What Do Faculty Think of the Changing Environment? Kevin Guthrie Roger C. Schonfeld April 17, 2007

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%

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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%

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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%

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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’

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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?”


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2003

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The Library Is Valued Differently, among Humanists“How important is it to you that your library provides each of the following functions?”


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2003

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The Library Is Valued Differently, among Social Scientists“How important is it to you that your library provides each of the following functions?”


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2003

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The Library Is Valued Differently, among Scientists“How important is it to you that your library provides each of the following functions?”


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20032006

The Library Is Valued Differently, among Economists“How important is it to you that your library provides each of the following functions?”


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”

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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”

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BiologicalSciences


Who Depends on Their Academic Library for Research?

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BiologicalSciences


“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

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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.”

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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


Accessible in the Developing World: Very Important

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BiologicalSciences


Highly Selective: Very Important

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BiologicalSciences


Preservation Is Assured: Very Important

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BiologicalSciences


No Cost to Publish: Very Important

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BiologicalSciences


Wide Circulation and Reading: Very Important

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BiologicalSciences


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


Percent agreeing very strongly with: “I will become increasingly dependent on electronic research resources in the future.”

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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.”

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BiologicalSciences


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.”

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BiologicalSciences


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.”

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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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2003 2006

NotImportant

SomewhatImportant

VeryImportant

Faculty: Importance of Long-Term Preservation of Electronic Journals by Institutional Size

7081 80 79 86

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VerySmall

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NotImportant

SomewhatImportant

VeryImportant

Faculty: Satisfaction with the Way Electronic Journals Are Being Preserved for the Long Term

65 62

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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.”

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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

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]




Documents

What Do Faculty Think of the Changing Environment? Kevin Guthrie Roger C. Schonfeld April 17, 2007