“Digital Reference Tools & Technologies”
September 24, 2010
Presented by Mary Krautter, mmkrautt@uncg.edu
Head of Reference and Instructional Services
University of North Carolina at Greensboro Libraries
RADICAL CHANGES
IN RESEARCH METHODS
 92,691 books with the word
bibliography in the title
between 1970-1979
 16,073 books between
2000-2009
Image from WKU Library Blog http://library.blog.wku.edu/2008/05/02/strawberry-delight/
In 2005:
“It is foolish
to assume that online sources
are on the verge of replacing all
traditional reference sources; however, it
is also foolish to deny the importance of
the electronic format.” (Puacz, in Reference
Librarian)
Image from: http://www.geekologie.com/2008/07/08/garden-zombie.jpg
“The Changing Format of Reference Collections:
Are Research Libraries Favoring Electronic
Access over Print?" Acquisitions Librarian (2006)
Conclusion: “ The trend . . . is to cease receiving
print versions of titles in lieu of electronic
access.”
2008. “Are reference books becoming an
endangered species?”
2008. “Off the shelf: Is print reference dead?”
2009."Reference 2.0: The future of shrinking print
reference collections seems destined for the
Web.”
2009. "Shelflessness as a Virtue: Preserving
Serendipity in an Electronic Reference
Collection.“
“The one certainty is that the continued over-mydead body insistence that no books be removed
from campus libraries is an unsustainable
position that, sooner or later, must give way to
new ways of managing and using academic
libraries.”
“The Myth of Browsing.” American Libraries,
June/July 2010
 Phone modems
 CD ROMS
 Cassette tapes, CDs, floppy disks, VHS tapes
 And the list goes on
Image from http://petswithsunglasses.com/ Created by Tommaso Baldovino
OR
 What effect have older ebook formats had on
Libraries?
 What role will newer ebook formats have?
 What role will print have in the future?
 How will our decisions determine the present
state and future direction of our reference
collections?
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Managing reactions to change
Transforming budgets
Collecting data
Analyzing publishing models
Making purchasing decisions
Making decisions on existing collections
Transforming our spaces
If we say “Let’s get rid of 90% of the print
reference collection!”
The message to those who
selected those volumes
during the past years is?
 Look at where $ are going and be prepared to
analyze value based on:
 Pricing
 Use of materials
 Overall budget picture
We can’t hang on to OUR
Reference money
Image from: http://www.cedmagic.com/featured/christmas-carol/1983-mickey-greed-scrooge.html
 Moving from paper to electronic models of
pricing
 Moving from subject/format based budgets
to large interdisciplinary collections
 Moving from permanent ownership of
individual items to more fluid models
 Summer 2009, Reviewed Ref. continuations
budget: approximately $80,000 per year
 Cut or reduced frequency of titles:
total savings approximately $53,000 per year
 About half of cancelled titles partially or
completely available online
80,000.00
70,000.00
60,000.00
50,000.00
Ref. allocation
print $
eref
transfer of funds
40,000.00
30,000.00
20,000.00
10,000.00
0.00
2008
2009
2010
Wheeling and dealing
Image from: http://jcwinnie.biz/wordpress/?p=4940
Your DREAM trade-in - total $9,000 reduction in
reference budget with funds moving to database
budget
And now we’re traveling down the highway with:
 Source OECD – cancelled from another fund
 ITER - additional dataset
 Credo Reference
 Upgrade to Global Marketing database
Traditional reference sources paid from UNCG
database budget include:
 Gale Virtual Reference, Credo Reference and
Oxford Reference titles – large sets of traditional
dictionaries and encyclopedias
 Individual encyclopedias and dictionaries from
Netlibrary, Sage and many other sources
Adjusting and evaluating
 How can publishers survive and thrive?
 How can libraries maximize budgets?
 How do we make decisions?
David confirmed that the
Encyclopedia of (print) would be
$1595.00. For this year only, they
will offer free access to the
Encyclopedia online along with
purchasing the print.
• The Encyclopedia is a large part of the Library Online,
which features over 60 e-books, over 1,600 additional
images, and additional reference material. If you
purchase the print set, you can add the Library Online for
one year for a small additional fee.
• Encyclopedia (print): $1595.00 (free access to
Encyclopedia online)
-Upgrade Fee for Access to all of Library Online: $550.00
• Renewal rates for Library Online after your first year.
-Unlimited: $2195.00
-Single User: $695.00
• A one year subscription is $3,270.
• “An outright purchase of this product provides
the library with full archival rights. We are
continuing to publish content and add it
quarterly, therefore, beginning in year two there
is a Supplement charge along with a small fee
for our hosting the content. The list price for an
outright purchase of the base content is
$22,440. The supplement fee in year two is
$920 with an annual hosting fee of $150.
 Subscription for 5 years $16,350 (assuming no
increase)
 Purchase outlay over 5 years $26,720, (assuming no
increase in hosting or supplement fees)
 Ten years $32,700 for subscription
 Ten years $32,070 for purchase
 NOTE: PREVIOUS PAPER EDITION $10,000
this specially priced bundle includes a print copy for desk
reference along with the e-book version. The e-book
includes the complete text of the print edition in PDF
format. You will be able to download the e-book
immediately upon purchase; the print copy will be
shipped to you. Print/e-book bundles may only be
purchased using a credit card; if purchased using a
purchase order, the account will be billed but you will be
not be able to access your e-book download. Downloads
are designed for single users only."
