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The StacksUniversity Library Newsletter,University of South AlabamaSPRING 2011Do USA Libraries Still Need to Buy Print?Inside this issue:The Dean’s Corner, Dr. Richard WoodI am frequently asked thisquestion due to the manyarticles about the advantages of electronic books(E-books), book digitization projects by Googleand others, the growth ofthe E-book and E-readerindustry, etc. The simpleanswer is that USA Libraries will indeed need to buyboth physical books and Ebooks for many years tocome, just as we do forprint and electronic journals.Tens of thousands ofscholarly print books continue to be published annually and thousands of themare recommended by thefaculty for purchase byUSA libraries. Most scholarly books either are NOTavailable in electronic format at this time, or they areavailable only as part of anE-book collection whichthe libraries cannot affordto purchase. It is importantto realize that scholarlytitles in the humanities,social sciences, education,and other literature ladeddisciplines will continue tobe published in print format because they are written to be read cover tocover to tell a story, develop a theme or thesis,etc. Readers of such literature tend to prefer printover digital formats because they can flip throughthe pages to reread—something which seemsawkward when using Ereaders. Further, E-booksand E-readers are still newand not everyone likesreading digitally. Unlikephysical books, E-readersrequire batteries and lackquality note-taking andhighlighting ability—although those abilities areimproving rapidly. Manypeople still like the feel,smell, and touch of books,or the ability to make notesContinued pg. 2The Dean’s Corner1The Gallery1Excellence in Librarian- 3ship AwardNew Hires & Retires4From the Archives5Biomedical Happenings 5Movers and ShakersThe GalleryUniversity Library Hosts “DepARTmental” Multimedia Art ExhibitThe third floor of the University Library is home to avery special art exhibit: acollection of multimediaworks from some of theuniversity’s own. The exhibit, “DepARTmental:Department of EducationTechnologies and Services(1973-2011),” showcases acollection of works fromartists working within theDepartment of EducationTechnologies and Services.The works include piecesfrom the personal collec-tion of the artists, WalterBeckham; Mike Carmichael;Lynda Smith Touart; FrankVogtner; and Laura Worsham,and showcase works of photography, painting, drawing and mixedmedia.The third floor gallery in theUniversity Library provides aspace unique to few libraries; onein which students, faculty, staff,and the general public can viewand enjoy the rotating art exhibitsit holds.Continued pg. 3Reading RoomLynda Smith Touart6

THE STACKSPage 2The Dean’s Corner : E-Books continuedin the margins and highlight what they regard assignificant. In searching for books to supporttheir research in these literature laden fields, students and faculty are still finding the value of goingto library stacks and examining books which theywant to borrow. That experience cannot be replicated for E-books for now—and may never bepossible. The libraries have, after all, developedlarge print collections over decades, and studentsand faculty still enjoy the serendipitous nature ofsearching through print books. So as long as academic libraries continue buying print books, libraries will be needed and cherished.“The advantageto libraries isthat acquiring Ecollections,althoughinitiallyexpensive, iscost-effective.”Nonetheless, USA libraries have been acquiring Ebooks for more than ten years. Most notably, thelibraries have been buying electronic versions ofreference books such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, and almanacs for several years.Today, much of this type of information is available freely through the internet. USA libraries’reference collections, consequently, are muchsmaller than they had been in decades past.Additionally, it is very important to note the differences in how academic libraries generally acquireprint and E-Books. Companies like Amazon have abusiness plan based on individuals buying(licensing) one title at a time; libraries do not fitthat business plan because many students maywant to read (download) a title many times overyears. Consequently, companies such as ebrary,Springer, and EBSCO, to name a few, have sprung-up to re-sell E-book collections by broad subjectsor disciplines to academic libraries. Libraries canbuy an entire collection or just those in one of thesubject categories. These companies allow librariesto “loan” E-books to students and faculty(authorized users) as often they like by signing anunlimited user license. The advantage to libraries isthat acquiring E-collections, although initially expensive, is cost-effective. In 2010, USA UniversityLibrary acquired about 20,000 multi-disciplinary,scholarly E-books with copyright dates between2005 and 2010 from Springer at an average cost ofa little more than 3.00 each; had we acquired printcopies over that period of time instead, the Univer-sity Library would have spent well over a milliondollars.USA Libraries will continue to assess all aspects ofthe growing trend in libraries toward buying Ebook collections. We have found that buying EBook collections for scientific, technical, engineering, math, medical and business titles makes sensebecause their content is made available muchquicker than print titles. (E-books do not need tobe typeset, printed, and shipped to warehouses andretail outlets like print books do.) Theoretically, webelieve that E-books will in time become verypopular with highly mobile people like studentsand faculty because one small e-reader can store oraccess many titles. If all of a student’s textbooksand course material were to become available electronically, for example, the student would not needto lug around heavy print books. Despite someprinting and other problems or issues with Ebooks, students increasingly prefer their convenience and instantaneous access from any Internetaccessible workstation, laptop, smart phone, orother device. USA students in the medical, technical, engineering, scientific, computer science, andbusiness disciplines should find it easy to navigateE-books which contain a great deal of factual information. Students can use their indexes or tableof contents to find and read specific chapters orsections time and time again whenever they need todo so. But it may be many years until the possiblebecomes reality.Dr. Richard WoodDean, University Libraries

