ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 41 | October 1999
NLA and the library community
Looking for Books
The National Library releases a report that shows to what extent academic libraries are meeting the needs of academics and higher degree researchers.
Looking for Books: A Report on Access to Research Monographs by Academics and Higher Degree Researchers at Australian University Libraries was released recently. The report, by Professor Leon Cantrell from the University of Western Sydney, is the result of a major survey of academics and researchers. The survey was a key activity of the Australian Library Collections Task Force, of which Professor Cantrell is a member. The task force was established by the National Library to investigate and recommend strategies for improving access to monographs in Australia.
Academics and researchers from the departments of English and Psychology (or their equivalents) in all Australian universities were surveyed to determine how well their librarys monograph collection met their research needs, and the nature of any problems they experienced. Responses to the survey were received from over 270 academics throughout Australia, providing a very comprehensive set of viewpoints.
The results of the survey show that academics and researchers in a range of Australian universities may experience considerable difficulties accessing books to support advanced research. Approximately 50 per cent of respondents indicated that their university librarys monograph collection was insufficient to meet the needs of research more advanced than undergraduate level. Academics working in new or highly-specialised fields, or who were located at younger and regional universities, experienced additional difficulties.
The survey showed that interlibrary loans are very important in ensuring that researchers can access the material they need. Over 35 per cent of English and 22 per cent of Psychology researchers use interlibrary loans over six times each year to access books in Australia. Use of overseas interlibrary loans appears to be minor, however, with many respondents reporting zero usage. While over 26 per cent of English and 17 per cent of Psychology researchers reported that they had no problems with interlibrary loan services, a number of obstacles were mentioned by other respondents. Apart from cost and speed of delivery, respondents cited loan periods that are too short, insufficient information about the status of interlibrary loan requests and insufficient information about the contents of books being ordered.
The survey also found that academics and other researchers expected that problems of access to books would be met through electronic means. Overwhelmingly, respondents suggested that electronic access to information about books held by Australian libraries (already available through Kinetica), user-initiated interlibrary loans, and online access to chapter information and the text of books would significantly improve their access to research materials.
Looking for Books provides the first Australia-wide overview of the experiences of users seeking monographs. Professor Cantrells work in this area is a good example of how cooperation between academics and librarians can be a powerful mechanism to improve access to research materials. The report concludes with a series of recommendations to both the academic and library communities. These are currently being considered and it is clear that the issues, and therefore their solutions, will be shared by both communities.
Copies of the report are available from the National Library, and comments on the findings can be directed either to Professor Cantrell at the University of Western Sydney on (02) 9772 6600 or Paula Williams at the National Library on (02) 6262 1481 (email pwilliams@nla.gov.au). Additional information about the work of the Australian Library Collections Task Force is available online at: http://www.nla.gov.au/niac/auscoll.
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