2001-2011: Outreach & services

2001-2011: Outreach & services

In 2001, the Library became part of the newly formed Division of Information, and changed its name to Scholarly Information Services. The purpose of the Division was to "[ensure] that the University benefits from an advanced information infrastructure, and [to support] research and education through responsive information and educational technology services" (ANU Annual Report 2001).

The 1996 Library Review Committee wrote in its report, "the university library building which is often described metaphorically as the "heart of the university" is now more than the physical entity with its collections. Over the past ten years, most university libraries have been transformed to become gateways which link scholars to information either in other physical storehouses or in electronic format." (p.25)

In response to the Review and the perceived changing environment, several significant initiatives were undertaken:

• Collection Relocation Project (2007-2009) - to reduce the congestion on the shelves and to optimise the use of space for learning, the Library Executive Committee decided to relocate a third of the Library's collection offsite.
• ANU EPress (2003) - in recognition of the increasing rate of growth in knowledge generated and the sophistication in networking capabilities new technology permits. The EPress has published more than 400 titles to date with over 4.5 million downloads.
• The establishment of the Information Literacy Program to develop of information literacy skills that would be "appropriate to [all members of the University]'s learning, teaching and research needs" (p.25). The program won the prestigious Carrick Award in 2006.           

In the meantime, the Library made great strides in national and international representations: the University Librarian, Vic Elliott, represented the University Library on the Board of OCLC Regional Council (Asia Pacific), ACT University and Academic Libraries, and G08 University Libraries.

This period was also marred by misfortunes brought on by extreme weather conditions. In 2002, the Canberra bushfire burnt down the Mount Stromlo complex, bringing down with it the Mount Stromlo Branch Library. In November 2005, a freak snow storm flooded and wreaked havoc in many of the Library buildings.