Print vs electronic: report of the Print and Electronic Serials Working Party

August 2000

With amendments September 2000 February 2001

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Recommendations
3. Relative print and electronic characteristics
4. Barriers to access
5. Electronic full text
6. Cost considerations
7. Preference for electronic access
8. Exceptions to parallel print cancellation
9. Long term electronic access and archiving
10. Retrospective digital access
11. Facilities, access and equity considerations
12. Library role in encouraging electronic use

1. Introduction

1.1. This is a Working Paper, requested by the University Librarian, with recommendations on Monash policy regarding electronic and print access to journals where we have a choice. A preliminary recommendation is that the Working Party make a separate report on policy regarding the growing availability of electronic monographs.

1.2. The Working Party responsible consisted of  the following members of the Library staff:

Judy Boyle  -  Electronic Resources Officer
Simon Huggard -  Digital Resources Librarian (now Systems Librarian)
Robert Stafford -  Collection Management Librarian
Paul Wilkins  - Technical Services Librarian  (Convenor)

A draft of the Working Paper was considered on 23 June 2000 by CODIL (Committee of Divisional Librarians) which approved the recommendations and suggested a number of amendments. An exposure draft to all Library staff resulted in a number of responses, some of which have been incorporated in this version.

1.3. The context for policy development is the University Library's strategic purpose to develop a virtual library service delivering both digital and print  resources to  users wherever located as part of the globalization of Monash, the development of distance education and off campus study,  and the growth of the Web for learning, teaching and research. A policy has to be developed which best meets the needs of the Monash staff and students in this context . Monash is already in an advanced position as far as electronic access is concerned. Any proposal to reduce electronic services or any deterioration usually brings immediate protest. To develop and maintain these directions requires a review of resource allocation. To date, the parallel print journal library has been largely maintained, but this involves significant opportunity costs which need to be considered and choices made. There are new developments around some of the causes of conservatism in the past, including concerns about the long term research access to electronic information. It is encouraging that the present Review of Current Serials Subscriptions in the Faculties of Engineering, Science and Medicine places a strong emphasis on the fact that electronic journals generally provide better support for academic and research programs in a multi-campus and increasingly global environment. Academic support for this direction is sought and this paper aims to establish some of the qualifications which, we believe, are necessary for the e-library to be accepted. Input is sought and comment invited from University students and  staff on the following recommendations developed from this paper. Reference is made throughout to a number of key published papers which should be helpful to readers.  Links are also provided in this paper to a number of the electronic journal resources to which Monash subscribes for exploration by readers.

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2. Recommendations

In some instances, for Web readers,  the recommendations are linked to the relevant section of the paper.

Preliminary recommendation

2.1. that the Working Party, with additional members if appropriate,  make a separate report on policy regarding the growing availability of electronic monographs.

General recommendations on print and electronic journals

2.2. that Monash University Library  adopt a policy of preference for electronic access to serials, subject to acceptable license conditions and cost for benefits, and cancellation of print subject to the recommendations on exceptions and archiving. (for background see Section 7 'Preference for electronic access')

2.3. that electronic only access be preferred, when available, for newly placed journal subscriptions, subject to the recommendations on exceptions and archiving.

2.4. that no new print subscriptions be placed in future for journals to which the Library already has electronic access, subject to the recommendations on exceptions and archiving.

2.5. that existing print subscriptions with parallel purchased or free electronic access not bundled with print are reviewed for cancellation at renewal time,  subject to the recommendations on exceptions and archiving.

2.6. that where electronic is bundled with print the processing of print be reviewed, subject to the recommendations on exceptions and archiving, and strategies adopted as appropriate to eliminate the print either completely, or by displaying current issues only and then disposing of them after an agreed  period. (for background see Section 5.1.3)

Recommendations on exceptions and archiving

2.7.  that print subscriptions are maintained where illustrations, and other features such as musical notation and some scripts other than English,  are an essential component of the text and where the quality in the electronic version is inferior to print or printing gives unacceptable results. Such instances to be reviewed on an annual basis before the print subscription is renewed (for background see Section 8.1 'Quality of illustrations')

2.8. that print subscriptions are maintained where essential content is absent from the electronic version, including commercial advertisements and graphics which are essential for study and research in some areas, such as Art & Design. Such instances to be reviewed on an annual basis before the print subscription is renewed. (for background see Section 8.2 'Essential material omitted from the electronic version')

2.9. that print subscriptions are maintained for high browsing use titles such as newspapers and weeklies. (for background see Section 8.3 'High browsing use titles')

2.10. that cancellation of print subscriptions  take account of satisfactory archiving and ongoing access to purchased electronic information, including commitment to technological migration, preferably by a third party and with OCLC highly recommended. (for background see Section 9 'Long term electronic access and archiving')

2.11. that the Monash  membership of JSTOR have fuller impact on collection management practice and that past print runs covered by the JSTOR archive be considered for  discard at the time of relegation rather than transfer to remote or local storage, subject to recommendations on exceptions. (for background see Section 10 'Retrospective digital access')

Recommendations on facilities

2.12. that the Library provide workstations which are designed to give adequate space for users to combine online access with print consultation and note taking and that this be addressed in the plans for flexible learning spaces. (for background see Section 11.4)

