Franchising courses, library resources: the view from both sides

The provision of higher education through franchised courses has increased rapidly in recent years. Such courses are usually based at relatively small colleges which have libraries designed to support further, rather than higher, education. At a time when university libraries are having difficulties supporting their own students, it is not surprising to find that the franchise situation, where students have to rely on much smaller libraries stocked for lower level courses, is a cause for concern. The impact of franchised courses on library and information services from both the franchiser and franchisee perspective is currently being examined by the British Library Research and Development Department funded project: Library Support for Franchised Courses in Higher Education. The following discussion presents some of the findings of two national surveys - one of libraries in FE institutions and one of libraries in HE institutions - examining the theory and practice of the provision of library support for franchised courses in higher education.