What Do Faculty Think of the Changing Environment?
Kevin GuthrieRoger C. Schonfeld
April 17, 2007
Questions for Discussion
• Relationship of Faculty Members with the Library• As new options develop, the environment is becoming increasingly
competitive for libraries. How can they thrive in this marketplace? • If the library’s function as a gateway is in decline, should libraries manage
a strategic retreat or develop a strategic response?
• The Future of Books• Few librarians or faculty members view e-books as being fundamentally
transformative. Will they be proved right?
• Priorities among Journal Characteristics• How can we best design a system that responds to authors’
understandable desire to maximize impact?
• The Transition to Electronic Resources• The transition has begun; can librarians help lead the process so that the
transition is made thoughtfully and responsibly?
• Preservation and Archiving• Everyone agrees this is essential, and yet there is confusion
among faculty about it; how can librarians provide desperately needed leadership for preservation?
Relationship of Faculty Members and the Library
Starting Point for Research
Below are four possible starting points for academic research. Typically, when you are conducting academic research, which of these four starting points do you use to begin locating information for your research?
1. The library building2. A general-purpose search engine on the Internet or World Wide Web,
such as Yahoo or Google3. Your online library catalog4. A specific electronic research resource or computer database
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Humanities Social Sciences Sciences
A specificelectronicresearch resource
A general-purposesearch enginesuch as Google
Your online librarycatalog
The library building
2003: Starting Point: Disciplinary Groupings
2006: Starting Point: Disciplines
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
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100%
BioSciences
Engineering Law Economics Sociology Classics History Philosophy
A SpecificE-ResearchResource
A general-purposesearchengine suchas Google
Your OnlineLibraryCatalog
The LibraryBuilding
Value of Library Functions
“How important is it to you that your library provides each of the following functions?”
• The library is a starting point or “gateway” for locating information for my research.
• The library is a repository of resources – in other words, it archives, preserves, and keeps track of resources.
• The library pays for resources I need, from academic journals to books to electronic databases.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Humanities Social Sciences Sciences
Gateway
ArchiveBuyer
2003: The Library Was Valued Somewhat Differently, by Discipline“How important is it to you that your library provides each of the following functions?”
Percent rating each function as ‘very important’
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Gateway Archive Buyer
2003
2006
Faculty: One Library Role May Be Declining in Importance“How important is it to you that your library provides each of the following functions?”
Percent rating each function as ‘very important’
0%
10%
20%
30%
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70%
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100%
Gateway Archive Buyer
2003
2006
The Library Is Valued Differently, among Humanists“How important is it to you that your library provides each of the following functions?”
Percent rating each function as ‘very important’
0%
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20%
30%
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100%
Gateway Archive Buyer
2003
2006
The Library Is Valued Differently, among Social Scientists“How important is it to you that your library provides each of the following functions?”
Percent rating each function as ‘very important’
0%
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20%
30%
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50%
60%
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100%
Gateway Archive Buyer
2003
2006
The Library Is Valued Differently, among Scientists“How important is it to you that your library provides each of the following functions?”
Percent rating each function as ‘very important’
0%
10%
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30%
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50%
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100%
Gateway Archive Buyer
20032006
The Library Is Valued Differently, among Economists“How important is it to you that your library provides each of the following functions?”
Percent rating each function as ‘very important’
How Do Faculty Perceive the Importance of the Librarian? “Even though faculty have easy access to academic content online,
the role librarians play at this institution is just as important as it has been in the past”
0%
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Very Small Small Medium Large Very Large
How Do Faculty Perceive the Importance of the Librarian? Percent agreeing very strongly with: “Even though faculty have easy access to academic content online,
the role librarians play at this institution is just as important as it has been in the past”
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
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80%
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100%
BiologicalSciences
Engineering Law Economics Sociology Classics History Philosophy
Who Depends on Their Academic Library for Research?
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BiologicalSciences
Engineering Law Economics Sociology Classics History Philosophy
“How dependent would you say you are on your college or university library for research you conduct?” Percent responding very dependent.
Faculty Relationship with the Library
• The most important function provided by the library is seen to be the buyer function, but all three functions are widely valued.
• Perceptions of the value of the library’s gateway function have declined since 2003, especially among scientists and economists, probably best explained by the availability of new search tools.
