Submitted by Ann Snowman, head of Access Services

The Libraries’ Assessment and Metrics Council is sponsoring a discussion of the Ithaka S + R US Faculty Survey 2012, on June 4, from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., in Mann Assembly Room or via Adobe Connect. Nancy Adams, Harrell Health Sciences Library, and Ann Snowman, head of Access Services, will facilitate the discussion.

How to connect: Remote viewers should log on to https://meeting.psu.edu/ithaka and use the chat box feature to participate. Recording will be made available shortly after the event. I-Tech recommends Firefox as the first choice when using Adobe Connect; IE will work too, but fewer issues are seen with Firefox.

Overview of Ithaka S+R discussion: How would the faculty you liaise with respond to the following statement? “Assuming that electronic collections of journals are proven to work well, I would be happy to see hard copy collections discarded and replaced entirely by electronic collections.” Would they agree or disagree? Is the answer the same for all disciplines? Has it changed over time? How much has it changed?

Would they answer “often” or “never” to the following question, or pick a mid-point? “You may have the opportunity to read scholarly monographs in electronic format, either through a library subscription database or as standalone e-books. How often have you used scholarly monographs in digital form in the past six months…?”

Ithaka S+R focuses on “capturing an accurate picture of faculty members’ practices, attitudes, and needs” in aid of libraries and other cultural institutions that serve them. The survey is conducted on a three-year cycle, most recently seeking input from more than 160,000 faculty from US colleges and universities in 2012. And – for the first time – via email. The report can be found on the Ithaka web site.

We invite you to review the report and discuss the findings with us on June 4, via Adobe Connect or in person in Mann Assembly Room. Contact Ann at ams32@psu.edu  or Nancy at nea11@psu.edu  with questions.