2.13. that the University Librarian designate an appropriate member of Library staff to conduct a review of networked in library printing needs and the performance of current printing equipment and present a report and budget proposal by the end of 2000. (for background see Section 11.3)

Recommendations on publicity

2.14. that display issues of print serials also accessible on line receive a prominent label advising users that the journal is available on line and to consult the catalogue for links, or information desk staff for assistance and that an information block is placed on shelves with past volumes of cancelled titles similarly indicating that it is continued by electronic access. (for background see Section 12 'Library role in encouraging electronic use')

2.15. that  information sessions on electronic access and resources are organized for all Faculties. (for background see Section 12 'Library role in encouraging electronic use')

Recommendations on staff resource shifts

2.16. that serials staff resources freed by cancellation of print from check in, claiming and binding are redirected to enhancing and maintaining electronic access with the necessary training provided. (for background see Section 6.3.1 'Library role in encouraging electronic use')

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3. Relative Print and Electronic Characteristics

3.1. Table 1 below provides a conspectus of some relative characteristics of digital and paper formats. The table is not necessarily exhaustive and there is some overlap within it. Readers might like to prioritize the impact of the relative characteristics and  make a cumulative assessment for themselves of the relative advantages and disadvantages of print and electronic formats in the Monash context.

Table 1. Electronic and Print Characteristics

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4.Barriers to access

4.1. The purpose of the Library is to facilitate access to information and recorded knowledge to support the teaching and research of the University. The print library facilitates access through a separate infrastructure. Electronic access is facilitated through the same infrastructure and Web access which are increasingly used to maintain research or undertake learning courses. This convergence, through such means as the personal Web portal, is a radical shift in  position for libraries. It is a shift, which in terms of convenience and universality of access for the user, is similar to the leap from the age of the codex to the age of Gutenberg. Odlyzko (www.research.att.com/) identifies how even small barriers to access reduce usage significantly. As an earlier example he refers to the shift from card catalogues to the OPAC. Card catalogues are now a dead weight, generally unconsulted. Without access in the OPAC, materials are unused (which is why Monash is retrospectively converting its print research resources, particularly the Rare Books collection, to the OPAC). The expectation is now moving from surrogate access to direct access. The following statement from 1997 may carry a note of hyperbole but highlights the barriers to access which the print infrastructure imposes:

"There's a sense in which the journal articles prior to the inception of the electronic abstracting and indexing database may as well not exist, because they are so difficult to find. Now that we are starting to see, in libraries, full text showing up online, I think we are very shortly going to cross a sort of critical mass boundary where those publications that are not instantly available in full text will become kind of second rate in a sense, not because their quality is low, but just because people will prefer the accessibility of things they can get right away" ( Clifford Lynch1997)

4.2. Some evidence of this trend is apparent in student practice where it is not uncommon for users of databases to restrict their results to full text articles which they can email to themselves or download.

4.3. The quote from Lynch is worth bearing in mind in considering the research of Lenares in 1998 and 1999 on the academic take up of the electronic journal (www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlevents/lenares99.pdf). This research was based on a survey of academic use in ARL (Association of Research Libraries) universities in the US. In terms of diffusion of innovation theory and the normal rate of adoption, the take up of electronic journals proved to be well into the "late majority" adopter stage, with the sciences ahead. This is illustrated in Figure 3 below from Lenares' paper. It would be surprising if results were radically different for Australia, and they suggest the Library can take some leadership on a digital shift without losing the majority of its academic constituency. Of interest also in this regard is the growing scrutiny of the traditional scholarly publishing process by academics, and appreciation of the advantageous edge that electronic publishing and access can give to scholarship and research  output, especially in the light of the trend identified by Lynch above. An example of such academic discussion is the recent Principles for Emerging Systems of Scholarly Publishing Meeting sponsored by the Association of American Universities and the Association of Research Libraries (www.arl.org/scomm/tempe.html)

4.4. Lenares' respondents were asked to rate a number of characteristics of electronic journals that would affect their choice of the electronic format over print. Respondents in both 1998 and 1999 reported that the characteristics of convenience, timeliness and the ability to search text were the most important factors in their choice of electronic over print. When asked to rate characteristics that would affect their choice of the print format over electronic the most important characteristics were the ability to browse, portability, physical comfort and convenience. Amongst the least important characteristics was familiarity with print format.

4.5. Examination of the considerations in Table 1 underlines the barriers to access and the opportunity costs in time imposed by the print library. Buckland's comments are incisive on these barriers (sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Library/Redesigning/paperlib.html). He reports wide research showing that paper libraries commonly have a 40% failure rate in delivering documents when required. Unmediated digital delivery to the desktop, with the option of printing if desired, removes reliance on the barriers of document delivery and photocopying, acquisition and processing, lending and circulation control. Library users have widely adapted to these library systems which have been put in place to solve, while they also compound, the intrinsic barriers to access involved in print. Users are accustomed to reserving books they want which another user has on loan, or requesting document delivery for remote materials.

4.6. This is definitely not to suggest that the electronic library is without problems or the experience of access barriers. Table 1, while listing the benefits, also indicates some of the challenges of electronic access for the Library. With electronic access, because of its nature and the advantages which are the basis of its promotion, users have utility level service expectations close to those for gas, electricity, water or television. These expectations  may not always be realistic and in comparison the common 40% failure rate of the print library is easily overlooked.  Whereas for the print library, service was largely determined by opening hours, the digital library raises the demand for fingertip response and 24 x 7 service expectations. Because of this immediacy, the experience of any electronic access barriers and the demand for solutions is equally immediate.  The challenges involved can be categorized as technical, conditions or content related. Some of the key Library strategies to address these challenges to electronic access are described here.

