Electronic publishing: research issues for academic librarians and users

Library Trends, Spring, 2003 by Carol Tenopir

ABSTRACT

INCREASED RELIANCE ON ELECTRONIC RESOURCES requires examination of the roles of librarians in several key ways. This paper addresses the need for further research into three important areas of electronic publishing. How is the change to digital information sources affecting the scholarly work of college and university students? Previous research shows that students rely on Web and online resources and ask for less help from librarians. We do not know, however, how these changes will affect the learning and scholarly work of college and university students. Research is also needed to determine how the differences between separate article and full journal databases affect the way research is done. What are the implications for scholarship of decisions being made about what publishers publish and what librarians purchase? Finally, are librarians--as intermediaries to the search process--still necessary in a digital age? Online systems are designed to be used independently but that may not always yield the best results.

INTRODUCTION

In the rush to a digital information world we rarely pause to consider the long-term effects on libraries, scholars, and students. Even more rarely considered are the long-term effects that changes in the media of scholarly communication may have on learning and understanding of content. Marshall McLuhan (1964) understood the relationship between variations in media and meaning over time and the impacts of these variations on society when he famously declared that the "medium is the message."

McLuhan was concerned mostly with television, radio, and mass media, rather than with scholarly information sources. It is difficult to know if such concerns are valid for the materials that academic libraries emphasize--scholarly research reports, journals, and other reference and information resources that are used for finding information rather than for entertainment or news. If the same scholarly information is available in both printed and digital form, are there differences in how it is used and understood? Or, does the content stand separate from the medium through which it is delivered? How can librarians and other information professionals apply their knowledge about how scholarly materials are organized and used to help people make the most of the information available to them?

Many research questions can be posed concerning this general issue, including:

* How does the medium of information affect people's preferences, understanding, and use of the content?

* Do people seek for, understand, and use information delivered in digital form differently from that delivered on paper?

* Does the medium of information resources used make a difference in the new knowledge people create from these information resources?

* How does a library's choice of format for information products affect the library users?

These very broad questions need to be answered in the coming decade as libraries continue to move to digital services, but to answer such general questions, many more specific research questions must be addressed. This article explores three of the specific research questions that are critical to the delivery of effective library service to students and scholars.

1. Medium and Student Work: How is the change to digital information sources affecting the scholarly work of college and university students?

2. New Models for Scholarly Journals: When libraries select electronic journals, how do the products offered to them or the models they choose (such as a database of separate papers rather than a journal issue model) influence scholarship and the way journals are used?

3. Librarians as Intermediaries: Are librarians--as intermediaries to the search process--still necessary in a digital age? What do human information professionals bring to the online research process that cannot be adequately duplicated online?

QUESTION ONE: MEDIUM AND STUDENT WORK--HOW IS THE CHANGE TO DIGITAL INFORMATION SOURCES AFFECTING THE SCHOLARLY WORK OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS?

This includes several subquestions, including: Are there differences in citing patterns, quality of work, and the research process? When faculty assign papers that require students to use the recorded knowledge, what do they expect and how has this changed? How can educators and librarians influence students' work in a positive way?

Why This Question Is Important

It is unclear how the move from paper-based library collections to digital collections is affecting scholarly work. In the past when faculty assigned research papers to their students, the expectations of what types of sources would be used and the role of librarians in providing access to these sources were fairly clear. Today, there is much more variety in media and sources available to students and students often do their research without setting foot in a library. Libraries purchase electronic resources and students access the resources from their dormitories, homes, or offices. Students may not seek help from librarians, either because they have confidence in their online searching skills or because they no longer come to the libraries and librarians are "out of sight, out of mind."