Technology and Scholarly Communication "d0e21020"

Conclusions

These preliminary results of the Online Book Evaluation Project suggest that, at this early point in its development, the on-line format is finding a place in the work patterns of scholars who have had an opportunity to try it.

Interviews and focus groups substantiate the findings from the server data and surveys. Together they suggest the following about scholars' reactions to the online format:

• It is a convenient way to access information in reference books and potentially to do textual analyses in individual books or whole databases like the OED.

• Using a search function, one can quickly determine if a book or set of books addresses a topic of interest and warrants further investigation.

• It is an easy way to browse through a book to determine whether it is worth deeper exploration or whether only a small section is pertinent to one's work. If the latter is the case, it is as easy to print out that small section of the on-line book as it is to take the typical next step of photocopying that section of the paper book.

• A scholar who wants to read and annotate only a modest section of a book, say a chapter or an essay for a course assignment, will find that accessing and printing out the section from the on-line book can be quicker than doing the equivalent with a library copy of the paper book.

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TABLE 17.12. CWeb On-line Survey: Quality & Productivity, September 1996-June 1997
Productivity	Quality of Work
	Cannot say	Better paper	No difference	Better on-line
Cannot say	8	0	2	0
Better paper	3	27	5	1
No difference	0	1	4	0
Better on-line	0	9	15	12

• Ready access from any location at any hour and not worrying about whether the book sought is on the library shelf are valued features of the on-line format.

On the other hand, if scholars want to read much or all of a book, they are likely to prefer the traditional format. If the book is core to their research or to a course, scholars are likely to prefer to own a copy. If they cannot afford such a copy, if the book is of more passing interest, or if they cannot obtain a print copy, scholars would typically prefer to retain a library copy for the duration of their interest in the book. If they cannot do so, say because the book is on reserve, scholars must decide among their options, e.g., buying their own copy or using an on-line copy, and decide which option is next preferred.

Over the duration of this project, we will continue to add books to the on-line collection and to pursue our explorations of scholars' reactions to this format. We will look for trends in the perceived accessibility of on-line books and in the desirability of this format for various uses. We will seek to measure the frequency with which scholars read such substantial portions of books borrowed from libraries that they will continue to seek library access to paper copies. In a related effort, we will assess the extent to which libraries now satisfy scholars' desires for access to such copies. If a library did not have a book in its collection in print format but did offer on-line access, a scholar would face a different trade-off between the two formats.

At the same time we will pursue our analyses of the cost and intellectual property issues involved in scholarly communication in an effort to determine whether the on-line book format can contribute to the perpetuation of research and learning and to the dissemination and preservation of knowledge.

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APPENDIX A . Contemporary Books in the On-line Collection
Publisher/Title	Author	Subject	Print Status	Month Public
Columbia University Press
Great Paleozoic Crisis	Erwin	Earth Science	Circulating	6/97
Seismosaurus: The Earth Shaker	Gillette	Earth Science	Circulating	10/96
Invasions of the Land	Gordon	Earth Science	Circulating	6/97
Folding of Viscous Layers^a	Johnson	Earth Science	Circulating
Dinosaur Tracks & Other Fossil Footprints^a	Lockley	Earth Science	Circulating
Sedimentographica: Photographic Atlas	Ricci-Lucchi	Earth Science	Circulating	1/97
Development of Biological Systematics^a	Stevens	Earth Science	Circulating
Consuming Subjects^a	Kowaleski	Economic History	Circulating
Jordan's Inter-Arab Relations	Brand	Internat'l Relations	Reserves	3/97
Managing Indonesia	Bresnan	Internat'l Relations	Reserves	3/97
Logic of Anarchy^a	Buzan	Internat'l Relations	Reserves
Hemmed In: Responses to Africa's ...	Callaghy	Internat'l Relations	Reserves	3/97
China's Road to the Korean War^a	Chen	Internat'l Relations	Circulating
Culture of National Security^a	Katzenstein	Internat'l Relations	Reserves
International Relations Theory & the End of the Cold War^a	Lebow	Internat'l Relations	Circulating
The Cold War on the Periphery^a	McMahon	Internat'l Relations	Circulating
Losing Control: Sovereignty ...^a	Sassen	Internat'l Relations	Circulating
Gender In International Relations	Tickner	Internat'l Relations	Reserves Circulating	11/96
The Inhuman Race^a	Cassuto	Literary Criticism	Circulating
Rethinking Class: Literary Studies ...^a	Dimock	Literary Criticism	Circulating
The Blue-Eyed Tarokaja^a	Keene	Literary Criticism	Circulating
Ecological Literary Criticism^a	Kroeber	Literary Criticism	Circulating
Parables of Possibility^a	Martin	Literary Criticism	Circulating
The Text and the Voice^a	Portelli	Literary Criticism	Circulating
At Emerson's Tomb^a	Rowe	Literary Criticism	Circulating
Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical ...^a	Thomson	Literary Criticism	Circulating
What Else But Love? The Ordeal of Race ...^a	Weinstein	Literary Criticism	Circulating
Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry	Granger	Poetry	Ref.Desk	10/94

