Collection Management and Strategic Access to Digital Resources: The New Challenge for Research Libraries

Citation

Myhill, M. (2006), "Collection Management and Strategic Access to Digital Resources: The New Challenge for Research Libraries", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 40 No. 1, pp. 102-103. https://doi.org/10.1108/00330330610646870

Readers beware! This is not a book providing many answers to the difficult questions arising from the drift towards digital libraries. As a collection of conference papers delivered at the University of Oklahoma in 2004 and now published simultaneously as an issue of the Journal of Library Administration, it is a work already reaching a broad and scholarly audience. The same adjectives sum up the respected contributors – coming at the issues of the digital age from a wide variety of erudite backgrounds. However, as an amalgam of eight papers originally delivered orally this is a “lucky dip” work producing some real nuggets of information amongst some less inspired observations.

Of the “gems”, we are reminded that: “all libraries are the memories of their communities. Why should it matter how remembrancers access their contents?”. There is a spirited contribution from Karen Hunter (Senior Vice President, Strategy at Elsevier) which both explains Elsevier's approach to the scientific publishing market (including a convincing explanation of recent price hikes in the context of a 3 per cent increase in scholarly literature per year and the necessary huge investment by Elsevier to ensure publication produces the right products with the right technology), and which raises genuine concerns over the open access model of publishing. There are benchmark statistics covering recent e‐journal (especially bundled) subscriptions for the major American research libraries and there are also regular reminders that the digital age includes non‐print media and resources worldwide (including Africa).

At the same time, the reader is reminded that there are no long‐term commercial guarantees for e‐publishing. While print has survived for centuries, will publishers find it worthwhile to preserve and provide content of today's journals in 50 years time? Alternatively, with the emerging open access model, will libraries or their parent institutions be prepared or able to do the same? Unlike paper and despite its youth, the digital age has already passed through a number of technical metamorphoses – how much effort will be required to keep today's digital material accessible in computer formats 50 years hence? Kevin Guthrie, the driving force behind JSTOR and now President of Ithaka, declares there is no clear solution to these problems in the long term, but this is not an aspect we can avoid, as Richard Johnson reminds the reader that “when research results are available widely and freely, sciences advance most effectively”. Librarians have a professional duty to effect this information flow. Yet on the very first page, Fred Heath makes the difficulties clear by pointing out that “due to rapidly rising costs of scholarly publications, the relationships between research libraries and commercial publishers are changing”.

For me, this is a disturbing work, and one that is not easy to digest. It highlights the many difficulties information professionals will face within the next generation and I'm left wondering what errors and omissions we, as the current gatekeepers, will be blamed for then.