As Chemistry and Physics Librarian at the University of Melbourne I make
decisions as to whether to select print or electronic versions of books and journals.
Like most university libraries, including  other university libraries in Thailand,
libraries are making decisions to select electronic over print versions of journals, and
in those situations in which the library subscribes to both print and electronic
versions of the same issues, decisions are being made to keep only the full text and
either discard the print version completely or relocate print issues to a remote
storage facility. Space is a prime mover here, as well as cost. Space of course, is also
a cost.  User preference is also an important factor in this decision making. With a 
few exceptions of mainly older academics, users now overwhelmingly prefer to have
the electronic version of a journal article that either they read on a computer
monitor, of, if it is a longer article, print out and use as a portable hard copy.

            However, university libraries have also begun adopting a similar approach to
monograph selection. Here at the University of Melbourne Library, unless the subject
and departmental liaison librarian explicitly requests the print version of a
monograph, if an electronic version of the monograph is available, it will be ordered
even if there is a print version available. Space is given as a reason. But is this driven
by user demand? and does it correspond with present user needs and preferences?

            Both the Schools of Chemistry and Physics at the University of Melbourne are
privileged to have their own branch libraries, which are housed in the respective
schools,  rather than in the central library buildings. There is a Chemistry Librarian,
myself, based in the Chemistry Library, and a Physics Support Liaison Librarian, based
in the Physics Library. We both interact regularly and frequently with Chemistry and
Physics undergraduates, graduate students and academics. On several occasions,
upon searching for a title in the catalogue, an electronic only version was found, and
the user specifically requested a print version. Reasons given include portability –
ability to read on public transport and so forth, and simply personal preference.
For text more than a few pages, the overwhelming majority of people still prefer
print to electronic. I had similar experiences at my last university library, Portland
State University, in Oregon.  Here too on several occasions users bemoaned the fact
that we only had the electronic, not the print version of a particular monograph. It is
still difficult to read long passages of text on a computer monitor. Not with standing
wireless reading devices such as Amazon’s Kindle, reading from a screen is still less
easy on the eyes and more difficult than reading print on paper. Moreover, the
cultural shift from reading print on paper books to reading on a screen has still not
yet taken place.

On one occasion a chemistry academic and his research assistant specifically
requested the print version  of a reference work to be brought back from storage,
even though we have the electronic version.  I arranged for the relocation of the five
volume set, from storage to the Chemistry Library. When I informed a library manager
of this,  she agreed to the relocation, but only reluctantly, saying “They will have to
be got out of that”. Meaning, taught to use electronic rather than print.  It seems to
me that librarians should not arrogantly assume we always know what is best for
users. Rather, we should meet the needs of users as they are now, not users as we
want them to be, or as we imagine them to likely to be in five or ten years time. 
With the partial exception of  some reference works, in which use is focussed on
short entries rather than lengthy texts, the e-book is an idea whose time has probably
not quite yet come. Meanwhile, we should at least consult with users and try to meet
their needs as we know them to be now.

As the great philosopher of science Karl Popper said, the future is
unpredictable, because the direction of technology is unpredictable. In the last
analysis, libraries are about people. Let us deal with them as they are now, rather
than predict how they will be in the future
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

* Dr.Graham Howard

The Chemistry Library, University of Melbourne.

grahamh@unimelb.edu.au