The Lab’s Library, which is facing tighter budgets, rising costs and changing patterns for usage, will soon begin surveying members of the LBNL scientific and technical staff to better determine user needs and expectations.

Jane Tierney, head of the Technical and Electronic Information Department, which includes the Library, described the situation to members of the Lab’s Computing and Communications Services Advisory Committee (CSAC) at the committee’s August meeting.

On the financial front, the cost of journal subscriptions continues to increase, and a small group of publishers is controlling more and more titles, thereby reducing competition. With a flat budget, the Library is facing difficult choices in what journals to continue buying.

Technologically, more and more users want on-line access over print versions. Many journals charge extra for electronic access – and require a print subscription whether the Library wants it or not. Because many journal licenses are driven by domain name (such as lbl.gov), partnering with other labs or UC Berkeley (Berkeley.edu) is not an option. There is also a wide disparity of on-line availability of past issues.

Finally, the Library is feeling pressure on its physical space. Over the years, smaller satellite facilities have been closed or consolidated. Now, the main Library in Bldg. 50 attracts fewer users in person. Books, once a mainstay, are a sideline and only a few have been purchased over the past five years.

Although TEID, the Information Technologies and Services Division and CSAC have been examining the issues and working with other organizations and institutions to try to map out the library of the future, they would also like to know what the Lab research staff thinks about the issue.

To gather data on who uses the Library, what they’re looking for and what can be reduced, TEID and CSAC will conduct a Web-based survey. The survey is scheduled to start in late August and conclude in September.

Lab researchers who would like to participate in the survey and provide their input on Library services are asked to contact their division’s CSAC representative.