Print Holdings Research Articles

Collaborative collection development: a MedPrint case report.

In response to several of Texas' largest medical libraries being forced to discard all serial print holdings, the Texas A&M University System and University of Texas System's Joint Library Facility (JLF) staff worked to help provide a solution to save and store these resources. This process fire-started a comprehensive effort by JLF staff to contact the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and devise a blueprint that would be used to help save and preserve all serial medical resources listed in NLM's medical retention program. In an unprecedented approach, the Texas A&M JLF staff launched efforts to collect and preserve the complete holdings range of all NLM MedPrint periodical runs. This case report details the planning and steps JLF staff took to accomplish this feat; highlights important matters of consideration for the medical community which heavily relies upon continuous access to MedPrint materials; and provides insight on the apparent preservation vulnerabilities these materials increasingly face in an environment where digitization may create a false sense of security. By May 2021, JLF had collected complete title runs up to year 2000 for 202 of the 254 MedPrint titles, which consists of more than twelve thousand volumes. These efforts proved particularly beneficial in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced NLM to halt ILL processing from their print collection. During this time, JLF was uniquely positioned to meet and respond to the historic high number of medical literature ILL requests it received during this time.

OCLC library holdings: assessing availability of academic books in libraries in print and electronic compared to citations and altmetrics

Although library holding data is constructed upon work format of books, it is less known how much print and electronic books in libraries contribute to the library holding counts. In response, this research is an attempt to explore the distribution of library holding data across work formats and investigate the availability of library print holdings and library electronic holdings for books as constituents of the library holding metric across fields and over time and compared with other book metrics. ISBNs, titles and author names of 119,794 Scopus-indexed book titles across 26 fields were examined for fourteen variables including OCLC Library Holdings, Scopus Citations, Google Books Citations, Goodreads engagements, and Altmetric indicators. There are three major findings: (a) library holdings are a more comprehensively available metric for books (over 97%) than any other metric and could be useful after short time after first edition publication, followed by Google Books, Goodreads and Scopus, respectively; (b) on average electronic holdings are seven times (median three times) more numerous than print holdings and their ratio is growing considerably for more recent books; (c) there is consistent downward trend in average print book holdings, suggesting that library print holding data are cumulative in nature and statistically comparable to formal citations; however, acquisition of electronic books in libraries is inconsistent in distribution plot as well as over time. In sum, the differences between print and electronic holding data are broad making them distinct metrics, suggesting that further research is needed for understanding their implications for book impact assessment.

Why does library holding format really matter for book impact assessment?: Modelling the relationship between citations and altmetrics with print and electronic holdings

Scholarly books are important outputs in some fields and their many publishing formats seem to introduce opportunities to scrutinize their impact. As there is a growing interest in the publisher-enforced massive collection of ebooks in libraries in the past decade, this study examined how this influences the relationship that library print holdings (LPH), library electronic holdings (LEH) and total library holdings (TLH) have with other metrics. As a follow up study to a previous research on OCLC library holdings, the relationship between library holdings and twelve other metrics including Scopus Citations, Google Books (GB) Citations, Goodreads engagements, and Altmetric indicators were examined for 119,794 Scopus-indexed book titles across 26 fields. Present study confirms the weak correlation levels observed between TLH and other indicators in previous studies and contributes additional evidence that print holdings can moderately reflect research, educational and online impact of books consistently more efficient than eholdings and total holdings across fields and over time, except for Mendeley for which eholdings slightly prevailed. Regression models indicated that along with other dimensions, Google Books Citations frequently best explained LPH (in 14 out of 26 fields), whereas Goodreads User counts were weak, but the best predictor of both LEH and TLH (in 15 fields out of 26), suggesting significant association of eholdings with online uptake of books. Overall, findings suggest that inclusion of eholdings overrides the more impactful counts of print holdings in Total Library Holdings metric and therefore undermines the statistical results, whilst print holdings has both statistically and theoretically promising underlying assumptions for prediction of impact of books and shows greater promise than the general Library Holding metric for book impact assessment. Thus, there is a need for a distinction between print and electronic holding counts to be made, otherwise total library holding data need to be interpreted with caution.