4.6.1. Technical issues include network downtime, slow response times or broken links to electronic resources. It has been pointed out to the Working Party that when distance users have digital access problems they are often uncertain whether the problem lies with their computer hardware, their ISP, their software settings or with the University network and that they can often only establish the cause through a good help desk. Library staff have also pointed out that while the reasons for user failure to retrieve print are familiar and relatively transparent, the reasons for failure to access electronic are often not. These issues, it should be noted, are wider than access to library resources, affecting the increasing reliance on the Web for presentation of  teaching materials, administrative material, and research. There is a need to monitor constantly the network connections and ensure that the latest technology is employed to provide reliable and speedy access.  As a wider issue it is one on which the Library has a direct common cause with other University functions of the Web. Library strategies in regard to technical problems include:

• choice of Voyager as the new generation Web based library system in 1998 to support digital directions. Voyager includes, for example, features which assist the  reporting of broken links for electronic resources.
• review and improvement of best architecture solutions to electronic access. The shift of our OVID databases to the Utah server has resolved the problem of support for constant updates on the local server and the increased traffic. In this instance the move to global online resources has meant that capacity is no longer an issue.
• development of the Library portal to provide users with the facility to customise and personalise their access to electronic information resources.
• the University requires Authcate identification for access to web sites outside the Monash domain. This requirement may be viewed as a parallel to producing an ID card to borrow a Library book.  Authcate is always  required for off campus access. For on campus access, Authcate  MAY be necessary depending on whether the user has previously accessed the web that day, in which case, unless the browser has been shut down,  Netscape remembers this and  the user can freely return to Monash and go out again without repeating Authcate. The Library  provides help  to assist remote users with Authcate (www.its.monash.edu.au/students/accounts/accounts.html),  including how to establish a password and where to go for assistance if a password does not  work. 
• the library e-Query service (www.lib.monash.edu.au/forms/email-help/) handles all email queries either directly or by forwarding to the appropriate person. A further strategy may be an "instant messenger" or chat-based client which will allow the user to call up a librarian or technical specialist to ask for immediate help. This could help with the delays of email support and the need for instant information and avoid the problems of a telephone help desk when inquirers have taken up their phone connection for the internet.

4.6.2. Conditions related issues arise through the licensed nature of electronic resources. Although a major advantage of electronic over print is multiple user access at the same time, most licenses  involve  a simultaneous user limit with cost implications- or they include a cost per campus or region (such as metropolitan Melbourne, Gippsland, Malaysia, South Africa). The Library negotiates for full access from all Monash sites, sometimes through consortium arrangements to reduce costs. Some resources give reports on number of accesses denied which can be the basis for review of simultaneous user limits. 

4.6.3  The  Library is open to  non members of the University and this may be seen as part of the Monash engagement with the community. Our licensing negotiations are usually successful in accommodating provision for such walk in library users, who are better served by electronic access since it is not subject, like print,  to pre-emptive use by regular users. Library sites which need to cater for users who do not have Authcate passwords provide  terminals which have been  logged on by staff for their use. 

4.6.4 One of the most persistent access problems has been the use of IP addresses by vendors for the purpose of authentication. While this works well for users on campus, remote users have encountered persistent problems with the need to reset their proxies for access. The Library has solved this with  a product called EZProzy (www.usefulutilities.com/ezproxy/). Essentially, it  works like this:

• the Library creates links to its electronic resources using a modified URL
• when  users click on this link, the software checks whether they are inside or outside Monash. If they are inside, the connection is made as per the current arrangement
• if they are outside, they are connected to the resource via the EZProxy software (after being prompted for Authcate). EZProxy maintains the link, and checks its validity, so the outside resource thinks that the user is coming from inside Monash
• the users are then able to work within the resource as they would if they are on campus. As the bulk of Monash's online subscriptions require IP address authentication, this should alleviate many of the current access problems.

4.6.5. For assistance with information content and discovery a user in the past,  had a reference librarian to hand to help. If users are accessing electronic resources in the Library then this is still the case.  To assist the remote user, in addition to the e-query service, the Library has developed the Virtual Librarian  (www.lib.monash.edu.au/vl/).

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5 Electronic full text

There are two forms of electronic full text: publisher and aggregator full text. These, and the issues surrounding them, are described by Brunelle and Schregardus, whose article is recommended (www.vala.org.au/vala2000/2000pdf/Bru_Sch.PDF).

5.1. Publisher full text

5.1.1. Publishers put their published refereed print journals up on the Web. Monash has access to a number of these full text journal collections (see www.lib.monash.edu.au/databases/ejour.htm).

5.1.2. Some of these collections demonstrate how the Web is leaving behind traditional print publication. The Royal Society of Chemistry, for example, publishes all of its journal articles on the Web as soon as they have completed the production process, typically 4-6 weeks in advance of being published in print. Their Advance Articles service (www.rsc.org/is/journals/advarts.htm) benefits both authors and readers. Authors see their articles accessible more quickly than before. Readers are able to access research articles at an earlier stage than was possible previously. Such sites also allow for the user to request email notification of new articles in their subject field or journal of interest.

