Good point on the printer use! We are a small liberal arts college of less than 2,000 undergrads. The two printers in the library lobby see heavy use, especially from students printing out their readings, research articles and assignments.

Yesterday our technology specialist ran some reports on the two high-capacity printers in the library lobby, which see heavy use. We are on track for reaching 3 tons of pages printed (20 lb bond paper with some recycled content) by the end of this semester. Yes, 3 TONS. And most of this is printed double-sided!

Our students are generally computer-savvy and like doing research online. Our students are also generally into environmentalism, hence the double-sided printing. But they obviously prefer reading printed pages over reading articles on desktops/laptops. Maybe this will change with enhanced reading technology, but at this point the paper wins.

--Diane Westerfield/CC

From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@list.uvm.edu] On Behalf Of Ian Woodward
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2011 7:38 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Returning to print?

This has happened only very infrequently to us. The two cases case that comes to mind were Project Muse titles for which new content was no longer available in the electronic format from Johns Hopkins or the originating publisher, so we bought the print edition.

Print is not, of course, a 'terrible' format with which to deliver content. It simply lacks some of the utilities available with electronic delivery (while losing some agreeable aspects of being able to read something palpable which does not require a temperamental electrical appliance to access). There is a reason your patrons make considerable use of your laser printers. For a publication which lives to be browsed (and on my desk are American Book Review, National Review, The Nation, Aviation Week, Geographical, &c), I would much prefer print. Of course, the young people madly texting and twittering eachother with multiuse gadgets that bore me just to look at them might have a different opinion.

On Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 9:03 AM, Geller, Marilyn <mgeller@lesley.edu> wrote:

I know that this is an heretical question and that there will be knee
jerk reactions ranging from stunned to appalled, but I'm really trying
to sort out the pros and cons of this issue based on a library-wide
discussion here.

We have some large publisher package deals that have seen dramatic price
jumps when the contract needs to be renewed. Frankly, we don't have the
money. It's not a matter of value for dollars; the dollars really
aren't there (I know we're the only ones in this situation!). Yesterday
at a meeting, someone asked what would happen if we just canceled the
package subscriptions and returned to subscriptions for the individual
titles we actually want/need. In several instances, subscriptions to
individual electronic versions are not available and they are not in any
databases we subscribe to which means we would have to return to the
print subscription.

We know we might have holdings gaps. We know we'll run out of room
(well, actually, it's a bit too late on that one). We know we'll be
limiting access to physically being in the building. But we also know
we simply don't have the money, and the publishers in question are not
willing to lower their prices.

Has anyone returned to print, and if so, with what consequences or
benefits? Has anyone thought about this but decided against it, and if
so, for what reason? Or does anyone have any thoughts in general to
contribute on the idea of returning to print?

Thanks for any insights!

Marilyn Geller
Collection Management Librarian
Lesley University Library
29 Everett Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Email: mgeller@lesley.edu
Phone: 617-349-8859

--
I. Woodward
Serials Desk
Colgate University Libraries
Case Library and Geyer Center for Information Technology
13 Oak Drive
Hamilton, N.Y. 13346

Ph.: 315-228-7306
Fax: 315-228-7934

I haven't gone anywhere. I'm employed. - Joe DiMaggio [att.]