Print Vs Electronic
Yesterday afternoon I attended a paper delivered by Ann Ritchie and Dr Paul Genoni entitled Print V Electronic Reference Sources: Implications of an Australian Study. The paper was discussing a case study conducted at the Northern Territory Library where they audited the data in their RefTracker reference query database to determine the usage of the print and electronic (including the free web) resources.
There were a couple of points that Paul made at the end of the presentation which I thought were quite interesting:
- Paul seemed to be arguing against the rapid increase of e-resources as a replacement for print.
- He noted that there is a 'generational shift' and a lack of familiarity with print resources by new graduates of LIS.
- He also noted that libraries are good at measuring the quantity of reference enquiries, but we can't easily measure the quality of responses. Our use of electronic reference resources may be increasing, but there was a danger in just measuring the quantity of enquiries rather than also looking at quality. (There was an interesting discussion in question time about this, and whether anecdotal feedback or analysis of responses in a reference database was sufficient to determine the quality of the service being provided.)
I have to admit I am one of those 'young managers' cancelling hardcopy reference resources, and moving us full steam ahead to the electronic. I am one of those reasonably new LIS grads who can remember using the print at some stage, but I have to admit I'm more familiar with the online. The fact of the matter is that in my library if the hardcopy isn't being used I just can't justify keeping it. There was a question at the end of the session which was what could reference staff do to convince their managers that the hardcopy was needed?
The session was a bit of a wake-up call to me. Does anyone else have a manager like me who is moving full steam ahead to electronic? Are we really so unreasonable?
And I would also be interested to hear whether anyone has done any research into the quality of their reference/research service.
Cheers from WA - it's been a great conference so far. Well done to the organising Committee!
posted by Jill @ 9:20 am
3 comments
3 Comments:
As a student rather than a librarian, I have some comments to make on this. Unfortunately I didn't attend the session - as always there was a choice to make!
I love my electronic resources. As a distance ed student the desktop delivery format of the electronic resource is unbeatable. However, even as a genXer I have to print them out to read them! More and more I can compose, edit and polish on screen, but I find reading almost impossible.
The cost shift to printing has implications for individuals such as students - although there are probably photocopy costs involved with print copies. However, I can read a print journal and make notes from it, far easier than read and make notes from screen.
I am aware that this is not really advancing the discussion in the direction requsted - just thought a users perspective may be interesting!
I found this to be one of the most interesting sessions.
In the context of a State Library, which serves a diverse public (many of whom are not, or do not choose, to be computer-literate [although they may be both highly intelligent and cultured], the headlong gallop towards electronic format newspapers in favour of print is disavantaging a distinct segment of the clientele. These people --not all in the elderly age bracket as some are younger businesspeople and the like -- are at first surprised, then puzzled, and sometimes distressed at the development. Most are polite enough not to ventilate at the service point personnel themselves.
The substitute offerings are either insufficiently complete or not user-friendly, and in some instances a screen format is just plain difficult -- no matter how enhanced -- for a disabled client.
Therefore, I would like to see more discussion in the profession about strategies in these sorts of enviroments.
The Museofcataloging.
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