University students relying more on electronic research than ever before

04/11/08 - In this technologically savvy society, students seem to be relying more on electronic resources and less on books when it comes to research.According to circulation statistics, from July 2006 to June 2007, University of Rhode Island students and faculty members checked out 53,227 books. Twenty years ago, students alone checked out more than twice that amount. In fact, students were checking out more and more books each decade until the mid-1990s when the use of the Internet became more widespread.

The decrease, according to David Maslyn, dean of University Libraries, can be attributed to the convenience and wide scope of electronic resources available. URI subscribes to more than 100 electronic databases that allow students access to almost unlimited topics.

This is quite a change from January 1892 when John Washburn requested $1,000 for books in the university's annual Report of the Principal: "We, like all new universities, are in need of books. If we could have $1,000 a year to be divided among the different departments for their special books it would satisfy an urgent need, and would form the nucleus of a good library."

Five years later, a summary in the annual report stated: "The library has grown. We have already an excellent selection of reference books, but are sorely in need of many more, and I hope during the coming year to make further additions."

But these days, it seems books are on their way out and electronic information is here to stay, according to Maslyn. "More of our budget is being spent on electronic resources as well as media," he said.

Maslyn has worked at University Libraries for 33 years now and has seen firsthand how the Internet and online databases affect circulation.

"Before students would come in and sit down with a book and read chapters," he said. "The students are continuing to do research but they are relying more on immediate electronic research."

The library, however, still purchases books. In certain years, more books were purchased than in others, but one thing remains constant. Each year the library has purchased between 6,000 and 8,000 books, spending about $400,000 each year.

Although checking out books may seem old-fashioned, Erin Creighton, an information service technician who works at the circulation desk, said there's no question that students still use books.

Out of the library's $2,938,595 appropriated for resources like books, periodicals and media materials, $400,000 of that went to books last year.

She estimated that she personally checks out about 200 books a day. With finals just around the corner and term paper deadlines approaching quickly, books are not overlooked. "Especially this time of the year, circulation is pretty busy," Creighton said.

But with budget constraints, the library was forced to scale back on periodical subscriptions, mostly due to inflation costs.

"Yes, we've had to reduce the number of paper resources this year, but we do this very, very carefully so were always sure we have the right materials," Creighton said.

However, it's not a complete loss. Since 1984, The Higher Education Library Information Network Library Consortium (HELIN) has allowed students to borrow resources from 11 other Rhode Island educational institutions and hospitals, giving them access to 5.3 million shared resources. HELIN includes more than $600,000 worth of electronic resources, and makes it possible for students to access materials beyond URI's fiscal grasp.

Last year, URI students borrowed more 8,200 books, and lent about 7,500 to other institutions. Materials can be swapped from library to library in a matter of days.

Bob Aspri, the consortium's executive director, said being in a consortium saves the university money and still gives students access to a myriad of resources.

According to Aspri, having a consortium allows librarians to spend less money than they need because information is already accessible at other institutions.

Aspri works with vendors who give the consortium members better deals for buying information in bulk.

"People are using online resources quite heavily," he said. "We're buying information in bulk. This saves the libraries a lot of money."

Library statistics suggest that the subscriptions are a valuable investment. In 2005, there were more than one million searches on the university's 83 databases, and by 2006 inquiries had increased by 50,000 searches in the university's 86 databases.