Transcript HOW ELECTRONIC JOURNALS ARE CHANGING ENGINEERS’ INFORMATION SEEKING & READING PATTERNS Donald W. King University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences Carol Tenopir University of Tennessee School of Information.

HOW ELECTRONIC JOURNALS
ARE CHANGING ENGINEERS’
INFORMATION SEEKING & READING
PATTERNS
Donald W. King
University of Pittsburgh
School of Information Sciences
Carol Tenopir
University of Tennessee
School of Information Sciences
American Society for Engineering Education
Conference
Salt Lake City, Utah
June 21, 2004
Background
• Over 50 readership surveys (1974-2003)
– About 25,000 survey responses (some include
authorship)
– NSF (2 national surveys - 1977, 1984)
– Journals (e.g., Science)
– Societies (e.g., American Astronomical Society)
– Universities (e.g., Drexel, Tennessee, Pittsburgh)
– Elsewhere (e.g., NIH, Bell Labs, ORNL)
(cont’d)
Background (cont’d)
• Library cost and use studies (26 special, 30 academic
libraries)
• Publishing
– Cost model (1977, 1995)
– Financial aspects
– Tracked science journal characteristics (1960-2002)
• Consortia
– Census (1986)
– Analysis (2002)
• Copyright (1978, 1983, 1985, 1989)
Engineers’ Information Seeking
& Reading Patterns
•
•
•
•
•
How much do they read?
Where readers obtain articles that are read?
What format do readers use?
How do readers learn about articles?
Trends are revealing
Amount of Journal Reading
• Varies by profession
– Medical professionals: 246 readings per year
– Engineers: 106 readings per year
• Varies by where readers work
– University engineers: 186 readings per year
– Non-university engineers : 98 readings per year
• About 75% of articles authored by university
engineers
• About 75% of all readings are by non–university
engineers
How Do Engineers Learn About
Articles?
Browse
Online Search
Citations in publications
Someone told reader
Reading per Person
%
No.
47
50
11
12
16
17
27
27
101
106
Where Do Engineers
Obtain Articles?
Personal subscriptions
Reading per Person
%
No.
32
34
Library collections
From another person
Author Websites
Free Web journal
50
11
1
6
53
11
1
6
Preprint
1
101
1
106
Age is Important
Source of Article
1,2 Years
3-5 Years Over 5 Years
Library
40.0
42.9
73.3
Personal
37.1
21.4
9.2
Separate
22.9
35.7
17.5
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
Source: ORNL (2001), University of Tennessee (2000),
Drexel University (2002), University of Pittsburgh (2003)
Format by Source
• Personal Subscriptions
– 93% of subscriptions in print
– 90% of reading in print
• Library Collections
– 80% of reading electronic
– Saves readers about 20 hours per year
Trends in Engineers’
Reading Patterns
• They appear to be reading more
• They rely on libraries more
• Reasons for increased library use
Fig 2 - Average No. of
Articles Read per Scientist
250
200
150
150
172
188
216
100
50
0
1977
(National Survey,
n=2,350)
1984
(National Survey,
n=865)
1993
(U of TN, n=89)
Year and Study
2000 - 03
(TN, Drexel &
Pittsburgh, n=300)
Scientist Reading per Year
Fig 3 - Source of Additional
Readings
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
120
113
101
92 96
115
52
37
1977
1984
Library Collection
1993
2000 - 03
Other Sources
Engineer Trends in
Journal Use
1977
Current
Change
Reading
80
106
+26
Reading from Libraries
5
53
+48
Reading from Personal
Subscriptions
66
34
-32
Reading from Online Searching
__
12
+12
Reading Cited Articles
13
17
+4
Electronic Collection
Contribution
• Personal Subscriptions - 90% print
• Library collections – 80% electronic
– Broadens journal availability
– Saves readers about 20 hours per year
• Breadth of reading has increased
– Read from about 13 journals in 1977
– Over twice that amount now
• Age of article is a factor
Breadth of Reading Increased
• Drexel as an example
• Reading
– Read from about 13 journals in 1977
– Over twice that amount now
Factors Affecting Decisions
•
•
•
•
Purpose of use
Cost in reader time
Ease of use
Importance of and satisfaction with journal/service
attributes
• Awareness of journals/services and their attributes
• Availability of alternative sources of information
Library Contribution to
Usefulness and Value
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Purpose of use
Importance in achieving principal purposes
Ways article affected the principal purpose
How much do readers “pay” for the article?
Achievers read more from library collections
Readers are more productive than non-readers
Helps achieve parent organization goals
References
King, D.W., C. Tenopir. “Towards Electronic Journals: Realities for Scientists, Librarians, and
Publishers”. Washington, D.C.: Special Libraries Association, 2000.
King, D.W., C. Tenopir. Communication by Engineers. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley & Sons, 2004.
King, D.W. “Some Thoughts on Academic Library Collections” Guest Editorial. Journal of Academic
Librarianship. Due out July 2004.
King, D.W., Aerni, S., Brody, F., Herbison, M., Knapp, A. “The Use and Outcomes of University
Library Print and Electronic Collections”. April 2004. http://purl.oclc.org/sfipitt/pub20040405b
Tenopir, C., King, D.W., Boyce, P. Grayson, M., Zhang, Y., Ebuen, M. “Patterns of Journal Use by
Scientists through Three Evolutionary Phases”. D-Lib Magazine. May 2003. Vol. 9. No. 5
King, D.W., C. Tenopir. “Patterns of Journal Use by Faculty at Three Diverse Universities”. D-Lib
Magazine. Oct. 2003. Vol. 9. No. 10
King, D.W. and C.H. Montgomery. “After Migration to an Electronic Journal Collection”. D-Lib
Magazine. Dec. 2002. Vol. 8. No. 12