Transcript Can`t I Just Get This Online Somewhere?

Can’t I Just Get This Online
Somewhere?
User issues with electronic
journals
Sarah Beasley
Portland State Univeristy Library
The Dream
The Dream
The Dream
The Dream
What users assume
What our users assume
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Famous article from Atlantic Monthly in
1945: “As We May Think” by Vannevar
Bush
Shouldn’t that be available full text online?
Google!
Google!
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First hit! I’m such a good web searcher.
Google
Google
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A great article about ERIC in the 21st
century in some kind of ed policy journal
…
Google
Google
Google
Google
Plethora of interfaces,
vendors, formats
Sometimes for the same title….
PNAS via JSTOR
PNAS via PNAS
Server is down
Coverage issues
Coverage issues
Disparity of coverage issues
Comprehensiveness of content
issues
Incomplete content – article appearing in the
paper included a side bar with recipes
from the bakery described.
Impact from the Tasini decision
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The United States Supreme Court (in
Tasini v. NYT) ruled that print publishers
such as newspapers and magazines may
not use material in online databases to
which they had previously obtained only
print rights from independent contractor
creators. The Court’s ruling establishes
that such online and electronic uses are
separate uses from that of print.
Format of the content
Format Issues
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PDF, TIFF
Plug-ins required
Learning curve and training issues related
to additional applications
There’s PDF and then there’s
PDF
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Sometimes PDF is not a page image, but
simply word-processed text
Graphics and Tables…
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To print tables at full size, each must be
enlarged, individually…..
Generation Gap
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PDF created from scanning print copies –
one generation away from original printing.
Can be quality issues -- alignment
Generation Gap
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Quality of print reproduction can be poor
Generation Gap
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Resizing the text for better viewing now
requires user to scroll horizontally….
Infrastructure Issues
Infrastructure Issues
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Remote authentication
Speed of network connections
Size of pdf files –
What happens when you cancel and the
publisher provides you with your archival
material? What format? What will you
have to do to support it?
Pricing
Pricing
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Could spend a whole day on these issues
alone, but from users: perspective:
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Why don’t you have more?
Options for pay per view
Pay per view
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Wilson –
Pay per view
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PsycINFO
Problems with the medium
itself
Problems with the medium itself
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User acceptance
Learning curve
Citation Issues
In text citations – how?
More questions
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Published online – estimated scholarly
value?
Peer reviewed?
Identified via the discipline’s I & A
databases?
Link Rot
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Rumsey, M. (2002) “Runaway Train:
Problems of Permanence, Accessibility,
and Stability in the Use of Web Sources in
Law Review Citations” Law Library
Journal, 94, 27-39.
www.aallnet.org/products/2002-02.pdf
Rumsey article
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More articles cite web every year.
More web cites are cited
62% of links in articles published in 2001
were working in May-June 2001
30% of links in articles published in 1997
were working in May-June 2001