The Impact of the Acquisition of Electronic Medical Texts on the Usage of Equivalent Print Books in an Academic Medical Library

Abstract

the terms of the Creative CommonsAttribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 2.5 Canada (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncsa/2.5/ca/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed, not used for commercial purposes, and, if transformed, the resulting work is redistributed under the same or similar license to this one. AbstractObjectives -This study examines whether acquiring a text in electronic format effects the usage of the print version of the text, focusing specifically on medical texts. Studies in the literature dealt specifically with general collections and it was not clear if they were applicable to medical collections. It was also not clear if these studies should play a role in determining whether a medical library should purchase electronic texts or whether reserve collections are still needed for print texts.Methods -Four usage studies were conducted using data from the circulation system and the electronic vendor systems. These were 1) trends of print usage; 2) trends of electronic usage; 3) a comparison of electronic usage with print usage of the same title in the reserve collection; 4) a comparison of electronic usage with print usage of the same title in the general collection.Results -In comparison to print, substantial usage is being made of electronic books. Print is maintaining a level pattern of usage while electronic usage is increasing steadily. There was a noticeable difference in the usage levels of the electronic texts as regards to the package in which they are contained. Usage of print texts both on reserve and in the general collection has decreased over time, however the acquisition of the electronic version of a medical title had little impact on the usage of the equivalent print version.Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2010, 5.3 6 Conclusion -There is a demand for medical texts in medical libraries. Electronic versions can replace print versions of texts in reserve. Further investigation is needed of current patterns of print collection usage, with particular emphasis on trends in reserve collection usage.

The University of Manitoba Psychiatry Toolkit: Development and Evaluation

“…Our respondents' preferred information sources used to meet information needs related to medications, treatments, and continuing professional development are consistent with reports in literature [1,2,4,7,8], namely electronic resources and (other) colleagues. Time and poor search skills were stated key barriers to accessing web-available health information.…”

“…These point-of-care tools are an efficient vehicle for learner education and continuing professional development, especially in an era of information saturation and evidence-based medicine. With the decrease in physical accessing of libraries that online resources have helped cultivate, web-based and point-of-care tools ("toolkits") may facilitate an information push approach that promotes information discovery by the end-user [4,5].…”

“…These point-of-care tools are an efficient vehicle for learner education and continuing professional development, especially in an era of information saturation and evidence-based medicine. With the decrease in physical accessing of libraries that online resources have helped cultivate, web-based and point-of-care tools ("toolkits") may facilitate an information push approach that promotes information discovery by the end-user [4,5].The literature is scant regarding the evaluation of a toolkit's impact on physician, and in particular, on psychiatrists' information seeking and retrieval behavior. A 2011 study of US psychiatrists found that over two-thirds of respondents prefer to answer a clinical question by first doing a search on a search engine such as Google rather than going to a specific website for information and that the main barriers for psychiatrists in finding needed medical information were as follows: (1) inability to find precise answers to specific patient questions; (2) valued resources are only available through subscriptions; and (3) difficulty gauging the reliability of information sources [6].…”

How doctors make use of online, point‐of‐care clinical decision support systems: a case study of UpToDate©

“…As the use of smart phones, desktops and handheld computers becomes more prevalent, library users are making use of increasingly flexible access to medical information. Health libraries commonly report that loans of printed material are declining, whilst subscriptions to, and use of, electronic books and journals are increasing . Additionally, an ever‐growing number of NHS organisations have started to subscribe to online evidence‐based products, at a cost of several thousand pounds per institution per year.…”

Is It Cost-effective to Purchase Print Books When the Equivalent E-book Is Available?

“…Only 5 years later, a comparative usage of science e-book and print collections at Texas A&M University libraries demonstrated that e-books were used over 10 times more than the print books in science and chemistry and more than 200 times that of their print counterparts in computer science (6). Memorial University of Newfoundland's study also reported substantially more usage was being made of electronic books than print books (7). These studies showed that when surveyed, library users said they preferred print.…”