ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 5 0 8 / C&RL N ew s The future of reference IV Librarians must be willing leaders in the use o f technology T he Reference and Information Services Committee of the General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin, presented its nual program, “The Future of Reference IV,” on February 28, 1991. The distinguished speaker was Nancy L Eaton, dean of library services at Iowa State University. Eaton began her library career at UT-Austin, first as a cataloger, then head of the MARC Cataloging Unit, and then as assis­ tant to the director (1968-74). In keeping with tradition, two UT-Austin staff members—Dennis Dillon, assistant for refer­ ence services operations, Reference Services De­ anpa­ rtment; and Nancy Elder, head librarian, Life Science Library—were invited to present a for­ mal response to Eaton’s paper. An edited ver­ sion of the three addresses are presented here. Document delivery and on-demand publishing: Implications for reference service By Nancy L. Eaton T he “Future of Reference” presentations ofthe past two years offered two new para digms for the library of the future: that o user-centered library1 and the electronic library. I would submit that economic forces will shape the future library more than either user needs or evolving information technology. The driv­ ing force which will mandate changes in li­ braries is the economic reality that higher edu­ cation and society in general can no longer economically support scholarly commun-ication and scholarly publishing in their present con­ figurations. We all must balance our personal checkbooks each month or face the creditors. I submit that we can no longer balance our li­ brary checkbooks and that scholarly publish­ ing will be forced to reconfigure itself, albeit over a significant period of time. It is incum­ bent upon us to try to anticipate that activity and to be part of the solution. While user be­ havior and needs are of param ount interest as w e participate in this new order, they could also become the victims of economic realities. ­ f t 2 Need fo r n e w pricing models in publishing hPee ter Lyman, associate dean for scholarly tech­ nology, University of Southern California, made a presentation to the Coalition for Networked Information on November 4, 1990, in which he posed an intriguing new approach to publish­ ing costs.3 Lyman summarized the current situ­ ation as one in which scholarly publishing is subsidized by library subscription rates, copy­ right is turned over to the publisher by the author or parent institution, and government support of scholarship has decreased. He de­ scribed a shift since 1940 from noncommercial to commercial scholarly publishing in which only 15% of our scholarly publishing is now noncommercial. He posed a new approach to rebuilding the economic base for scholarly com­ munication. I w ould like to summarize his ap­ proach to a new pricing model and to carry it out further as a concept, both as to how it might be executed in practice and what implications it has for reference services in academic librar- N ancy L. Eaton is dean o f library services a t Iowa State University o f Science a n d Technology. This pa p er is edited by Eloise McDonald, chair, Reference a n d Information Services Committee, a n d moderator o f the d a y ’s proceedings,fro m Eaton's presentation in A u stin on February 28, 1991 Septem ber 1 9 9 2 / 5 0 9 ies. The essen ce o f Lyman's a p p ro a c h is to change to a distributed econom ic m odel w hich w ould centralize fixed costs an d revenues (au­ thorship, editorial efforts, and composition), but w ould distribute variable costs a n d revenues (printing a n d distribution). H e w o u ld return publishers to publishing an d decentralize the m anufacturing aspects: a) Publishers incur fixed costs w hich could be re c o u p e d via site licenses o r subscriptions to franchisees at costs less than current su b ­ scription prices. b) Franchisees w ould incur variable costs o f p ro d u c tio n a n d d is trib u tio n , re c o v e re d through a variety o f local m echanism s. c) Publishers w o u ld incur th e variable costs o f production an d distribution associated w ith the electronically disenfranchised— those w ith­ out access to th e electronic distribution m echa­ nisms. Publishers w o u ld recover th ese costs through norm al subscription m echanism s, w ith established ceiling prices. This clientele w ould b e a shrinking p ortion o f th e m arket over time. Execution o f such a m odel w ould require a highly autom ated an d n etw o rk ed app ro ach to publishing. While it is expected to evolve even­ tually, any near-term m odel has to com bine aspects of the current publishing environm ent w ith a fram ew ork for evolution o f the distrib­ u ted econom ic model. Some examples of ways to achieve this might be: • T ra d itio n a l p rin t jo u rn als: P u b lish ers w o u ld concentrate o n th e usual editorial and jurying processes b u t w o u ld publish the jour­ nal off o f a centralized database, w ith m ultiple output formats, traditional printed journals, CD- ROM versions, or print-on-dem and at the ar­ ticle o r chapter level. O ver time, m any users an d libraries w ould print-on-dem and at the ar­ ticle level rather than purchase the entire printed journal. For libraries that w an t to subscribe to the entire electronic version either as a CD- ROM offline p ro d u c t o r as o n lin e full text, m anufacturing an d distribution costs w ould be m oved to the local level an d presum ably be reduced, because actual printing w ould b e re­ duced to only articles or chapters requested and with reduced library stacks storage requirements. • N ew electronic journals: N ew electronic full-text/im age publications, m ost likely new journals in areas w hich n e e d sp eed of access an d im m ediacy in content, are emerging. • Library collections (p a p e r, m icroform , etc.): Materials published o n p a p e r or micro­ form w ould still b e h o u se d in traditional w ays but could b e scanned an d transm itted electroni­ cally o r sent via telefacsimile or, alternatively, s e n t v ia c a m p u s d e li v e r y o r t r a d it io n a l interlibrary loan mail delivery. T he key to this decentralized distribution system is that the content may exist in elec­ tronic, p aper, microform, or oth er formats. This is a hybrid ap p ro ach w hich acknow ledges that older print collections will continue to b e m ain­ tained, that o n-dem and printing on p ap er will b e preferable in m any instances, that in som e cases several alternatives for o u tp u t will be available (probably at different costs and speeds