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Transitioning from print to electronic resources at Brown University
Transitioning from print to electronic resources at Brown University
LiveWire interviewed Lee Pedersen, Scholarly Resources Librarian—Physical Sciences, Brown University,
regarding the transfer from print to electronic resources at the Brown University Library.
LiveWire: Why did Brown University eliminate its print collection?
Lee Pedersen: In February 2006, the Brown University Library opened the Library Collections Annex,
a high-density storage facility, and print resources needed to be transferred from the libraries. Around this same time,
a donor came forward to fund the transformation of three levels of the Sciences Library into a 24/7 study center. Before
I arrived at Brown in 2004, a majority of STM journal titles had already been converted to online to take
advantage of package coverage and price breaks. The space limitations resulting from the 2006 renovation as well as the
voracious appetite of the annex made even the print Chemical Abstracts (CA) subscription expendable (a brief shelf study
indicated little use). So, the CA print expenditure was used to increase our SciFinder Scholar seats from three to five.
We are also moving to online only plus archives for ACS publications, so the ACS journals can be transferred to the annex.
LW: Was this decision made as a group with faculty, or was it made by the librarians?
LP: When I first arrived at Brown, I was amazed that the library was still getting CA in print. I explored
with the chemistry faculty why this was necessary. The reasons were a lack of confidence in SciFinder Scholar by a minority,
and yet the shelf study indicated that the use of chemistry reference titles on the shelves as a whole was minor. On the other
hand, SciFinder Scholar use showed “turn-aways” (i.e., patrons turned away because SciFinder Scholar demand was higher
than could be met). I hit on the idea that the subscription fee might be enough to add SciFinder Scholar seats that the faculty
and students wanted. Sending CA to the annex was presented to the faculty as a preservation issue and a necessity, and the payoff
to patrons would be more access to SciFinder. No complaints were heard.
LW: How did your library patrons feel about the move from print to electronic-only resources?
LP: As long as they can get what they need at their desktops, our patrons do not communicate with the
librarians. When there are technology glitches, they let us know. With the ACS titles and CA, coverage is so complete that
patrons rarely e-mail about lack of access.
LW: How have these changes benefited your library? Have you experienced any disadvantages as a
result of the e-only conversion?
LP: The benefits are that print materials are in a safe, secure, and environmentally controlled location;
an electronic delivery service is available for stored articles; and space is freed up in the Sciences Library. The
disadvantage is that the library licenses only the content and no longer owns the serials that are online-only. Then there
is the challenge of explaining to users what happens when access is denied.
LW: Has the library opted for e-only book collections as well?
LP: We are exploring e-books at this time. My preference is to get reference titles as e-books. I am still
buying print monographs.
LW: Will print resources will be deposited into an off-site storage facility?
LP: Yes, the Library Collections Annex.
LW: What advice would you offer to readers who may be interested in converting their library from
print to primarily electronic resources?
LP: Conversion to electronic resources will please your patrons, and you will gain space and save processing
costs. Although there might be some initial resistance, it will not take long for patrons to enjoy desktop delivery. If you can
afford the digital archives that go with e-journals, I recommend purchasing them. Otherwise, you need an effective way to
communicate with your patrons what exactly they can get electronically. On the downside, you no longer own what you buy. You have
to be skilled at licensing. Rapid troubleshooting of technical glitches is essential.
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