RLUK Digital Shift Maturity Survey Summary Report

The RLUK Digital Shift Maturity Survey, conducted from June to September 2023, provides a comprehensive assessment of the digital transformation across RLUK’s member libraries. As a cornerstone of RLUK's 2022-25 strategy and guided by the Digital Shift Manifesto launched in 2020, the survey evaluates progress across three critical frameworks across

• Four Key Dimensions: Skills, Scholarship, Spaces, and Stakeholders
• Thirteen Guiding Principles: Underpinning digital innovation and sustainability
• Three Interconnected Stages: The shift to digital, the evolution within digital environments, and the drive for an equitable digital future

Key findings reveal significant achievements:

• Enhanced digital skills among library staff and users through initiatives such as digital skills hubs and targeted training programs.
• Modernisation of physical spaces, including state-of-the-art AV systems and interactive environments.
• Advances in digital scholarship through the digitisation of heritage collections and the integration of innovative research tools.
• Strengthened stakeholder engagement with improved cross-sector collaboration and strategic partnerships.
• Despite these successes, persistent challenges remain. Libraries face gaps in emerging technological expertise (e.g., AI and data science), infrastructural limitations, and resource constraints that could hinder long-term strategic investments.

The report concludes with recommendations to ensure we remain agile and responsive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, and able to make the “Digital Shift”.