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APPENDIX A . (continued)
Publisher/Title	Author	Subject	Print Status	Month Public
Ozone Discourses	Liftin	Political Science	Reserves	1/97
Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia		Reference	Ref.Desk	3/91
Hierarchy Theory^a	Ahl	Science	Circulating
Refiguring Life: Metaphors of 20th Century ...^a	Keller	Science	Circulating
The Molecular Biology of Gaia^a	Williams	Science	Circulating
Sampling the Green World^a	Stuessy	Science	Circulating
The Illusion of Love^a	Celani	Social Work	Circulating
Mutual Aid Groups, Vulnerable Populations, & the Life Cycle	Gitterman	Social Work	Reserves	11/96
Supervision in Social Work	Kadushin	Social Work	Reserves	9/96
Eating Disorders: New Directionsa	Kinoy	Social Work	Circulating
From Father's Property to Children's Rights^a	Mason	Social Work	Circulating
Handbook of Gerontological Services	Monk	Social Work	Reserves	9/96
Turning Promises Into Performance	Nathan	Social Work	Circulating	9/96
Philosophical Foundations of Social Work	Reamer	Social Work	Reserves Circulating	9/96
Task Strategies: An Empirical Approach	Reid	Social Work	Reserves	9/96
Experiencing HIV^a	Sears	Social Work	Circulating
Qualitative Research In Social Work	Sherman	Social Work	Reserves	1/97
The Empowerment Tradition in America^a	Simon	Social Work	Circulating
Garland Publishing
Native American Women	Bataille	Biography	Reference	1/97
African American Women	Salem	Biography	Reference	1/97
Chaucer Name Dictionary	de Weever	English Literature	Reference	12/96
Oxford University Press
Oxford English Dictionary		Language	Reference	9/96
Postcards from the Trenches:...^b	Booth	Literary Criticism	Circulating
The Erotics of Talk^b	Kaplan	Literary Criticism	Circulating

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APPENDIX A . (continued)
Publisher/Title	Author	Subject	Print Status	Month Public
"Littery Man": Mark Twain ...	Lowrey	Literary Criticism	Circulating	11/96
Children's Literature & Critical Theory	May	Literary Criticism	Circulating	11/96
Poetics of Fascism	Morrison	Literary Criticism	Circulating	10/96
Novel & Globalization of Culture	Moses	Literary Criticism	Circulating	11/96
Modernisation & the Theater of Censorship	Parkes	Literary Criticism	Circulating	6/97
Romances of the Republic^b	Samuels	Literary Criticism	Circulating
Majestic Indolence: English Romantic Poetry ...	Spiegelman	Literary Criticism	Circulating	1/97
Making Mortal Choices:... Moral Casuistry^b	Bedau	Philosophy	Circulating
Morality, Normativity, & Society	Copp	Philosophy	Circulating	10/97
Free Public Reason: Making It Up ...	D'Agostino	Philosophy	Circulating	10/96
Metaphilosophy and Free Will^b	Double	Philosophy	Circulating
Bangs, Crunches, Whimpers, & Shrieks	Earman	Philosophy	Circulating	10/96
Causation and Persistence: A Theory ...^b	Ehring	Philosophy	Circulating
Self Expression: Mind, Morals, & Meaning ...	Flanagan	Philosophy	Circulating	10/96
Logic of Reliable Inquiry	Kelly	Philosophy	Circulating	10/96
Philosophy of Mathematics & Mathematical Practice In the 17 th Century	Mancosu	Philosophy	Circulating	10/96
Moral Dilemmas & Moral Theory^b	Mason	Philosophy	Circulating
Autonomous Agents: From Self Control ...	Mele	Philosophy	Circulating	10/96
Other Minds: Critical Essays	Nagel	Philosophy	Circulating	10/96
The Last Word^b	Nagel	Philosophy	Circulating
Law & Truth	Patterson	Philosophy	Circulating	11/96
Nietzsche's System	Richardson	Philosophy	Circulating	10/96
Freedom & Moral Sentiment	Russel	Philosophy	Circulating	10/96
Living High and Letting Die^b	Unger	Philosophy	Circulating
The Human Animal^b	Weston	Philosophy	not in yet
Real Rights	Wellman	Philosophy	Circulating	10/96

― 308 ―

APPENDIX A . (continued)
Publisher/Title	Author	Subject	Print Status	Month Public
Simon & Schuster Higher Education
Bond Markets^bc	Fabozzi	Business	Reserves
Marketing Management^bc	Kotler	Business	Reserves
Statistics for Business & Economics^b	Newbold	Business	Reserves
Investments^b	Sharp	Business	Reserves
Financial Market Rates & Flows^b	Van Horne	Business	Reserves
Politics & the Media	Davis	Political Science	Reserves	4/97
Public Policy Analysis^b	Dunn	Political Science	Reserves
International Politics	Holsti	Political Science	Reserves	1/97
^a Permission has been received, but the book is not yet on-line.
^b Book is not yet on-line.
^c A new edition has been issued for which we need the electronic file.