• Should individual campus libraries (or collaborative groupings of them) compete for the gateway role? If so, how?
• Faculty perceptions of dependence on the library are in decline as is the perceived value of the gateway function, even as libraries struggle to provide all the materials and services demanded by faculty.
• As new options develop, the environment is becoming increasingly competitive for libraries. How can they thrive in this marketplace?
E-Books
E-Books Are Not Expected to Replace Print…Share disagreeing strongly with the statement: “Within the next five years, the use of e-books will be so prevalent
among faculty and students it will not be necessary to maintain library collections of hard-copy books.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Classics
History
Education
Engineering
Business/Finance
Overall strongdisagreement
Librarians Agree that E-Books Are Not TransformativePercent Agreeing Strongly with Each Statement
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E-books are going to transform the library rolefor monographs at least as much as e-journals
have done for serials
E-books will not be a sufficient substititute forprint books for many of our faculty and
students
Approximately Half of Faculty Have Used E-Books
Rarely36%
Never48%
Often2%
Occasionally14%
And E-Books Are Expected to Grow In Importance, Somewhat, in the Next Five Years
Share Reporting that E-Books Are Very Important to their Research and Teaching
0%
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Very/extremely important Not very/not at all important
Now
In Five Years
Licensing E-Books as an Increasingly Important Library ResponsibilityShare Reporting this Library Function to Be Very Important:
“Licensing collections of electronic books and facilitating access to them for our readers.”
0%
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Today In Five Years
E-Books
• Half of faculty members have used e-books at least once (but very few regularly) and a small but growing share view them as important for research and/or teaching
• Many librarians view the licensing of e-books as a very important function. Are they responding to faculty demand or anticipating it?
• Some anecdotes seem to suggest that e-books are poised to take off, but in our survey few librarians or faculty members view e-books as being fundamentally transformative. Will they be proved right?
Faculty Priorities among Journal Characteristics
Important Journal Characteristics
When it comes to influencing decisions about journals in which to publish an article of yours, how important to you is each of the following possible characteristics of an academic journal?
a) The journal makes its articles freely available on the Internet, so there is no cost to purchase or to read.
b) The journal permits scholars to publish articles for free, without paying page or article charges.
c) Measures have been taken to ensure the protection and safeguarding of the journal’s content for the long term.
d) The current issues of the journal are circulated widely, and are well read by scholars in your field.
e) The journal is highly selective; only a small percentage of submitted articles are published.
f) The journal is available to readers not only in developed nations, but also in developing nations.
Preferences for Academic Journals
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Available for free
Accessible indeveloping world
Highly selective
Preservation isassured
No cost to publish
Wide circulation andreading
Percent of faculty who believe that each characteristic is “very important” in influencing the decisions where to publish their articles
Preferences for Academic Journals
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Available for free
Accessible indeveloping world
Highly selective
Preservation isassured
No cost to publish
Wide circulation andreading
2006
2003
Percent of faculty who believe that each characteristic is “very important” in influencing the decisions where to publish their articles
Freely Available on the Internet: Very Important
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BiologicalSciences
Engineering Law Economics Sociology Classics History Philosophy
Accessible in the Developing World: Very Important
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BiologicalSciences
Engineering Law Economics Sociology Classics History Philosophy
Highly Selective: Very Important
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BiologicalSciences
Engineering Law Economics Sociology Classics History Philosophy
Preservation Is Assured: Very Important
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BiologicalSciences
Engineering Law Economics Sociology Classics History Philosophy
No Cost to Publish: Very Important
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BiologicalSciences
Engineering Law Economics Sociology Classics History Philosophy
Wide Circulation and Reading: Very Important
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BiologicalSciences
Engineering Law Economics Sociology Classics History Philosophy
What Do Scholarly Authors Want in a Journal?
• The three most important characteristics in an academic journal are wide circulation and reading; no cost to publish; and preservation. These characteristics are about the ability of a researcher to have an impact.
• Selectivity and availability only indirectly affect impact, and these are therefore of less interest to faculty members.
• Although there are some disciplinary differences, focused especially around whether authors are willing to pay to be published, impact is a universal value.
• Why have preservation and free availability declined in perceived importance in the past three years?
Transitioning to an Electronic-Only Journals Environment
Who Will Become Increasingly Dependent on Electronic?
