the London School of Economics (LSE), and the Universities of Bristol and Nottingham).

The variety of service configurations was a feature of UK converged information service organizations in the 1990s and 2000s, and this pattern has continued as services have de-converged and re-converged more recently. For example, at both the University of Birmingham and the University of Exeter, Library services is one division within an Academic Services directorate of seven divisions, but the composition of each directorate and structure of the library division varies. Table 1 shows the breakdown (based on data collected in summer 2013).

Table 1:

Sample composition of academic services directorates

At divisional level, in addition to library services, common functions here include academic development/educational enhancement, student employability (careers services), and student services/registry functions (combined at Exeter). However, technologyservices (including administrative systems, academic computing and student IT services) are part of the converged service at Exeter, but at Birmingham, in the re-converged service, IT Services is a separate unit within Professional Services reporting to the Registrar & Secretary – unlike the former converged information service organization at Birmingham, where IT was a central part of the original unified structure. At the library divisional level, Table 1 shows that the primary split into four functional sections is similar in both institutions, namely: academic liaison/engagement; customer services/support; collection/resource development; and special/heritage collections. However, Birmingham has departed from established practice by making Special Collections a separate division (not reporting to the Director of Library Services), while Exeter has brought in Arts and Culture as an additional service group reporting