Introduction to the Workshop and Discussion
1. The Future of Grey Literature Introduction Summary
2. Publishers: Who Needs Them? The Future of Publishing Introduction Summary
3. Marketing on Campus - How to Ensure the Best Usage of Electronic Products Introduction Summary
4. Alternative Purchasing Options for E-publishing Models Introduction Summary
Responding to the discussion
The Library Link Workshop Series
Future MCB University Press & Library Link Workshops

Following on from the success of previous workshops held during IFLA and ALA Conferences in 1998-2000, another Library Link/MCB workshop was held on Monday 14 August 2000 during IFLA 2000. The format used allowed for online discussion before and after the workshop itself. The main subjects for debate were:

• The Future of Grey Literature
• Publishers: Who Needs Them? The Future of Publishing
• Marketing on Campus - How to Ensure the Best Usage of Electronic Products
• Alternative Purchasing Options for E-publishing Models

Discussion Group 1 Summary: The future of grey literature

Despite the Luxembourg Convention, there was some disagreement on the definition of grey literature. Emerging forms which do not comply with the definition, but which the group agreed were grey literature, were:

• Dynamically controlled Websites
• Websites which use multimedia
• Ephemera
• Informal dialogues of work transmitted between parties.

There was general consensus on the potential value of the product being developed by GreyNet � GL-C. However, the group was not convinced that people would be prepared to pay for it, since grey literature itself is perceived as free of charge; or that its potential value would be equal in all subject areas. It was suggested that GL-C concentrate on subject areas where the need for information on collections is greatest � e.g. STM; or focus on GL collections in regions where grey, as opposed to white, is the main form of communication � e.g. developing countries.

The group felt very strongly that information on terms of access is what people want most on collections of grey literature. They need to know that collections are stable, and how they can be accessed.

Eileen Breen

Discussion Group 2 Summary: Publishers: who needs them? The future of publishing

Doubts about the future of the journal as the primary mode of scholarly publication prompted the start of the discussion, as many librarians are moving from the point of ownership to the point of access. Some of the group suggested that many single articles are becoming be the unit of value rather than a complete journal.

The discussion then turned to the benefits and disadvantages of electronic material. Journals in the print environment have always been published in subject areas and it was felt that if articles are merely placed at random on a database processes such as searching and browsing will become very tedious. Furthermore, some people like to browse among the shelves, sometimes across different disciplines, hoping for a serendipitous discovery. However, as technology is developed, these functions will be facilitated by services such as electronic tables of contents and, more recently, full-text linking from citations and between articles published and offered by different vendors. This discussion highlighted another role for publishers � indiscriminate linking can be dangerous and should be controlled by a professional intermediary.

Academics within the group pointed out that, for them to succeed in their profession, they needed the added value of publishers to have their articles included in a refereed journal. They did express concern at the length of time it takes to get an article in print and that scientists, especially, need to publish articles on up-to-date research and get the information into the public domain as quickly as possible. They were worried that publishers may hang on to articles in a particular field until there are sufficient articles to constitute a whole issue. In some cases this gives the article only archival value by the time it is published. In the electronic environment could articles not be published as they are received?

Librarians and information managers within the group stressed that publishers play a very useful role in filtering information but that a breakthrough is needed and agreement reached on payment and licensing issues. Another area of concern is that libraries and users retain the privileges and fair use exceptions that are already available in the print environment, when accessing material in the electronic world.

The group concluded that publishers should be wary during this transitional period of moving towards the electronic environment of not just producing an electronic journal which is merely an electronic version of the existing print journal. There needs to be a redefinition of the whole package.

Pauline Connolly

Discussion Group 3 Summary: Marketing on Campus - how to ensure the best usage of electronic products

In academic libraries, the electronic information environment is still unfamiliar for some users. Users � both academics and students - demonstrate different levels of experience and confidence. The means that promotion and use instruction, even for one electronic product, is not straight forward as it is not directed at a homogeneous group. Bring into the equation a range of different electronic products and remote access issues and approaches and it becomes even more complex.

In some cases, students are more aware of electronic products and how to use them than academics. Thus there is a need to inform academics. The use of electronic products should inform the way in which academics teach and the way they encourage use of these resources by students. Some suggest this could lead to new ways of teaching. Academics should also encourage students to evaluate the quality of the information/resources they use.