5.1.3. These electronic collections may be tied in some advantageous way to maintaining print subscriptions. They may be bundled free with print or available with print subscriptions at a percentage of the print price. It does not follow from this, however, that the momentum of receipt and processing of the print issues should continue. Suggestions are now appearing in the literature which range from declining print delivery to discarding it, giving it to Faculty who want it, or donating it to libraries which cannot afford subscriptions or do not yet have digital access infrastructure. See the strategies under consideration, for example, at Drexel University for eliminating redundant  print serials (www.library.drexel.edu/facts/staff/dean/Serialsreview.pdf).  A compromise position on the  elimination of redundant print titles might be to check in and display  the current issue only and then discard after an agreed period . This would save significantly on binding, shelving activity and storage. As recommended below the current issue would carry a label alerting the user to electronic access for previous issues.

5.1.4. Models are now fast emerging where it is possible to take the electronic versions without being tied to print subscriptions. Electronic access may be negotiated without any obligation to maintain print (although often with complicated formulae relating cost to present or past print subscriptions). These negotiations may be via consortia. In the case of Monash a number have been coordinated by CAUL.

5.1.5. Bundling also refers to the need to take the full electronic package of titles without the option of taking out individual electronic subscriptions. This practice has been criticized because the package may include titles which the Library has previously cancelled in print because of cost or low level of use. Choice in this regard is desirable and increasing, but there is an argument that the electronic environment allows libraries to claw back access to previously cancelled subscriptions and that the economics of low use has changed radically in the electronic environment. The storage and processing overheads of low use print disappear. The economics of the old print ownership vs. access debate, which shifted low use demand or even higher use demand, onto document delivery is superseded. Statistics of use for some of our electronic suites show significant use for titles we have cancelled in the past and titles we have never subscribed to in print. It is an adjustment for libraries to find that the electronic era brings back the possibility through virtual collections of  'universal access'  which the print library long ago abandoned.

5.2. Aggregator Full Text

5.2.1. The second form of full text is facilitated by the services of aggregators. Through arrangements with the publishers, aggregators provide links from abstracting and indexing citations to the full text article. Although the pricing of access for the Library to the titles of a particular publisher in these services may be more favourable where print is held, there is no obligation to maintain print. Leading examples are Journals @ Ovid (www.ovid.com/site/index.jsp) and ABI Inform, currently accessed through the ProQuest www.lib.monash.edu.au/databases/1394052.html service to connect from Monash). These services are primarily article based although the contents lists of individual serial issues can be also be examined. The Library has put considerable effort into providing links from the Library catalogue entries for individual serial titles which have full text of their articles included in these two services and others. This is an important service, otherwise users often do not know they have access to the contents of these titles in such collections. It is an onerous task and developments to streamline the process are referred to below. This is also a dynamic task, as the publisher arrangements can change and it means there is a degree of shift in the full text coverage as a result. The Working Party however does not accept that this potential instability rules out any cancellation of print for titles covered by aggregated services. In some cases there will be alternative electronic coverage in another aggregator service accessible to Monash users, or the publisher concerned has its own full text site. Howbeit, rather than duplicating print access to titles which are included in these services the opportunity should be taken to examine demand for those which do not have electronic full text available.

5.2.2. The aggregator services raise the matter of serial issue browsing, traditionally physical browsing, as opposed to article level retrieval.  Some context on this may be helpful.  The scholarly journal was developed as a print era dissemination and storage medium for peer refereed publication of articles in fields of research and learning.  The need to access this content by the academic and research community led to the development, and primacy for retrieval, of the secondary abstracting, indexing and current contents services. These services are now almost exclusively used online, although they were initially manual services. As they went on line it became possible to link them to the library catalogue for subsequent retrieval of the full text articles from print holdings. As individual library holdings shrank and such services broadened relevant retrieval, document delivery increasingly met the article delivery needs of the scholar without them sighting the journal issue. In the digital world it is now possible to move seamlessly from subject search, to citation, to full text article delivery at the desktop or by email to the user's email box. Given that the scholarly activity and learning of Monash requires these competitive advantages, particularly given our global thrust, and the costs involved in providing these advantages,  it is the view of the Working Party that the physical browsing argument for maintaining parallel print subscriptions must be limited. Cases where parallel print is clearly justified are addressed below at 8.3,  including heavy browsing titles.

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6 Cost considerations

6.1. There was some, perhaps naïve, expectation that electronic journals would allow publishers to publish titles at a substantial saving on print journals without the costs of printing and distribution. There is some evidence of this (See www.arl.org/scomm/scat/fisher.html) and some evidence that electronic access per title is less than print but what is also certain is that electronic publishing has provided a tantalizing vehicle for publishers to maintain existing fat revenue bases with exciting new products to offer to libraries. These are products which legitimately offer highly enhanced access and features that print could never offer and library users have proved unwilling to relinquish digital access once it has been provided. To afford the increasing number of these products without reconsidering our print policy is not, in the view of this Working Party, sustainable. As stated in the rationale for the OCLC First Search Electronic Collections Online " libraries cannot afford to maintain their current print subscriptions, let alone pay more for print and electronic versions than they pay now for print. Consequently, electronic journals will need to substitute for, not complement, their print counterpart if libraries are to adopt them on a broad scale".

