available in pdf.