In order to ensure the best usage of electronic products, publishers can work together with librarians to provide items they need to help users. Traditional materials are still needed, such as posters and hard copy guides � although such guides should be brief and to the point. Other simple devices are also useful, such as shelf strips to notify where hard copy items are also available online. Some online guides are available, but often they can be too detailed and intricate, providing too many options, and so do not encourage use of the product. What are needed are online step-by-step guides. Such a guide should have a simple starting screen, as the initial steps on how to get in and search should be easy and quick. Options and choices should come later in the online guide: these should not be up front all at once. These later options and choices could include examples/simulations of searches and online tutorials at different levels.

Demonstrations are useful as a tool to ensure best usage of electronic products. And they should be geared to both academics and students, bearing in mind the different levels of experience. Users need to be clear about what they are accessing (and currently it is not always clear), and they need to be clear about the quality of the information they are accessing � and hence they need to be aware of features for evaluation.

Libraries need feedback on the use of electronic products, and this should be qualitative feedback. Statistics do not show how useful the product has been. Comments from users in the library do not provide this information, as generally if received, these tend to be negative - arising when users have had problems. Quick and easy online feedback would be a helpful feature for electronic products.

Finally, a change of focus would be of great help to ensure best usage of electronic products. This would be a facilitating package geared to library needs rather than a package geared to each brand/product.

Linda Ashcroft

Discussion Group 4 Summary: Alternative purchasing options for e-publishing models

The discussion on �alternative purchasing options� centred around a small number of keywords � access, availability, consortia � and generated a wide range of comments reflecting the constitution of the group (national libraries, research library consortia, academic departments, public and university libraries). Principally, however, any viable purchasing option was seen as a means of improving access to materials. This means that the materials must be more widely and more readily available than in conventional purchasing arrangements if the alternatives are to attract purchasers.

However, it is not merely a matter of improved access, but in fact an attractive purchasing option must address a number of other concerns expressed by librarians. These are:

Value-added product � what is offered must include a range of �add-ons� that make it an attractive and accessible product, such as indexing, links, provision of extra services

• Quality assurance in the product � the purchaser must feel confident that the publishing process is as rigorous as in conventional materials being offered, and not just include a number of extra features, so the whole refereeing and editorial process must continue to exist, and must be more transparent
• Stable product � what is here today must be in the same place tomorrow, as purchasers are paying for improved access, and have the right to expect that that access is constant across time
• Archived product � a function of stability, there is considerable concern that publishers in an e-environment do not take seriously the need to maintain stable archives of their product, which means that the purchasers need to look at archiving options themselves
• Rights to the product � especially in a consortial environment, purchasers need to know very clearly what their access rights and privileges are and how these relate to fair use by their clients
• Distribution of the product � in purchasing in the electronic environment, libraries want to know that materials will be distributed in a more timely manner than in conventional publishing, as this is increasingly expected by their clients, and they also want an assurance that distribution will be on a regular basis.

It is important that consortia, and the purchasing options which they seek to negotiate, are viewed as contextual by all parties. That is, little value is seen in a consortia that follows a pattern used elsewhere without first testing the viability of that pattern or model in its own context. Similarly, publishers need to recognise the contextual nature of their sales and licensing agreements � one size fits all is simply not an option. If consortia are contextual, then purchasing agreements must be flexible and open to negotiation. This is especially true as one moves from developed to developing countries, where consortia may be a new phenomenon and where budgets are even more restricted than in other countries. Yet the developing countries have, if anything, a greater appetite and need for information products, but offered by publishers at more competitive prices � there is no easy solution to this conundrum.

Finally, there emerged general consensus that purchasers and publishers should be working more closely together to create more flexible consortia, that publishers should be more sensitive to the needs of purchasers in developing countries, and that, whatever happens, both purchaser and producer together need to ensure that information products are increasingly accessible and available at a fair price.

Gary Gorman

If you wish to comment on any of the matters raised in the 2000 workshop please visit the IFLA 2000 Discussion Area where you can discuss the issues with other like-minded individuals. If you are wishing to discuss one of the four main points outlined above then please click on the relevant point, entitled:

• 1. The Future of Grey Literature
• 2. Publishers: Who Needs Them? The Future of Publishing
• 3. Marketing on Campus - how to ensure the best usage of electronic products
• 4. Alternative Purchasing Options for E-publishing Models

Details of previous Library Link workshops and discussions can be found be clicking the following links:

The Library Link Workshop Series

ALA 2000: Workshop Summary   Online Discussion Archive
IFLA 1999: Workshop Summary   Online Discussion Archive
ALA 1999: Workshop Summary   Online Discussion Archive
IFLA 1998: Workshop Summary   Online Discussion Archive

Details of further Library Link workshops will Library Link site nearer to the event. Anyone interested in attending should contact Eileen Breen at [email protected].