Re-Purposing the Library Space in the Digital Era: A study

Purpose: The round the clock availability of information sources, high speed internet in the 4G era, low cost of data download, cheaper cost of laptops and smart phones are factors impacting the purpose users’ visit to libraries. Library users visit less for the purposes of issue/return, browsing and searching information in the print holdings of the library. The users are rather spending more time in study, accessing e-resources, socialize with friends, discuss with peer group, etc. in the library building. The libraries in the developed countries have already recognized the need of the hour and re-designed their space to create a variety of reading space, creative space, Makers space, quiet space, etc. in the existing library buildings. But libraries in higher education institutions in India are yet to seriously consider the users’ need with respect to library space use. The present study has been conducted to find the users’ opinion and views to re-purpose the library space to meet their need. Research Methodology: Survey method has been used gather the views and opinion of library users. Printed questionnaires were distributed to the users present in the reading halls of the library. Due to paucity of time the research was limited to Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Delhi University, New Delhi. Online questionnaires were distributed to faculty members as they visit the library less frequently. The collected data was analyzed with MS-EXCEL and hypothesis tested using Kruskal Wallis test. Findings: Students and Research Scholars visit daily and spend more than four hours in the library building. They use their time in study, accessing e-resources in the reading hall of the library than any other place. The views of the all the users suggest that the library should have wi-fi facilities, power point for plug laptops and mobile phones, washroom near reading hall, quiet space, and clean ambient environment for longer hour study in the library building. Originality: The study is useful for Librarians for designing and refurbishing their library space.

Course Reserves during the COVID 19 Pandemic: Pivoting Print to Electronic Reserves through a Data Driven Process

Libraries worldwide were physically shut down, although remotely quite active, for some or much of 2020 in reaction to the COVID-19 virus sweeping the globe. This happened mid-semester for many academic libraries, as the pandemic hit the U.S. and transmission rates started to rise in March 2020. Yale University needed to quickly pivot a heavily physical course reserves service - print books and physical video material held at library service points, - to all-electronic formats. Using data driven methods, Yale was able to match print holdings on physical reserve with digital items held in or able to be licensed through various fulfillment methods. This article outlines that process and provides suggestions for further development of Course Reserves services in remote learning environments.

Get ‘Em In, Get ‘Em Out: Finding a Road from Turnaway Data to Repurposed Space

Statistical analysis and comparison of library print and online holdings are used to reduce shelf area and inform index back-file purchases. Nikki DeMoville of California Polytechnic State University’s Robert E. Kennedy Library combined Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources (COUNTER) JR2 Access Denied usage reports, holdings information, and print circulation data to identify journals exhibiting a high desirability for online access and low print circulation. In this presentation, DeMoville shared how further combination of this data with ScienceDirect quote lists for back-file journal packages and Web of Science metrics could be used to support the efficient de-selection of print journals, allowing the library to recover the maximum amount of physical space while also acquiring backfile access to those titles most frequently needed in electronic format. The presentation detailed the workflows and comparative methodology used to reach collection management and development decisions for journal coverage, with an emphasis on before and after metrics.

Serials Data in the Data Age: Project CERES Data for Digitization and Print Preservation

The report summarizes a presentation given at the 2015 NASIG conference. It outlines metadata used by Project CERES, a print preservation and digitization project supported by a partnership between the United States Agriculture Information Network and the Center for Research Libraries. It also outlines metadata guidelines used to disclose print holdings committed for preservation and provides tips on creating efficiencies in gathering the detailed issue level data and providing quality assurance for digitization. Gathering detailed metadata to support the preservation of print is an investment in the preservation of essential scholarly resources. Project CERES can be used as a model for other programs coupling preservation and digitization.

Serials use in post graduates’ dissertations of pharmaceutical sciences: collection building by citation analysis

Purpose – This study aims to analyze the resources used in the citations of 156 postgraduate dissertations submitted to the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) through the Acharya & BM Reddy College of Pharmacy (ABMRCP), and prepares the core journal list according to the Bradford’s law of scattering. For any research and academic institutional libraries, books and journals are considered as key resources. As the resources are more and diverse, collection building is a tough task for librarians. Citation analysis is one of the best methods to list the most used resources by the users. The paper highlights the extent use of in-house resources and open access journals in the citations. Design/methodology/approach – Citations of PG dissertations during 2010-2013 (four years) were compiled, the data about the resources cited in each were taken and the list of resources used in PG dissertations was prepared. The list of core journals obtained by citation analysis was matched with the list of online journals provided by Health Science Library & Information Network (HELINET) of RGUHS as well as print list of journals subscribed by ABMRCP Library, and evaluated the print and online consortia journals used by ABMRCP community. The list of core journals’ ranking in the SCImago Journal & Country Rank (SJR) list-pharmaceutical sciences was identified to know the impact of the journals. Findings – The study gives the list of different information resources cited in the pharmacy dissertations. The core list obtained by applying the Bradford’s law of scattering in this study has 19 journals pertaining to pharmacy. After matching the core list with the Keogh’s list, it is found that 31 journals can be considered very useful in the field of pharmacy. Twelve journals listed in the core list have different positions in the SJR ranking 2013. The results indicate that open-access journals with online journals subscribed through HELINET and print holdings have been cited more in the PG dissertations. Originality/value – The topic of journal use in this case may be of greatest interest to those who purchase journals in the sciences and, very specifically, the pharmaceutical sciences.

