Electronic Only Access to Journals Trial: Summary of the Final Report (April 2005)

Implementation of the report's recommendations

The final report of the Electronic Only Access to Journals Trial was submitted to Library Committee on 9th February 2005. All the Recommendations were accepted by the Committee, with the understanding that the Library will consult with all appropriate departments before print volumes are withdrawn. As agreed at Library Committee, journal volumes in the areas of Philosophy, Religion, Fine Arts, Literature and History were moved out of closed storage during the Easter Vacation. Journal volumes in the remaining subject areas will remain in closed storage (and can continue to be requested at the Library Enquiry Desk) pending further discussions over withdrawals with Departmental Library Representatives during the Summer Term. Anyone who would like to contribute to these discussions should contact their Departmental Library Representative.

This is a summary of the report.

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Background to the trial

The Electronic Only Access to Journals Trial started in mid-February 2004. The aim of the trial was to find out whether e-journals are a viable alternative to print.

In consultation with academic departments, journals were selected to which we have the equivalent online backfiles (i.e. older volumes in JSTOR, ScienceDirect, the Institute of Physics). The print journals were moved from the open shelves in the Library and stored elsewhere.

The trial attempted to answer the following questions:

  • What impact does electronic only access to journals have on library users?
  • Is electronic only access a viable alternative to storing printed journals on site?
  • What developments/changes are needed to implement a policy of electronic only access to journals?
  • Are publishers/suppliers websites stable enough to support large numbers of simultaneous users?
  • Can the library/university computing facilities support increased electronic only access to journals (e.g. access to computers, printing, response times)?

Throughout the trial library users were encouraged to provide feedback via forms in the JB Morrell and King's Manor Libraries and by e-mail. The Library Survey carried out in March 2004 also elicited feedback on electronic journals in general and the trial in particular.

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Did the trial answer the questions we set out to address?

What impact does electronic only access to journals have on library users?

The trial identified the issues which electronic only access raises. The impact varies between users in different subject areas with a general trend of positive in the sciences to negative in the arts and humanities, albeit with exceptions in some subjects and for some individuals.

Is electronic only access a viable alternative to storing printed journals on site?

Yes, the trial demonstrated that electronic only access is viable, with certain exceptions identified in this report.

What developments/changes are needed to implement a policy of electronic only access to journals?

During the trial several service changes were made which addressed the issues which were of concern to the highest number of users, including a reduction in printing costs, installing a printer in the Library, providing improved information on how to print from the web. The outstanding developments are indicated below. Most of these are also relevant to wider University policies such as introduction of a central VLE to support more online learning and widening participation strategies.

Are publishers/suppliers websites stable enough to support large numbers of simultaneous users?

Yes. There were only a couple of instances of journals being unavailable for short periods.

Can the library/university computing facilities support increased electronic only access to journals (e.g. access to computers, printing, response times)?

Yes, in most circumstances. The main issues which arose were to do with campus network printing and have been addressed as far as possible. We had no feedback identifying particular problems with departmental computing facilities such as those found in Biology, Health, Computer Science and others. Since the May report access to the Student Network Service has been extended to all on-campus student study-bedrooms and surveys show that a significant majority of students now own a PC and have access to the Internet.

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Outstanding issues

There are five main outstanding issues which affect some groups of users. Some of these apply more widely than electronic journals.

Increasing access to electronic journals from the Library.

The number of PCs was increased from 14 to 45 in the JB Morrell Library, plus 4 in the Raymond Burton Library, during 2004. Network access points and wireless access will be provided in 2005. The number of Catalogue PCs vs student PCs with access to electronic journals will be kept under review. The rollout of the Student Network Service to all on-campus student study bedrooms was completed in 2004 which may reduce this demand.

Advising library users with visual impairment and providing the right level of technical support where appropriate.

We will continue to work with Disability Services to produce guidelines for users. However, there is still a requirement for more assistive software to be made available on the campus network or to individuals. It should be noted that there are often technical issues which need to be solved before software can be made available on the network. This issue is much broader than electronic journals, for example any increase in online learning will have a similar impact, and needs to be addressed at University level.

Quality of graphics in back issues of some journals which have been digitised retrospectively.

We need to take this into account and consider retaining print copies of journal titles where this is an issue.

Access for external users.

