What resonates throughout these pages is how essential it is for library and estates and facilities teams to work in partnership to deliver university strategy and to manage any risks to that delivery. In Chapter 1, Black and Kilpatrick discussed safety, business continuity and project risks, and in Chapter 4, O’Neill discussed analysing the risk of not approving or delivering on a business case. Identifying and managing risks to the delivery of university strategy involving libraries and space is the joint responsibility of library and estates leaders. Consider the annual planning cycle for universities. Faculties, schools and services plan how they will contribute to the delivery of university strategy. For example, if the university has a strategy to increase the number of study spaces to accommodate an increase in student numbers, the library leader as key stakeholder will make a useful contribution to any development master plan. Where there are impacts on existing library spaces or development of new spaces, the library and estates leaders will develop a joint business case during the planning cycle. Upon approval of the business case, library and estates leaders will be key players in the governance structure to ensure delivery of the project.

Consider the reopening of buildings as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. Libraries were among the first buildings to reopen to enable student and staff access to reliable Wi-Fi, personal computers and study spaces. Library teams and estates and facilities teams worked together to implement government guidelines around physical distancing, cleaning protocols and discreet, rapid response to decontamination after reported cases of positive testing. Certainly, at the University of East London, the estates and facilities team was invaluable in enabling the libraries to reopen quickly and safely.

The case studies in this book illustrate how open communication between the library and estates and facilities teams can positively impact on project delivery. The University of Northampton case study by Bradshaw and Powis in Chapter 9, particularly, illustrates how a good working relationship enabled them to deliver an ambitious university strategy.