ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


498 

A n n  V i Ie s

➔ Wh y scientists a n d  e n g in e e rs  becom e lib ra ria n s
A  survey o f  “inform ation specialists w ho had degrees in science or engineering” finds 
that 25 percent o f 194 respondents m oved to library and inform ation science because o f 
“disillusionm ent or dissatisfaction w ith a current career in science.” T h e  rem aining 75 
percent changed fields for m ore positive reasons, such as “their love o f  the scientific and 
technical literature as well as the fun and challenge o f inform ation research” (56%  o f 
th at group), “the unceasing variety o f their jobs (17% ), powerful cutting-edge technol­
ogy (32% ), the fascination o f the inform ation explosion (12% ), finding the ‘needle in 
the haystack’ for clients (3%), the power and prestige th a t arises from  c ontributing to the 
organization’s b o tto m  line (5% ), and the satisfying and critical team work w ith  faculty 
a nd oth er researchers (18% ).”
Julie Hallmark and Mary Frances Lembo, “ Leaving Science fo r  LIS: Interviews and a Survey o f Librarians w ith  Scien­
t ific  and Technical Degrees,”  Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship No. 37 (Spring 2003). June 6, 2003

User p refe re n c e s  f o r  in s titu tio n a l p o rta ls
➔ A  recent online survey o f potential users o f  institutional W eb portals at tertiary educa­
tio n  institutions in the U n ited  K ingdom  finds “the top 10 rated features …  are as 
follows: Search your favourite resources, Library administration, Access or update teaching 
materials, Personal inform ation, Library a nd quality In tern e t resources alerts, Access 
your institutional email, H andbook, D eadline alerts, Access or update reading lists, [and] 
C am pus news.” T h e  features ranked as the least desirable were “W eather, News, C ater­
ing, View payslips, [and] Vote in student elections.”
Liz Pearce, “ ‘A p art fro m  th e  weather, I th in k  it ’s a good idea’: Stakeholder Requirements fo r  Institutional Portals,” 
A ria d n e 35 ( M arch-April 2003). May 21, 2003

Faculty re a d in g  b ehavio rs a t th e  U n iv e rs ity  o f G eo rg ia
A  2001 survey o f faculty at the U niversity o f  Georgia finds th at “personal p rin t sub­
scriptions still have enorm ous im pact on faculty scholarship: 91%  o f respondents re­
ported reading at least one article in this form at every week,” com pared to 73 percent for 
library p rin t subscriptions and 67 percent for library electronic subscriptions.
Erin T. Smith, “ Changes in Faculty Reading Behaviors: The Impact o f Electronic Journals on th e  University o f Geor
gia,”  Journal o f  Academic Librarianship 29.3 (May 2003): 162–68

➔ Reading  b e h a v io rs  o f  scientists
A  long-term  study o f the reading behaviors o f scientists finds th at 46.3 percent o f  the 
articles read by scientists surveyed from  1990 to 1993 cam e from  personal subscriptions 
(100 percent print) and 40.6 percent from  library subscriptions (99.1 percent p rin t and 
0.9 percent electronic). From  2001 to 2002, personal subscriptions accounted for only 
15.2 percent o f  the articles read (54.5 percent p rin t and 45.5 percent electronic), and 
library subscriptions accounted for 49.0 percent (12.7 percent p rin t and 87.3 percent 
electronic).
Carol Tenopir, et al., “ Patterns o f Journal Use by Scientists thro u g h  Three Evolutionary Phases,”  D-Lib Magazine 9.5 
(May 2003). May 29, 2003

Ann Viles is coordinator o f reference and instruction a t Appalachian State University in Boone, North 
Carolina, e-mail: vilesea@conrad.appstate.edu

mailto:vilesea@conrad.appstate.edu