Building your own ERMS

Purpose – The paper aims to demonstrate a method for creating an electronic resource management system (ERMS) from freely available open source tools. This system will help manage bibliographic data, holdings and statistical and financial data for electronic databases and periodicals. Design/methodology/approach – The paper demonstrates how to create a database and interface for managing serials and electronic resources using PHP and MySQL within a *AMP framework. Findings – By following this approach, libraries can maintain structured data regarding their electronic and print holdings with minimal expense and with flexibility that is not necessarily possible through large commercial products, while avoiding the burden of implementing a large, open source solution. Originality/value – While many products exist on the market, either commercial or large open source solutions, there is little documentation on how to create a small scalable ERMS. This paper attempts to demonstrate a method.

Selection for Preservation

Library preservation programs are at the precipice of transformation. With the increasing availability of digitized content, and the development of shared print repositories, our perceived obligation to the preservation of individual print copies at an institutional level is shifting to a more shared model. Library preservation professionals must now determine how this is influencing our day to day practices. This paper reviews the data collected from a 2012 survey and interprets that data to show how the availability of digital surrogates, libraries’ increasing consideration of shared print holdings, and the perceived value of scarcely held content are all influencing preservation selection.

Individualisierte QR-Codes zur Verknüpfung von Print- und E-Bestand

Individualized QR-codes not only allow users faster access to needed documents, they also serve as interfaces between print and online holdings, thus enabling libraries to advertise their e‐media. A project at the library of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW, CampusMuttenz, shows how even smaller libraries can integrate QR-codes easily and efficiently into their workflow.

Connecting Print Patrons to Electronic Holdings with Shelf Dummies

After a two-year renovation, the Kent State University Music Library reopened as the Performing Arts Library. Before the closure, some serials were sent to the depository or reclassified within the library. In order to assist patrons browsing print journals or searching for articles in the stacks, library staff created shelf dummies detailing print and electronic holdings information as well as indexing for each title. Patron feedback has been positive, and the project has helped both library staff and patrons better understand accessibility and location of journals.

Connecting Print Patrons to Electronic Holdings with Shelf Dummies

After a two-year renovation, the Kent State University Music Library reopened as the Performing Arts Library. Before the closure, some serials were sent to the depository or reclassified within the library. In order to assist patrons browsing print journals or searching for articles in the stacks, library staff created shelf dummies detailing print and electronic holdings information as well as indexing for each title. Patron feedback has been positive, and the project has helped both library staff and patrons better understand accessibility and location of journals.

CIC Co-Investment to Protect Print Research Library Collections in the Midwestern United States

The Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) is one of the nation's oldest and most respected academic consortia. The CIC libraries hold more than 85 million volumes with print collections occupying approximately 10 million linear feet—or 2,000 miles—of shelving. The price tag for maintaining CIC print holdings, in stacks and storage facilities, is approximately $200 million per year. Between 2009 and 2011, the CIC University Librarians (ULs) affirmed a list of core principles for developing and managing a shared storage program. The ULs made an initial investment to support building a shared collection of 250,000 journal backfile volumes to be housed at Indiana University.

Collection Management of e-books: A Developing Country Perspective

This paper attempts to discuss key issues surrounding the collection management of electronic books (e-books) with a developing country perspective. The libraries have witnessed the emergence of e-books in recent years by major publishers and content providers. With the expansion of electronic publishing, research and academic libraries have started to complement their print holdings with electronic publications. The market for electronic publication seems to be in constant change and collection developers and acquisition managers, especially in libraries, find themselves disillusioned as new methods of electronic publishing and accessing are emerging. Libraries are in a transition period from conventional to digital formats and have not yet developed common practices and traditions on policy for digital material.

Trusting Digital Preservation for Print Collection Management, Or How Librarians Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the "E"

This article advocates planning for the management of print collections in light of digital preservation activities. Three activities include deduplicating print holdings from archival online journal packages participating in shared journal retention agreements and participating in at least one digital preservation initiative.

Academics are Reading More Electronic Journal Articles in More Subjects, Using Varying Strategies to Find and Manage Them

Objective – To assess how the increase in number of electronic journals available to academic scholars has changed their information-seeking or consulting behaviour, with respect to 1) the amount and diversity of sources they read; 2) strategies they use to keep up-to-date in their fields; 3) use of personalized information services; 4) determining the value and relevance of articles; and 5) personal management of scientific information. This study is a follow-up to an earlier quantitative study (Borrego, Anglada, Barrios, & Comellas, 2007) in the same setting.
 
 Design – Qualitative, using an open-ended questionnaire, followed by personal interviews of a small group of the respondents.
 
