Supporting academics, students and staff
SCONUL is working with colleagues from across the library community including the Archives and Records Association, The British Library, CILIP, Jisc and RLUK on support for Ukrainian academics, researchers, students and staff - both those still in Ukraine and those who are displaced.
Please see here for our Statement of solidarity with library professionals in Ukraine.
This page is intended to act as a resource for the library community and we would be happy to add relevant information and links to this page - please send any materials or suggestions to Ann Rossiter.
HE sector initiatives
Universities UK working with the Cormack Consultancy Group, is developing a programme twinning UK and Ukrainian institutions. The programme is focused on securing long-term collaboration across curriculum content, online resources, research collaboration and staff and student mobility and to sustain Ukrainian institutions without causing a brain drain. Seventy-one partnerships have now been announced. These partnerships include facilitating the sharing of academic resources such as libraries and technical equipment. The initiative is now receiving some direct government funding.
SCONUL is holding a series of meetings for member libraries whose institutions are involved in a twinning arrangement. For more information please contact Ann Rossiter, Executive Director at SCONUL.
UK institutions have also joined the Ukrainian Global University. This is a network of educational institutions, that join efforts to rebuild Ukraine by supporting Ukrainian high school and university students, scholars, tutors by providing them with scholarships, fellowships and postgraduate programs.
A Displaced Scholars Initiative is being developed with Refugee Education UK, with the aim of helping universities to support refugee students in the UK either individually or at group level.
SCONUL is chairing a library advisory group to support the UUK Ukraine Task and Finish Group. For more information please contact Ann Rossiter.
The British Academy in conjunction with other UK National Academies and the Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara), have established a programme of Fellowships for Researchers at Risk.
Access to research content for Ukrainain academics and students
Access via Inter-Library Loans
Colleagues in the N8 Research Partnership (N8+), led by Phil Sykes at Liverpool, have reached an agreement with inter-library-loans and resource sharing service Rapid ILL, which will make the holdings of the approximately 500 participating research universities in the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand available to Ukrainian institutions. For more information, please see https://page.exlibrisgroup.com/rapidill-ukraine-support.
Access via Research4Life initiative
Publishers involved in the Research4Life initiative (which provides institutions in low-and middle-income countries with online access to academic content) have agreed to make materials available with no charge direct to universities and other institutions in Ukraine.
SCONUL, Jisc, RLUK and other partners will be engaging with publishers on other areas of support that that can be provided
Support for Ukrainian Library staff
We will be seeking to support Ukrainian library staff through members' engagement with the twinning projects identified above.
CILIP is offering free membership to all displaced Ukrainian library staff and is in contact with the Ukrainian Library Association. It's Ukraine Crisis Hub has a number of other useful resources.
News and events
Wonkhe article, 11 July 2022: What do Ukrainian universities need from the UK?
Universities UK International celebrated the work of more than 70 twinning partnerships at an event on 28 June. Jamie Arrowsmith, Assistant Director for Policy & Global Engagement at UUKi, shares the genesis of the university twinning scheme. https://wonkhe.com/blogs/what-do-ukrainian-universities-need-from-the-uk/