Im Chronicle of Higher Education gibt es einen interessanten Beitrag zu den Arbeitsgewohnheiten von Wissenschaftlern, basierend auf einer neuen Untersuchung von Ithaka. 3.025 Forscher an amerikanischen Hochschulen wurden zu ihren Recherche- und Publikationsgewohnheiten befragt — mit unterschiedlichen Ergebnissen (Auszüge):

Recherche jenseits der Bibliothek

The first section, „Discovery and the Evolving Role of the Library,“ confirms what many librarians already know: Faculty members do not use the library as a gateway to information nearly as much as they used to.

„One of the really thought-provoking questions that comes out of this study is whether libraries should continue to invest in locally customized discovery tools or whether those investments are not likely to yield value.“

E-Journals ersetzen zunehmend Print

The embrace of digital journals has become so widespread that print editions of current issues „are rapidly becoming a thing of the past“ for many scholars, the survey found. Sixty percent of humanists and more than 80 percent of scientists said they would be fine with having their libraries provide only electronic copies of the latest issues of journals.

Electronic books, however, have not yet conquered faculty hearts and habits the way e-journals have. „Despite the arrival of devices like the Amazon Kindle—and about 10 percent of respondents indicated that they owned an e-book device like the Kindle—e-books have remained marginal to scholars,“ the survey found.

Impact wichtiger als Open Access

„Despite several years of sustained efforts by publishers, scholarly societies, libraries, faculty members, and others to reform various aspects of the scholarly communications system, a fundamentally conservative set of faculty attitudes continues to impede systematic change,“ the report concludes

For instance, about 85 percent of respondents called it „very important“ that a journal they publish in is widely read by colleagues in their field. Only 40 percent said it was very important that the journal provide free online access to its contents.