6.1.1. Monash is incurring significant costs to maintain the parallel print and electronic libraries. The following examples indicate that a policy of electronic preference and print cancellation could reduce the Monash costs for information access by between 17% and 36% or possibly more, depending on the example. A minimum potential saving on these three examples alone amounts to $70,000.  This is before any consideration of the costs of print acquisition, processing and storage. The opportunity costs involved here are significant and the Working Party does not believe that maintenance of the parallel library can continue to survive a full exposure of the opportunity costs incurred.

6.1.2. By maintaining the parallel library we are significantly bypassing the opportunity to do other things, whether that is more acquisition of print only materials, provision of other desirable electronic services, investment in more in staff or redeployment of  staff to support the digital library.

6.2. Cost examples

6.2.1. ABI INFORM

This service includes access to full text of approximately 900 serial titles, plus citation and abstract access only to other titles. The cost of the service to Monash in 2000 was AUD82,000. If the citation and abstract only titles are ignored and treated as a bonus, this gives us an average price of AUD91 per full text title.

Monash is duplicating, at considerable opportunity cost, a significant proportion of this aggregated full text in print subscriptions which are redundant for the purposes of retrieving the full text article. On an initial 8% sample (80 titles) of the full text titles included in the ABI INFORM service Monash has paper subscriptions to 35 titles (43%), involving 68 subscriptions (with multiples of up to four) at an average cost per subscription of AUD212. If this sample is extrapolated to the complete set of 900 we can expect subscriptions to 387 titles at an average of 1.94 subscriptions per title to give an opportunity cost approaching AUD160,000. While this  figure is  tentative and based on extrapolation,  at least AUD46,000 worth of actual print duplication is known. This represents 36% of the total costs before any consideration of processing.

6.2.2. Academic Press IDEAL

The cost to the Library in 2000 for full text access to all 173 serial titles of the Academic Press publisher group presented on the IDEAL platform was AUD177,900. The IDEAL pricing is based on the Monash subscription base to Academic Group titles in 1995 and a deep discount on the price of current print subscriptions of 75%. Although the formula was not implemented for Monash directly in this form it means, in effect, that we paid close to AUD35,500 to duplicate print access to 138 of the Academic Press titles. There is no obligation to maintain these print subscriptions which represent 16.6% of the total costs of access to Academic Press information, before taking account of processing costs.

6.2.3. OVID

Although the Journals @ Ovid pricing structure for titles varies according to whether print is subscribed to or not, there is no obligation for print subscriptions to be maintained. The main evidence of paper cancellation in the light of article level access through Ovid is in the Nursing Collection where 14 out of 22 (63%) of the titles are now only subscribed to electronically. This has almost exactly contained serial costs in Nursing. There has been very little cancellation of print for the other Ovid collections. As an example consider that Monash is duplicating AUD$20,130 (1999 costs) worth of print titles available as full text in the Journals@Ovid Biomedical Collections II, III and IV . The cost of electronic access to these collections in 2000 was AUD48,372. The print subscriptions account for 29% of the total cost of access to these titles, before taking account of processing costs.

6.3. Processing costs

6.3.1. Monash University Library is in the process of establishing costing information for processes. Drexel University Library (www.library.drexel.edu/facts/staff/dean/Serialsreview.pdf) made significant savings in check-in, binding and shelving. Significant increases occurred in systems activities, negotiation and license review, content selection and evaluation. Offsetting the decrease in activity levels and costs related to the print format in Technical Services was a very large increased workload in providing access to electronic journals. Monash has similarly proved the need to reallocate resources to handle e-journal collections which are much more volatile than print collections. Links break, coverage changes or distribution arrangements may change, access arrangements may change- all requiring database updates. Staff freed for such responsibilities will need training in new skills.

6.3.2. It is recommended that serials staff resources freed by cancellation of print from check in, claiming and binding are redirected to enhancing and maintaining electronic access with necessary training provided.

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7. Preference for electronic access

7.1. It is the view of the Working Party that the cumulative weight of Table 1 above and the discussion to this point, favour the recommendation that Monash University Library should adopt a policy of preference for electronic access to serials and cancellation of print. This is not a blanket recommendation without qualification. The Library will have a spectrum of print and electronic provision, ranging from print only, through both formats, to electronic only. At the obvious extremes are those available in print or electronic only, but not both. Where electronic is offered, whether it has a print parallel or not, the Library assesses the offer in a number of critical areas before subscribing. These include negotiation of licensing conditions adequate to global Monash needs, the quality of the product, technical performance, ongoing access to subscribed information, and, not least, the cost in relation to the benefits so far discussed in this paper. In the area of cost, Monash has, in a number of instances, declined electronic access offers until an acceptable price in relation to benefits and conditions has been negotiated, sometimes through consortial approaches. The Working Party recognizes that, in some instances, choices may be made for print only, even when electronic access is available.  We refer here, for example, to the article by Nick Pengelley, former Monash Law Librarian, The Ebb and Flow of the Electronic Tide (Australian Law Librarian 4 (3) September 1996. [Not electronically accessible]), where his view was that the cost of some of the major law loose leaf services in electronic form, at least at that time, could not be justified. Once, however, the decision has been made to subscribe to an electronic service then, this paper is arguing, the Library has to have very good reasons to maintain both print and electronic access. Such reasons are examined in Section 8 below on exceptions to parallel print cancellation and Section 9 Long term electronic access and archiving. Cancellation of print subscriptions would be on a case by case basis against those criteria. Within this framework the Working Party makes the following general recommendations:

7.2. that Monash University Library adopt a policy of preference for electronic access to serials, subject to acceptable licence conditions and cost for benefits, and cancellation of print  subject to the recommendations on exceptions and archiving.