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BiologicalSciences
Engineering Law Economics Sociology Classics History Philosophy
Percent agreeing very strongly with: “I will become increasingly dependent on electronic research resources in the future.”
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%
If our library cancelled thecurrent issues of a printversion of a journal butcontinued to make them
available electronically, thatwould be fine with me
Regardless of how reliableand safe electronic
collections of journals maybe, it will always be crucialfor our library to maintain
hard-copy versions ofjournals
Assuming that electroniccollections of journals are
proven to work well and arereadily accessible, I wouldbe happy to see hard-copycollections discarded and
replaced entirely byelectronic collections
Librarians
Faculty
Prospects for the Transition away from Print: Faculty in Comparison with Librarians
Cancel Print Current Issues? Percent agreeing very strongly with: “If my library cancelled the current issues of a print journal
but continued to make them available electronically, that would be fine with me.”
0%
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100%
BiologicalSciences
Engineering Law Economics Sociology Classics History Philosophy
Maintain Hard-Copy Journals Always? Percent agreeing very strongly with: “Regardless of how reliable and safe electronic collections of journals may be,
it will always be crucial for our library to maintain hard-copy versions of journals.”
0%
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100%
BiologicalSciences
Engineering Law Economics Sociology Classics History Philosophy
Discard Hard-Copy Backfiles? Percent agreeing very strongly: “Assuming that electronic collections of journals are proven to work well and are readily accessible, I would be happy to see hard-copy collections discarded and replaced entirely by electronic.”
0%
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BiologicalSciences
Engineering Law Economics Sociology Classics History Philosophy
Strategizing for the Transition
• Faculty are becoming prepared for the cancellation of print versions to allow exclusive reliance on e-journals.
• Economists are least concerned about the retention of print-format materials, and future opportunities to contemplate strategic responses will continue to vary tremendously by discipline.
• The transition has begun; can librarians help lead the process so that the transition is made thoughtfully and responsibly?
• A strategic approach is urgently needed, both on the campus level and across the community, to ensure that this transition proceeds effectively and securely.
Preservation and Archiving
Faculty: Importance of Long-Term Preservation of Electronic Journals
7482
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100%
2003 2006
NotImportant
SomewhatImportant
VeryImportant
Faculty: Importance of Long-Term Preservation of Electronic Journals by Institutional Size
7081 80 79 86
0%10%20%30%40%
50%60%70%80%90%
100%
VerySmall
Small Medium Large VeryLarge
NotImportant
SomewhatImportant
VeryImportant
Faculty: Satisfaction with the Way Electronic Journals Are Being Preserved for the Long Term
65 62
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2003 2006
NotSatisfied
SomewhatSatisfied
VerySatisfied
Hard-Copies: Faculty Feel a Declining but Still Significant Needs for Their Retention
“Regardless of how reliable and safe electronic collections of journals are, it will always be crucial for the college or university library to maintain hard-copy collections of journals.”
0%
10%
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2003 2006
My Library Some Libraries
Preservation
• The perceived importance of hard-copies, and the importance of their preservation, are in decline everywhere.
• Both faculty members and librarians have become more focused on preservation of electronic materials.
• There is consistent confusion among faculty; how can librarians provide desperately needed leadership for preservation?
• How should this shift be managed strategically, to avoid some of the challenges that arose from the massive reformatting of newspaper collections?
Some Questions for Discussion
Questions for Discussion
• Relationship of Faculty Members with the Library• As new options develop, the environment is becoming increasingly
competitive for libraries. How can they thrive in this marketplace? • If the library’s function as a gateway is in decline, should libraries manage
a strategic retreat or develop a strategic response?
• The Future of Books• Few librarians or faculty members view e-books as being fundamentally
transformative. Will they be proved right?
• Priorities among Journal Characteristics• How can we best design a system that responds to authors’
understandable desire to maximize impact?
• The Transition to Electronic Resources• The transition has begun; can librarians help lead the process so that the
transition is made thoughtfully and responsibly?
• Preservation and Archiving• Everyone agrees this is essential, and yet there is confusion
among faculty about it; how can librarians provide desperately needed leadership for preservation?
What Do Faculty Think of the Changing Environment?
Kevin GuthrieRoger C. Schonfeld
April 17, 2007
[email protected](212) 500-2600
[email protected](212) 500-2338
http://www.ithaka.org/research
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