STS General Discussion Group [Conference Report]

  	
  	
  	
  


	Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship  	Winter 2000  


	DOI:10.5062/F4CF9N3M


  

  Conference Reports
    Science and Technology Section's General Discussion   Group Highlights from Midwinter 2000
      Kimberly Lyons-Mitchell
  University of the Pacific
klyons@uop.edu    Julia Zimmerman
  Ohio University
zimmerj1@ohio.edu


  
    The General Discussion Group hosted 62 participants in a discussion of  Digital Libraries now and in the future. Two facilitators, David Flaxbart  of the University of Texas at Austin and Kimberly Douglas of Cal Tech, set  the context for the two-hour discussion. The facilitators described the  environments at their respective institutions, and many questions  followed, provoking an interesting and exciting discussion.     Topics ranged from troubleshooting the digital library in its infancy, to  predicting what the library of the future will hold. Questions and  comments included the issues of our continued reliance on print resources,  the OPAC and electronic products , statistics, electronic journals and the  librarians role in the library of the future. The topics of promoting the  use of electronic media and training of users were also discussed. 

    Even as electronic products are expanding in number and scope, print   materials are still widely used. In some cases print continues to be the   preferred source. With regard to print resources, the issue of ARL   accreditation was brought up. In many libraries the number of print   volumes is decreasing due to their replacement by electronic resources,   but libraries are penalized in their ARL statistical ranking because of   dropping volume counts. 

    In terms of the issue of the library maintaining its status as a   "place", one concern of the attendees as well as the speakers was the   dwindling gate counts and decreases in other traditional library use   measures. It was suggested that new and innovative statistics need to be   developed to complement the traditional statistics that we are currently   using. Some of the ideas mentioned are to place more emphasis on   database usage statistics and library web page hits. With these types of   statistics we can attempt to capture patrons "entering the library"   through the web.

    Electronic journals seem to be on the minds of all librarians. The   discussion surrounding electronic journals ranged from access issues and   promotion, to statistics provided by vendors. Access issues include such   problems as linking individual titles in the OPAC and remote access for   off-campus users. The issue of promoting these resources is also near   and dear to our hearts as librarians. In order for our users to know   what is available in electronic format, we must develop innovative ways   to promote electronic products. 

    Increasing availability of electronic resources has encouraged migration   from print indexes and abstracts to electronic and full-text databases.   While databases are a great innovation, they are very expensive and pose   problems for librarians. One of the problems broached in the discussion   was that of statistics reporting. Librarians use statistics in many   ways, including retention decisions for serials. However, we encounter a   lack of standardization in the reporting of statistics. No solutions   were reached, as this is a new area of inquiry, but many suggestions were   offered.

    The discussion continued with speculation about what the library of the   future would bring, from its architecture and aesthetics to its content   and personnel. Kimberly Douglas spoke of the future library fostering a   strong relationship between the librarian and the user. The library of   the future, Kimberly added, should also focus on integrating print and   electronic, not allowing them to be mutually exclusive entities.   Kimberly also said that the library will still look like a library, but   with power ports. The library of the future will be aesthetically   pleasing as well as being a gateway to the electronic media of the   future. 

    Finally, the group addressed the perennial question of the role of the   librarian in the digital library, and whether we, as a profession, will   continue to be needed. After many comments, the group agreed that   patrons will always need librarians to guide them through the world of   information, regardless of format of information.

    The discussion was a lively one with many contributors. The   facilitators brought much to the table that was both stimulating and   useful. 

        

  

  
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