of receipt), an d that som e inform ation will be available only in electronic format and not avail­ able to those w ithout appropriate equipm ent. This approach m oves th e m anufacturing and distribution to the local level, w ith options se­ lectable by the user. T he have-nots w ithout appropriate hardw are can still go to the library or bookstore to have the document printed on dem and an d distributed by existing mechanisms. T he p u rp o se of this presentation is to con­ centrate o n the im plications for such a change in the publishing m echanism s o n library refer­ ence service. The preceding, hypothetical model presents serious im plications for library refer­ ence services: the w orkstation will b e an es­ sential tool of the trade, an d reference will be increasingly online rather than print-oriented. B ecause th e final distribution options are at the u ser en d , th e reference librarian a n d /o r the system options will have to m ake clear to the u ser w h at th e output options are and at what prices, an extension of what is already done for database searching and interlibrary loan requests. R eference im plications The fact that m any library users will no t have the direct access to equipm ent o r th e know l­ edge levels to use the online environm ents ef­ fectively requires that librarians continue to be sophisticated translators of p atro n needs. Thus, a p a tro n w o u ld still com e to th e Reference D epartm ent or Interlibrary Loan D epartm ent for help, b u t the reference d esk is n o w the “user w orkstation,” a n d the librarian is the in­ term ediary for the online inquiries. The user will n e e d better online directories and m ore sophisticated help screens. As the truly expert users will likely b e a small subset o f the entire population, the n e e d for telep h o n e assistance, electronic mail assistance, and o th er kinds of reference interventions in a distributed envi­ ronm ent will b e enhanced. 5 1 0 / C&RL N e w s No matter how m uch w e simplify the ac­ cess m ethods through front-end software and gateways, to the user this will appear a com ­ plex environm ent resulting in a n eed for better online guides, printed handouts, docum enta­ tion, and instruction programs. The roles of interlibrary loan and docum ent delivery, now often functionally separated, may require some reorganization to support the more cohesive and integrated approach to access services d e­ sired in m any libraries. In the decentralized distribution model, the user can easily end u p paying for information that is available free or for a low er fee if h e / … the user can easily en d up paying fo r information that is available free or fo r a lower fe e i f he/she is not a sophisticated user o f the systems. she is not a sophisticated user o f the systems. Thus, one role o f the reference librarian will be to help the patron becom e a sophisticated consum er. It also puts an ever grow ing bur­ d en u p o n the library to determ ine baseline ser­ vices from its ow n budget and to define value- ad d ed services that are legitimately the option o f the patron and perhaps w ith charges also passed on. Conclusions Economic necessity will be a driving force for the evolution o f a publications system that has the features described in this paper. Given the complexity of the netw orking, hardw are, and software that will be required to support a de­ centralized production and distribution system and the conservatism o f publishers and schol­ ars in giving up an equally com plex existing system w hich has many sociological and hu­ m an in terd ep en d en cies, this w ill take quite som e time. Even so, libraries already are experiencing and beginning to utilize pieces of this model. For instance: • Some libraries are beginning to m ake nu­ meric databases available as w ell as biblio­ graphic and textual databases. • Many libraries now have their online cata­ logs accessible via the Internet. • Xerox C orporation has announced a m a­ jor system for scanning and digitizing text which could be printed on dem and from a high-speed, laser-quality printer at 600 dpi. It is w orking w ith Cornell University Library in a pilot project using this technology. • The National Agricultural Library an d the land grant library com m unity are now scan­ ning and distributing library collections on CD- ROM discs. • The Coalition for N etw orked Information has w orking groups actively pursuing proto­ types in areas of commercial publishing, n o n ­ commercial publishing, netw ork infrastructure, standards dev elo p m en t, an d e d u catio n and training. OCLC has several ongoing research projects on electronic full-text applications4 including experim enting w ith the conversion of paper docum ents to structured m achine-readable for­ mat and providing advanced search and dis­ play options for the electronic collections so derived, and exploring retrieval of information in docum ents stored o n electronic media. It is critical that library staff be involved in these prototypes and issues, as w e will live w ith the results good o r bad. This will clearly add additional strain on already overextended staffs. However, the penalty for not participat­ ing will be the developm ent o f solutions w hich may in fact not be user-oriented or designed to m eet the functional requirem ents of our user populations an d staff. The electronic library currently is a concept w ithout m uch detail at­ tached. If it is to function in a w ay compatible w ith our vision of inform ation services, the major research libraries m ust w ork into their agendas direct participation in these kinds of research an d dem onstration projects. Notes 1Francis Miksa, “The Future of Reference II: A Paradigm o f Academic Library O rganization,” College & Research Libraries News 50 (O ctober 1989) : 780-90. 2Pat Molholt, “The Future o f Reference III: A Paradigm Shift for Information Services,” Col­ lege & Research Libraries News 51 (D ecem ber 1990) : 1045-51. 3Peter Lyman, “Non-Commercial Publishing,” a presentation at the Coalition of N etw orked Information (W ashington, D.C.: N ovem ber 4, 1990). 4OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc., A n n u a l Review o f OCLC Research, Ju ly 1989- J u n e 1991 (Columbus, Ohio: 1991). A C Q U IS IT IO N PERSPECTIVES 4. W e have established a reputation for accuracy in billing and shipping to your specifications. Invoices arranged alphabetically by author or title, or numerically by purchase order, and separate billing available upon request for Grant Funds, Title II, gifts, etc. Book House error rate last year was less than r/j percent. 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