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Do We Still Need a Library?
continued
- Instead of sending our print journal list to a journal vendor, we
must negotiate licensing agreements with many different publishers/vendors
of online journals. Each licensing agreement is different, with varying
restrictions on use, etc., requiring a significant amount of time to
review and negotiate. We purchase many online products through several
different consortial arrangements with other health sciences libraries
in our region in order to lower the cost per institution, but this further
complicates the negotiating process.
- When information is available online and we can afford to pay for
it, providing access to it is a complicated process requiring even more
work by a higher level of staff than is required for providing access
to printed materials. After the licensing agreement for a journal is
finalized, we must then link to the online journal website from the
Library's catalog record for the journal. Because of use restrictions
in the licensing agreements, we must also provide a means for verifying
that the people who access the journal through our catalog are valid
users (meaning we must run a proxy server or issue passwords or provide
some other form of authentication). After the record has been created,
we must continually check to make sure the links have not gone dead,
etc.
- We must provide computers and printers in the Library to enable users
to access online journals. This requires that we spend more money on
equipment and staff to purchase and maintain the computers, and to maintain
the web site through which we provide access to online resources.
- Since many UAMS personnel like to access our online resources from
their offices or other remote locations, we must trouble-shoot access
problems caused by firewalls, equipment, etc. in these other locations.
- More education of users is required with the current combination of
online and print information resources. While access to print materials
is pretty standardized (most health sciences libraries file their journals
in alphabetical order by title), different libraries have different
ways of providing access to their online resources through their catalogs,
further confusing users moving from one institution to another. Also,
remote access is available for some of the Library's online resources
but not others because of variations in licensing agreements. It's a
confusing situation for the library staff and especially for the patrons.
We are trying to make our access as simple and user-friendly as possible,
are developing better online instructions, and are providing classes
and individual consultations to help users find the resources they need.
In addition to teaching people how to find the online resources they
need, we teach database searching skills. If you are having trouble
using the Library's online resources, call the Information Desk at 686-6734.
While there are some potential savings from providing
online access to journals, such as savings in bindery costs and shelving
space, the new costs associated with providing online access to information
resources far outweigh any savings for the Library. With online access,
the most important savings are in the time and effort that it will take
for researchers, clinicians, students and others to get the information
that they need.
So my answer to the question about whether or not
we need libraries is a resounding YES. Someday when the vast majority
of information resources are available online, we may not need to continue
to expand the large physical facilities we have now, but we will still
need space to continue to store the older materials not available online
and the institutional archives/history of medicine collections, and space
to provide computers to access the online resources. Also, we will still
need staff to select and lease the information resources, to organize
access to them through the Library's website, and to teach people how
to access them. 
Mary L. Ryan
Library Director
 
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