We will raise the need for "walk-in" access to selected resources at the appropriate University committees. It should be noted that some universities have implemented the UK Computing Plus scheme which is an extension to the UK Libraries Plus scheme providing access to selected online resources for visitors. Many other universities have less formal walk-in access arrangements.

Varying requirements for different subject areas

As indicated above we received varying feedback from users working in different subject areas. Do the differences in the way the literature is published and used in different subjects provide sufficient grounds for developing different policies? For example, could a core set of humanities journals be identified which should be retained in print, with all other titles being electronic only where practical?

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Conclusion and recommendations

The general response to the trial has continued to be largely a positive one. Verbal comments received by library staff are that most people find electronic journals easy to use and like the idea that they don't have to come into the library to access journal articles. Support for expansion of access to electronic journals also came from the Library Survey.

Recommendation 1: Leave the print journals moved for the trial in the North Room. [1]

This will provide space in the rest of the Library for expansion of the collections. No department has objected to this and in fact those departments who sent feedback on the draft report supported continued use of the North Room for back runs of journals where there is electronic access.

Recommendation 2:
Provide open access to selected titles stored in the North Room.

Subject areas to be moved to open access in the North Room, following requests from departments: A (Philosophy); C (Religion); L-LL (Fine Arts); M-MR (Literature); Q (History).

Volumes in the remaining subject areas will remain in closed storage pending further consultation over other titles or subject areas and implementation of Recommendation 3.

The volumes moved from the main shelves to open access in the North Room will be extended to include all titles in these subject areas where there is electronic access. Timing of this move will depend on the outcome of consultations relating to Recommendation 3.

Recommendation 3:
Make all print volumes in subjects other than those identified in Recommendation 2, and where there is reliable electronic access, available offsite only and dispose of print volumes.

We will ensure that the British Library can supply the journal through inter-library loan or electronic document delivery before removing our print copy. This will give a significant saving in time, space and binding costs and therefore money which could be invested in further online archives or other information resources.

This will involve significant initial planning and effort so will need to be phased over time and will initially be done for subjects where support for online only access is strong and where online only current subscriptions are already common, including science, medicine, health and some social sciences and humanities. Other subjects and titles will be considered after this first phase. It might be necessary to exclude specific titles identified as having low quality graphics available online.

Consultation will continue with all departments to inform final decisions on the titles to be disposed of.

Recommendation 4:
Continue to invest in electronic archives.

Significant positive feedback has been received on the recent increase in access to electronic journals from all subject areas and there have been requests for more titles and back issues of existing titles to be made available. In particular, researchers in the sciences and some social sciences now assume that electronic access will be available, which may have implications for attracting researchers to York.

Recommendation 5:
Continue to move to electronic only current subscriptions for selected titles.

We will ensure that the criteria identified in Section 4.1 are met before moving to electronic only subscriptions. During the period of the trial, several science departments have agreed to move selected subscription packages to online only.

Recommendation 6:
Continue to be cautious about electronic only current subscriptions from commercial publishers.

There are significant concerns about continued access to commercial content. However, we will move to electronic only subscriptions when there are national deals available which satisfy the criteria in Section 4.1.

Recommendation 7:
Services to provide access to online journals for external users should be developed.

At its meeting on 30 November 2004 Information Committee agreed that the Library should consult with IT Services to establish some dedicated machines for journal access, which would not give access to the whole University network (IC M04/132). This will be subject to licensing agreements with publishers and network licenses. It is unlikely that this will be solved quickly as we will need to find ways of identifying those electronic journals whose licenses permit walk-in access, and enter discussions with IT Services about limiting access to the network.

Recommendation 8:
Improved access for users with disabilities should continue to be investigated.

We will continue to work with Disability Services and the Equal Opportunities Office to explore the issues further and produce guidelines for users, and with IT Services to identify practical solutions. Expert advice will also be taken from national services such as JISC TechDis. This issue is much broader than electronic journals, for example any increase in online learning will have a similar impact, and will need to be addressed at University level.

Footnotes:
  1. The North Rooms are areas in the Library with compact shelving, that are mostly accessible to anyone, and they typically contain lesser-used stock; however, the section of compact shelving housing the electronic journal trial volumes is locked, meaning those volumes can only be retrieved by Library staff.