7.3. that electronic only access be preferred, when available, for newly placed journal subscriptions,   subject to the recommendations on exceptions and archiving below.

7.4. that no new print subscriptions be placed in future for journals to which the Library already has electronic access, subject to the recommendations on exceptions and archiving below.

7.5. that all existing print subscriptions with parallel electronic access be reviewed for cancellation subject to the recommendations on exceptions and archiving below.

7.6. that where electronic is bundled with print the processing of print be reviewed, subject to the recommendations on exceptions and archiving below, and strategies adopted as appropriate to eliminate the print either completely or by displaying current issues then disposing of  them after an agreed period.

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8. Exceptions to parallel print cancellation

The following are widely accepted criteria for maintaining print in addition to electronic access.

8.1. Quality of illustrations, musical notation and some scripts

8.1.1. Depending on publisher policy and the image technology used, quality of illustrations justifies exceptions to electronic preference, or parallel provision of both print and electronic, in some subject areas.  While images online may provide significant added value, such as the possibility of spatial analysis of maps, it is well known that SGML, for example, can give poor imaging compared with PDF. This issue has been significant in regard to our OVID electronic services, but will improve with the shift from a local server to the server in Utah which will deliver PDF. This example indicates that exceptions to an electronic preference policy on the grounds of illustration quality would need regular review.   In musical scholarship, although online articles may have the advantage  of audio links, the  Working Party  is informed that scores  and musical notation  are not consistently legible  in electronic formats and that exceptions to print cancellation will need to be made.  A  similar stricture applies to some  scripts other than English.

8.1.2. It is recommended that print subscriptions are maintained where illustrations, and other features such as musical notation and some scripts other than English,  are an essential component of the text and where the quality in the electronic version is inferior to print or printing gives unacceptable results. Such instances to be reviewed on an annual basis before the print subscription is renewed

8.2. Essential material omitted from the electronic version

8.2.1. Electronic full text, both from publishers and aggregators, is frequently not cover to cover compared with print. How far this matters and amounts to a justification for maintaining paper is a matter of academic advice. The omissions may be more or less significant. Editorials, correspondence, news items and in some instances reviews may be omitted but the role of academic journals as a correspondence and news channel has altered with the Internet and email. Essential features may be highly discipline specific. In some disciplines, such as Art and Design, the advertisement and graphic design material incidental to full text may be considered essential, but may be absent from the electronic version. A problem identified with some electronic versions both from publishers and aggregators, and considered a major drawback in Law, is the absence of the original print pagination for professional citation.

8.2.2. It is recommended that print subscriptions are maintained where essential content is absent from the electronic version, including commercial advertisements and graphics which are essential for study and research in Art and Design. Such instances to be reviewed on an annual basis before the print subscription is renewed

8.3. High browsing use titles

8.3.1. There is a category of periodicals which we term high browsing use titles, usually high frequency,  which will continue to receive heavy manual use in addition to electronic access. These include newspapers and weeklies such as New Scientist, Science, The Lancet and Nature. Such titles are not only vehicles for articles but designed more for rapid manual perusal in the first instance and absorption of the overall contents. They often function as general reading in specialist areas.

8.3.2. It is recommended print subscriptions are maintained for high  browsing use titles such as newspapers and weeklies.

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9. Long term electronic access and archiving

9.1. The issue of long term access and archiving for research has, until now, been a significant cause of conservatism in cancelling print. This is a leading concern for research libraries. A decision to cancel print should consider arrangements for permanent access rights to purchased information. This is included in the Caval Guidelines For Negotiating Licenses. (www.caval.edu.au/members/wpr/wpdl/gl/index.shtml).

9.2. Archiving, preservation and ongoing access in the print era have been an established library role, recognized as such by the other parties in the information chain. Libraries own the print they acquire. In the electronic era access is more likely licensed than owned. The resources may reside on a publisher or third party server, using rapidly changing technology, so that ongoing access also requires commitment to technological migration. The adjustment of responsibilities required of parties in the electronic environment is now delivering practical arrangements and cooperation between them for archival access. There are three possibilities for electronic archiving- by a third party, by the library or by the publisher. It could be considered potentially advantageous if these are not mutually exclusive in any particular instance.

