An essential issue is the future distribution of resources between print and electronic format, which is the reason for putting a discussion of faculty and student use of electronic resources on the agenda. A list of some of the Library's electronic journals was distributed as background information. Faculty mentioned they use electronic journals and appreciate the convenience of desktop delivery. The value of e-journals varies from discipline to discipline. It would be helpful to track use on a title by title basis.
Habit plays a role but so does type of use.
People find it easy to browse through print volumes. In many cases, users rely more on electronic access when searching for a specific article than they do when browsing through many volumes of a serial. Also, the quality of what is being read can differ between print and electronic. For future use of information in electronic format, printing is a key factor, particularly quesitons of cost. There is no decrease yet in the number of print monographs and serials.