June 9, 2017 Stephanie Fletcher and Karen Stafford Evaluating User Experience and Access Data to Reveal Patrons’ Print and Digital Serials Preferences

Introduction

Ryerson & Burnham Libraries Over 500,000 items 10,000 items added yearly Just under 6,900 print serial titles 700 current serial subscriptions

What Do We Know? Art library patrons have unique needs We need to understand our patrons' diverse needs Circulation statistics are problematic

AIC/SAIC Resource Sharing

Our Patrons Diverse research population Museum curators Research associates and docents Interns and volunteers Students and faculty Museum visitors Outside researchers 10,827 research visits last year, plus 17,706 visitors to the library exhibitions Up 2% over the last three years

Staff and Student Seasonality

Seasonality of Staff and Student Visits with Digital Resource Access

Digital Usage Since 2014 Strong spikes during “final paper season” (April and November) July 2016: Chicago Tribune spike 8% overall decrease in electronic serial usage since 2014

Discovery Tools and Introduction of Summon at SAIC

EBSCO Decline

Circulation of Bound Periodicals Since 2013

Preliminary Conclusions Difficult to retrieve data Our e-resources are being used, but we still have questions about who is using them We want to know more about decisions that drive print or e-use

The Survey When do patrons use e-resources and when do they use print resources? How do School patrons influence our e-journal usage? How do patrons access e- resources?

Survey Responses All respondents have visited the library in person 86% have stack access

Respondents by Area of Specialization

Research Habits

Preferred Workspace

Preferred Workspace by Research Area

Research Habits

Comfort Level with Electronic Resources 82% of respondents have a stronger than neutral level of comfort with electronic resources; 3% have a less than neutral level of comfort Respondents at level 5 included AIC staff, SAIC staff/faculty, and SAIC graduate students

Top Uses for Electronic Resources Locate specific journal articles (88%) Browse online journals (77%) Search archival collections (71%) Find digital images (70%) Locate materials in the public domain (53%) Locate newspaper articles (52%) Read e-books (44%) Other (10%) Top Uses for Electronic Resources "Other" responses: Artist life dates/biographies Dissertations Search artists Request ILL

First Steps for New Research

Preferred Databases

Starting Point for Library Materials Even though electronic resources are preferred in many preceding questions, patrons started their research with the catalog of print resources, a disconnect we hope to resolve with the implementation of Alma/Primo

Preferred Information Format Depends on the Project Respondents approach each research project on an individual basis and adjust research practices accordingly

Likert Scale of Preference

Factors Influencing the Decision to Use Electronic or Print Three main response types: Electronic resources are convenient, faster, and/or easier to access than print (51%) Electronic resources are faster, but one still needs to view the print, either for original context or due to inadequate scans (33%) Print is preferred for original context (16%) 79% of respondents wrote a response Answers assigned to categories by the researchers

Quotes about the Decision to Use Electronic or Print I would do almost anything to avoid using an electronic version if a print version is available. I'm perfectly happy using electronic, but as mentioned above, every library seems to have its own interface and its [sic] a labyrinthine hell to figure them out. I would prefer to consult certain visual materials, like maps, in person. Almost everything else, including photographs, I would prefer to first look at online before adding to a list of materials I might consult in person. Quotes about the Decision to Use Electronic or Print

Interaction with Electronic Resources Once Found Download a copy to laptop/desktop/mobile device (74%) Print it out (64%) Save a digital and print copy (55%) Other (5%) Interaction with Electronic Resources Once Found

Interaction with Print Resources Once Found Read it in the print source (81%) Scan it and/or print it out (79%) Scan it and print it out (62%) Scan it and read it on the computer (41%) Other (3%) Interaction with Print Resources Once Found

I like to underline and highlight when I read so I xerox. Browsing is very important to me. Looking for material and encountering new materials I prefer to read using a print copy, but Digital is helpful for Images and to archive materials Interlibrary loans are extremely important and cannot be replaced by electronic scanning / distribution. I wish that we had a central repository for scanned articles, either those obtained through ILL or scanned by patrons from fragile print sources Often decide on print vs. electronic based on image quality for illustrations Shelf browsing of real books is very important, you see all sorts of stuff and connections that the electronic completely misses. I love underlining Open Comments

Interview Results Patrons use both electronic and print Patrons prefer print materials for provenance research Research begins with electronic resources; print is next step

Interview Quotes about Electronic Resources I love a keyword search; I don’t have the luxury to read a book. I’m never gonna read a full book digitally. It’s mainly because I’m lazy. Online is always welcome. Interview Quotes about Electronic Resources

Interview Quotes about Print Resources I’m in the stacks for provenance research. I often refer to historic art supply catalogs and artists’ manuals. I will always come to the Ryerson and look at these books that we own. Get out of today and go back to the mindset of 1963 New York. Researching people are book people anyway. We are visual people. There’s something about a book. I need the context. Interview Quotes about Print Resources

Conclusions and Next Steps: “Both are Essential” Streamline discovery services Reach out to School patrons Connect with Museum staff and bring our expertise to them Track usage statistics in Alma