WHELF’s mission is to promote library and information services co-operation, to encourage the exchange of ideas, to provide a forum for mutual support and to help facilitate new initiatives in library and information service provision.
The Wales Higher Education Libraries Forum (WHELF) is a grouping of Chief Librarians and Directors of Information Services from all the higher education (university) institutions in Wales and the National Library of Wales.
WHELF actively promotes the work of higher education libraries in Wales and provides a focus for the development of new ideas and services, and aims to:
- Raise the profile and value of services and developments in Welsh Higher education library and information services in our own institutions, in Wales and beyond;
- Influence policy makers and funders on matters of shared interest;
- Implement collaborative services and developments for the mutual benefit of members institutions and their users;
- Work with other organisations, sectors and domains in support of the development of a cooperative library network in Wales and the UK;
- Provide mutual support and opportunities for the sharing of good practice through meetings, mailing lists etc;
- Provide staff development and training opportunities for member institutio
Principal Consortial Functions
Cataloging services
Collections sharing
Electronic content licensing
Electronic content loading/presentation
Interlibrary loan/document delivery
Training
Union lists/shared online catalogs
Other Functions
WHELF has a history of partnership working and is developing wider and deeper collaboration opportunities through a shared library management system, which is being implemented across the consortium.