SPRING 2011Page 3The Gallery: continuedSince its inception in 2003 by Dr. Richard Wood,Dean of the University Libraries, the third floorgallery has hosted 10 to 12 shows each year.The University Library held the opening receptionfor the “DepARTmental” collection on January 7in the Library’s third floor gallery. The collectionwill remain on display until February 25. The exhibition is free and the public are encouraged to viewthis special collection during the library’s operatinghours.For information on the 3rd floor gallery and upcoming exhibitions, seeWatermelonsWalter BeckhamI Love YouFrank s/about.htmlEllen K. Wilson Receives Excellence in Librarianship Awardfor the University Libraries, April 2010The 2010 recipient for the Excellence in Librarianship Award for the University Libraries isEllen Knowlton Wilson, Instructional ServicesLibrarian. The Excellence in LibrarianshipAward committee cited Ellen as making extraordinary contributions to the reference department, the University Library, and the Universityof South Alabama community. Of particularnote are Ellen’s contributions in library instruction design and scheduling, online library tutorials, and her work with the Freshman Seminarinstructors.In addition to Ellen’s contributions to the University, the award committee noted her exemplary work in the profession of Library Science.Ellen serves as Secretary of the Alabama Association of College & Research Libraries and haspresented at the Southern Political Science Association Annual Conference, the Mississippi Library Association Annual Conference, the USAResearch Forum, and the Alabama Library Association Annual Conference. Ellen has also conducted several on-campus PETAL workshopsfor both university faculty and Mobile CountyLibrary Media Specialists.Ellen’s numerous service activities include serving as the President of the University LibrariesForum. She also serves on the University Libraries’ Public Relations Committee, as well asthe University Writing Committee. Ellen hasrepresented the University Library at JagFest, theHR Benefits Fair, and Student Move-In Day atthe dorms.Elizabeth RuganReference and Instruction Librarian“Since itsinception in 2003by Dr. RichardWood, Dean ofthe UniversityLibraries, thethird floorgallery hashosted 10 to 12shows each year.”

THE STACKSPage 4New Hires & RetiresElizabeth Rugan has recentlyjoined the staff of the UniversityLibrary as its Instruction andReference Librarian, AssistantLibrarian. Beth has her Mastersin Library and Information Science from Louisiana State University. She also holds an M.A.in English from LSU and was ateacher before she came to USA.In addition to her reference duties, Beth will co-design andimplement the information literacy program at the UniversityLibrary.Welcome Beth!Dennis Guion, after serving theUniversity Library for 7 years asthe Head of Circulation andReserves, retired in December2010. The University Libraryheld a retirement party as a cakeand cookie filled send-off forDennis.Enjoy your retirement Dennis!