1. 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

2. 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)

3. 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)

4. 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

5. 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

6. How Do E ngineers Learn About Articles? Reading per Person %No. Browse4750 Online Search1112 Citations in publications1617 Someone told reader27 101106

7. Where Do Engineers Obtain Articles? Reading per Person %No. Personal subscriptions3234 Library collections5053 From another person11 Author Websites11 Free Web journal66 Preprint11 101106

8. Age is Important Source: ORNL (2001), University of Tennessee (2000), Drexel University (2002), University of Pittsburgh (2003) Source of Article1,2 Years3-5 YearsOver 5 Years Library40.042.973.3 Personal37.121.49.2 Separate22.935.717.5 Total100.0

9. 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

10. Trends in Engineers’ Reading Patterns They appear to be reading more They rely on libraries more Reasons for increased library use

11. Fig 2 - Average No. of Articles Read per Scientist Year and Study (National Survey, n=2,350) (National Survey, n=865) (U of TN, n=89)(TN, Drexel & Pittsburgh, n=300)

12. Fig 3 - Source of Additional Readings Scientist Reading per Year

13. Engineer Trends in Journal Use 1977CurrentChange Reading80106+26 Reading from Libraries553+48 Reading from Personal Subscriptions 6634-32 Reading from Online Searching__12+12 Reading Cited Articles1317+4

14. 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

15. Breadth of Reading Increased Drexel as an example Reading –Read from about 13 journals in 1977 –Over twice that amount now

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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