 Electronic purchase vs. subscription :
 3-5 years, purchase price should roughly equal
subscription
BUT exceptions might be made for materials with updates,
particular subject areas, and other special circumstances
 Along with complex models of pricing
 There’s the whole quote process
To request subscription prices, please email. Our customer
service representative will contact you soon.
PREQUALIFYING QUESTIONS FOR CONSORTIA
Help facilitate the consortia pricing process by preparing in advance your answers to the following questions:
• Please give a summary profile of your membership. How many institutions does your consortium represent? Where are your members located
geographically?
• What types of institution do you serve and in what proportion? (For example, percentage of academic libraries to public libraries.)
• What are the largest and smallest institutions you serve, by library type? (For example, the largest and smallest public libraries; the largest and
smallest academic libraries.)
• Do you support groups within your consortia? (For example, a consortium within your own.)
• Which of the following channels and methods do you use to market available products to your members?
Targeted email
Annual meetings
Vendor fairs
State/regional conferences
Newsletters (print or digital)
Social media
Print direct mail
Other (please specify)
• What is your quoting process?
• Do you require that a certain number of your members must agree to take a trial before you proceed with one?
• Do you require that a certain number of your members must agree to subscribe before you proceed with a subscription?
• Is there one date each year by which your members have to decide on what products they wish to purchase through you? (In other words, do
you submit one annual order only?) Or do you submit individual pass-through orders as they come?
• Do you handle billing and payments so there would be one invoice and payment for ALA? Or do your members require individual invoices from
ALA and pay directly?
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Number of users?
How many pages can be printed/downloaded?
What format?
If PDF – searchable or not?
Packages vs. individual titles?
Catalog records available?
 Gathering usage data – critical for cancellation
and weeding decisions
 Keep in mind – use data only reflects what you
have – not what your users want
Individual Reference tool in 09/10
Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online
.12 per use
Reference package: Oxford Reference Online at
.64 per use (a likely undercount)
 Find out what people say they want
 And then find out what they really use
 And then plan for things they don’t know they
want
What can I do with all these?
 Weeding – tough and tedious
 Motivation – inertia vs. moving forward
 Goals are essential
 Space, Space, Space - where do the books go?
And what do you do with the space that’s left?
Rule of thumb that
20% of the
collection accounts
for 80% of use
indicated even
prior to the
availability of
electronic
resources
From a July 2010 email: The Cabarrus County Public Library in
is weeding its reference collection and is looking for a good
home for some Gale reference sets. We have the following
titles to offer:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Contemporary Literary Criticism-Vol. 1-226;
Contemporary Authors-Vol. 1-153;
Contemporary Authors, Autobiography Series-Vol. 1-30;
Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series-Vol. 1-153;
Something About the Author, Autobiography Series-Vol. 126.
 What do we want our collections to be?
 What do we want our services to be?
 What do we want our spaces to be?
KICK THE ADDICTION – IT’S
AN ONLINE WORLD
 Please share: questions, comments.
 For a copy of this presentation, contact Mary
Krautter at mmkrautt@uncg.edu
Barclay, Donald A. “The Myth of Browsing.” 2010. American Libraries, 41, no.
6/7, 52-54.
Ford, Lyle, Lisa Hanson O'Hara, and Jared Whiklo. 2009. "Shelflessness as a
Virtue: Preserving Serendipity in an Electronic Reference Collection."
Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship 21, no. 3/4: 251-262.
Hellyer, Paul. 2009. "Reference 2.0: The future of shrinking print reference
collections seems destined for the Web." AALL Spectrum 13, no. 5: 24-27.
Kent, Allen, et. al. 1979. Use of Library Materials: The University of Pittsburg
Study. New York: M. Dekker.
Korah, Abe, Erin Cassidy, Eric Elmore, and Ann Jerabel. 2009. “Off the Shelf:
Trends in the Purchase and Use of Electronic Books:” Journal of Electronic
Resources Librarianship 21, no. 3/4: 263-278.
Lee, Marta. 2009. "Weeding Is Not Just for Gardeners: A Case Study on
Weeding A Reference Collection." Community & Junior College Libraries 15,
no. 3: 129-135.
Puacz, Jeanne Holba. 2005. "Electronic vs. Print Reference
Sources in Public Library Collections." Reference Librarian
44, no. 91/92: 39-51.
Robbins, Sarah, Cheryl McCain, and Laurie Scrivener. 2006.
"The Changing Format of Reference Collections: Are
Research Libraries Favoring Electronic Access over Print?"
Acquisitions Librarian 18, no. 35/36: 75-95.
Singer, Carol A. 2008. "Weeding Gone Wild: Planning and
Implementing a Review of the Reference Collection."
Reference & User Services Quarterly 47, no. 3: 256-264.
Spiro, Lisa and Geneva Henry. 2010. “Can a New Research
Library Be All-Digital?” Council on Library and Information
Resources. The Idea of Order: Transforming Research
Collections for 21st Century Scholarship. CLIR Publication, no
147. http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub147abst.html