9.3. The third party option saves many libraries 'reinventing the wheel' on electronic archiving, particularly technological migration, and could be more stable than arrangements subject to the corporate 'take over' instability of individual publishers. The leading third party archiving example is the cooperation between publishers and OCLC for a digital archive of academic journals accessible through OCLC Electronic Collections Online, to which Monash is a subscriber. The documentation of this project at (www.oclc.org/oclc/eco/archive.htm) deserves close study by readers of this paper, particularly the OCLC archiving policy statement at (www.oclc.org/oclc/eco/110796description.pdf). A list of the publishers cooperating is at (www2.oclc.org/oclc/fseco/frames/frames_pub.asp). In its contractual agreements with publishers, OCLC obtains the right to mount all content at OCLC and create a permanent electronic archive. This includes the right to store in perpetuity all of the journal content delivered to OCLC during the period of the contract and to provide ongoing access to libraries that have subscribed to this content, even if the publisher terminates its agreement with OCLC. As data formats become outmoded, OCLC will encourage participating publishers to provide their current data in a single, widely used format. At its discretion, and based on available technology and usage information, OCLC will migrate journal backfiles to new data formats as current formats (such as PDF) become outmoded. Where OCLC does not migrate backfiles to emerging data formats, it will ensure libraries of access through an adequate and available mechanism. OCLC will, within a reasonable amount of time, migrate the Electronic Collections Online service to new technology as needed to match the ubiquity and convenience of the original, Web-based system. The archiving policy statement also guarantees that should OCLC be forced to discontinue the Electronic Collections Online, OCLC will provide libraries with digital copies of  their journal subscriptions in a format that will enable them to locally mount and access the information using then-current technology.

9.4. Some key publishers do not participate in third party solutions to archiving, but offer their own solutions. In some cases they may offer their own solutions in addition to participation in third party solution. Such solutions must include access to what has been subscribed to even if subscriptions are later cancelled. Elsevier, as an example of a publisher not cooperating with third party solutions, has recently announced that they will maintain the journals offered through ScienceDirect, its host service, in perpetuity. The archives will be migrated, as the technology for storage, display or access changes, and an internal production archive separate from the ScienceDirect distribution platform will ensure redundancy and the ability to recreate the files in case of disaster. In extremis a third party solution is provided for- " in the unlikely event that Elsevier Science should be unable to meet this responsibility the archive will be turned over to one or more depositories chosen jointly by the publisher and an independent board of library advisors". While these assurances  are strong  the Working Party is of the view that to place our ongoing archival access solely in the hands of the publisher rather than an independent archive, like OCLC,  is risky.  In the case of Elsevier, Monash is investigating a retainer to access, if necessary, the complete archive of Elsevier titles which has been negotiated by CSIRO. 

9.5. The library archiving solution is the closest to the traditional print situation. Some publishers call on this model, providing information subscribed to the library on CD or tape for long term access to subscribed issues if subscriptions are cancelled. A number of Monash contracts entitle us to such  CD or tape archive dumps. These  will not necessarily provide all the functionality or the links of a Web version and will directly confront the Library with the problems of technological migration. The Working Party believes these problems are better addressed on behalf of all subscribers by the resources of such a third party as OCLC.    It is no surprise that some publishers not participating in third party or in-house solutions recommend a print subscription for long term archiving! A library's print-electronic spectrum will include some such cases where the advantages of electronic access are required but long term electronic access can be foreseen as unavailable or highly problematic and in such  cases parallel print will continue to  be necessary, if ultimate reliance on remote legal deposit print through document delivery is not acceptable. Future and better models for Library archiving may be along the lines of LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe) which is being implemented at Stanford University Libraries Highwire Press with funding from the National Science Foundation and engineering support from Sun Microsystems (hwm.stanford.edu/pdf/archive.pdf). LOCKSS provides tools which use local library controlled computers to safeguard readers' long term access to Web based journals.

9.6. The Working Party is satisfied, on the evidence examined, that solutions to ongoing access to electronic subscriptions are possible to assess in favour of print cancellation in many individual instances where archiving is a concern. This is not to say that where such archiving is not guaranteed the Library should forgo electronic access or necessarily acquire parallel print. The Library has exercised some discretion here with reference to electronic archiving and parallel print acquisition given that print, while it exists, will continue to be available through document delivery, ultimately from the legal deposit libraries, as it is now, if required. It is also the case that an increasing number of electronic resources will not have print equivalents and it is claimed that more articles and data are now published in online versions than in their print namesakes. Increasingly electronic archiving without paper will become standard. In this regard third party solutions again have a major role, as illustrated by the National Library of Australia's Pandora Project to set up a digital archive of Australian online publications (pandora.nla.gov.au/index.html).

9.7. It is recommended that cancellation of print subscriptions take account of satisfactory archiving and ongoing access to purchased electronic information including commitment to technological migration, preferably by a third party and with OCLC highly recommended.

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10. Retrospective digital access

10.1. It is notable that once the convenience and advantages of electronic access for a serial title are established there has followed a demand for electronic backfiles or retrospective, in addition to current, digital access. A leading project in this regard is JSTOR, to which Monash subscribes. (www.jstor.org/about/). Originally a project of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the purpose of JSTOR is to digitise backfiles of core journals in association with publishers. The average backfile period of the first 100 titles was 50 years. Initial emphasis was placed on disciplines such as history and economics where research retains more relevance rather than becoming material for the history of the subject, as is more common in the sciences. The project was motivated not only by a concern to broaden access but to assist the growing and persistent space, storage and preservation problems associated with retrospective print. Monash University Library is still establishing costings, but a methodology devised at Vanderbilt and applied in the United States gives estimates of between USD2,400 - USD4,100 for the capital cost of storing one hundred volumes (www.mellon.org/jstor.html). Computer memory is cheap. The same study indicated that costs in staff time for circulation , reshelving and other maintenance tasks could range from USD45 annually for a core journal in a small college, to USD180 per title at a large research library with heavy use. Not taken into account were the long term costs of paper preservation or the time saved by users in finding articles of interest to them. The JSTOR PDF files are keyword searchable on full text, making them highly accessible compared with manual indices or serendipity.  The Voyager Library catalogue has links to the JSTOR archive which is sometimes more extensive than our paper holdings. 