 Setting – Universities that are members of the Consortium of Academic Libraries of Catalonia (CBUC), which is made up of the eight public Catalan universities and the National Library of Catalonia, Spain.
 
 Subjects – One hundred thirty-seven scholars from the member universities of diverse ages and disciplines. Eleven of these academics were selected for personal interviews.
 
 Methods – The authors used a two-staged approach to gather comments from researchers on their use of electronic journals. First, an open-ended, self-administered questionnaire (with some pre-testing done) was sent by e-mail to some 490 academics who had provided e-mail addresses in the quantitative study; 137 were returned and analyzed. Personal interviews were then conducted with 11 scholars who had given the most detailed answers in the questionnaire. Their ages ranged from 28 to 67; each was from a different discipline, and from six of the universities.
 
 Informed consent sheets (describing the study and guaranteeing anonymity) were given to the 11 interviewees. Personal interviews were conducted in the subjects’ offices by one of the authors, and lasted between 45-60 minutes. In the interview stage, the authors wanted to examine: use and assessment of the library, access to electronic information, and impact of e-resources on information behaviour. Subjects were also asked to provide three suggestions on improving access to scientific information.
 
 Main Results – The amount of reading and number of electronic journals and other sources consulted among the scholars who participated in this study has increased. Three-quarters of survey respondents consult more journals and read more articles. The scholars reported that they are grateful for the increase in electronic information and its enhanced ease of access, and are not overwhelmed by it. Their reading has become more discriminatory, though, with many reporting “skimming” much of what they read to save time. Scholars keep up-to-date in three main ways: web browsing of journal issues, library database searches, and TOC e-mail alerts. More than 90% of survey respondents reported conducting database searches. Google and Google Scholar were often mentioned ahead of specific library database names. In determining value and relevance of an article, its author and abstract are key for scholars. In addition, personal information management techniques used by scholars were all over the board. The three main methods were use of print or electronic folders, reference management software, and no system. Many of the academics felt their information management systems were “rudimentary” (p. 225).
 
 The request for suggestions and comments on the questionnaire was not answered by “most of the sample” (p. 226). Those who did respond to this request asked for more library resources. The main complaint expressed by scholars concerned the difficulty and complexity of finding journal article content using the Library website (e.g., varying databases, difficulty of interpreting what journal electronic and print holdings are available). Because of this, a number of scholars used Google to find library-subscribed content.
 
 Conclusion – By having greater and easier access to e-journals, scholars accessing the CBUC read more articles from more disciplines. Scholars would prefer a simpler library interface to search for online content. Due to the complexity of finding article content, they use web search tools like Google and Google Scholar to get to what they need faster. The authors of this study believe research should be conducted on the use of the Consortium’s metasearch tool to reduce the complexity. Research should also be conducted on value-added features of search interfaces for particular disciplines.

Now How Much of Your Print Collection Is Really Online? An Analysis of the Overlap of Print and Digital Holdings at the University of Oregon Law Library

As more and more primary and secondary legal materials are published in electronic format, law libraries need to constantly reexamine the need to maintain and collect print collections. In this article, the author examines how much of print collections are available online by focusing on the collection of the University of Oregon Law Library.

Measuring the Use of Networked Electronic Journals in an Academic Library Consortium: Moving beyond MINES for Libraries® in Ontario Scholars Portal

Academic library consortia, faced with requirements of assessment and accountability, are increasingly pressured to measure the impact of their networked electronic services. Studies on usage of electronic library resources and electronic journals, in particular, proliferate; relatively few focus on the academic library consortium. This paper gives an overview of one assessment tool, MINES for Libraries®, as implemented in the Scholars Portal service of the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL). The novel contributions of this study are twofold: firstly, the creation of peer groups within an academic consortium for comparison purposes, and secondly, the use of regression analysis to explore the correlation between usage and three separate variables outside the MINES survey — library print holdings, library acquisitions budget, and sponsored research revenue.

Measuring the Use of Networked Electronic Journals in an Academic Library Consortium: Moving beyond MINES for Libraries® in Ontario Scholars Portal

Academic library consortia, faced with requirements of assessment and accountability, are increasingly pressured to measure the impact of their networked electronic services. Studies on usage of electronic library resources and electronic journals, in particular, proliferate; relatively few focus on the academic library consortium. This paper gives an overview of one assessment tool, MINES for Libraries®, as implemented in the Scholars Portal service of the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL). The novel contributions of this study are twofold: firstly, the creation of peer groups within an academic consortium for comparison purposes, and secondly, the use of regression analysis to explore the correlation between usage and three separate variables outside the MINES survey — library print holdings, library acquisitions budget, and sponsored research revenue.