10.2. It is recommended that the Monash  membership of JSTOR have fuller impact on collection management practice and that past print runs covered by the JSTOR archive be considered for  discard at the time of relegation rather than transfer to remote or local storage, subject to recommendations on exceptions.

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11. Facilities, access and equity considerations

11.1. The reach of digital resources does not remove the fact that many users will still want to use library space to access those digital resources. A  comment the Working Party has encountered when the cancellation of print is proposed is that some library users either do not have online access or have inadequate online access for distance access. In regard to this issue we recommend reference to the Monash University Information Technology Services IT Survey 2000 Staff and students conducted in May 2000.  Key  results of the survey show that 68% of staff and 70% of students have home Internet access and 75% of staff also find their work PC adequate for their needs . The Distance Education Student results show 76% with home Internet access,  with 47% using a 56K modem. A further 5% of DE students were intending to connect to the Internet in the next 6 months. A high percentage (83.6%) of them were able to get the IT help they required.   While very encouraging,  these results do  identify a  minority of potential library users who may need to come to an On-Campus Uni lab or a Library site  to access digital resources.  This is no more than has been necessary in the past for print .  Certainly print is not the solution to these problems since it cannot be remotely accessed anyway.  In some instances conversion of  electronic to print by the Library will be the solution for Monash users who have an intractable difficulty with remote digital access which cannot be answered by the strategies of Section 4.5 above, or who cannot visit the Library. This, however, is a general issue for the University in distance education mode.  Although licensing arrangements may rule out conversion to paper (or digital transfer) for document delivery to other libraries, the Working Party is not aware of any licensing constraint on printing by and for members of Monash.

11.2. The implications for library users with disabilities of the growth in electronic resources in general, and a Library policy of cancelling parallel print,  has been raised with those responsible for  Library Services for Users with Disabilities. In response it has been emphasized that, for disabled users, print and electronic have advantages and disadvantages depending on the individual. The need for ready conversion to print, a possible increase in printing costs to the user, and the failure of many Web pages/databases to meet standards set for disability access were identified as issues.

11.3. The behaviour of online readers is still understudied but it can be fairly said that although electronic is increasingly the preferred medium for access, print still enjoys strong favour for use, repeated consultation and annotation. The shift is from a "print-then-distribute" model to "distribute-then-print" model. While we note that the ITS Survey 2000 found that 33% of on-campus and mixed mode students never print at Monash we believe the Library needs to quickly improve the facilities for the "distribute-then-print" model by providing high speed and reliable printing facilities at all Library sites to standards equivalent to photocopying facilities. Like photocopying, printing will require a payment mechanism. The Library is moving on this, but,  in the view of the Working Party and Library staff, not fast enough.  Online access is also commonly joined with reference to paper in various ways, including increasing references in printed text books and papers to URLS for reference. At present online readers are placed elbow to elbow in some of the libraries with practically no space to spread out associated papers or texts without impinging on their neighbours. We see the planned development in the Library of flexible learning spaces as important to the greater acceptance and success of digital access, offering the support and equipment required, including high speed networked laser printers or photocopiers, thus allowing easy on the spot transfer of screen to print if required. Library staff submissions on the shift to electronic resources have strongly emphasized the need for networked printing facilities to be improved since users frequently want immediate paper for consultation and annotation rather than downloading to disk or emailing for later consultation. Printing is also of high importance in meeting the needs of many users with disabilities.

11.4. While one major advantage of electronic is remote access,  the number of workstations in the Libraries must also be adequate to enable a significant shift to the use of electronic resources on site. The number of in library users able to consult a paper work is one to one with physical titles/volumes but electronically it is limited to the number of workstations.

11.5. It is recommended:

that the Library provide workstations which are designed to give adequate space for users to combine online access with print consultation and note taking and that this be addressed in the plans for flexible learning spaces.

that the University Librarian designate an appropriate member of Library staff to conduct a review of networked in library printing needs and the performance of current printing equipment and present a report and budget proposal by end of 2000.

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12. Library role in encouraging electronic use

12.1 The Library has a leading role in bringing to the attention of users the existence and advantages of electronic versions. User information sessions on electronic access and resources have been organised for some Faculties.

12.2. It is recommended that information sessions on electronic access and resources are organised for all Faculties.

12.3. The direct links in the Library catalogue to electronic versions serve to highlight the convenience of digital access when combined with regular link checking and maintenance. This is an area where less labor intensive methods of getting records into the catalogue are needed, particularly for serial titles included in the aggregate services. There are developments by some of the bibliographic utilities such as OCLC and by some publishers in conjunction with some Library system vendors to facilitate delivery of bibliographic catalogue record sets for aggregate services and publisher electronic journal suites. The Library is monitoring these developments and will take advantage of them when possible.

12.4. There are other steps which can be taken to increase awareness and use of electronic access.

12.5. It is recommended that display issues of print serials also accessible on line receive a prominent label advising users that the journal is available on line and to consult the catalogue for links, or information desk staff for assistance  and that an information block is placed on shelves with past volumes of cancelled titles similarly indicating that it is continued by electronic access

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