ACS Chicago 2007

Delivering chemical information in Delivering chemical information in the age of tight budgets: the age of tight budgets: Faculty and librarian cooperation at Faculty and librarian cooperation at Trinity UniversityTrinity University

Steven M. BachrachDepartment of Chemistry

Barbara MacAlpine

Coates LibraryTrinity UniversitySan Antonio TX 78212

ACS Chicago 2007

Trinity UniversityTrinity University

Private Liberal Arts University– Engineering and Business Administration– Master’s Degrees in Accounting, Health Care

Administration, School Administration, School Psychology, Teaching

Small School– 2487 Undergraduates– 231 Graduate students– 228 Faculty

ACS Chicago 2007

Department of ChemistryDepartment of Chemistry

8 full-time, tenure track faculty in all of the major disciplines of chemistry

Graduate 20-25 chemistry and biochemistry majors annually

ACS certified program

ACS Chicago 2007

Research ActivitiesResearch Activities

$710,000 external grantsAverage 10+ peer reviewed

publications per yearSeven post-doctoral associatesResearch program involves

undergraduate students, primarily through the Summer Research Program

ACS Chicago 2007

2006 Summer Research Program2006 Summer Research Program

ACS Chicago 2007

Student ResearchStudent Research

Average 40 students each summerPresentations at National ACS

meetings (10 this meeting), PittCon, and regional meetings

Co-authors on most of our published papers

ACS Chicago 2007

Coates LibraryCoates Library

Books and bound periodical volumes: > 937,000

Journal subscriptions: ~2,400 titlesJournal access: ~24,000 titlesRecipient of the 2007 ACRL

Excellence in Academic Libraries Award

ACS Chicago 2007

Coates Library Total Acquisitions BudgetCoates Library Total Acquisitions Budget

2006—2007 $1,605,838 2005—2006 $1,574,3482004—2005 $1,499,3482003—2004 $1,427,9502002—2003 $1,327,950

ACS Chicago 2007

Approach to Chemical Information Approach to Chemical Information Delivery (beginning 2000-2001)Delivery (beginning 2000-2001)Department defined goals– Access to research-grade information– Incorporation of primary literature into

the research program– Incorporation of primary literature into

the classroom throughout the curriculum

ACS Chicago 2007

Define “Access”Define “Access”

Key component identified: “finding article(s) of interest”

So “access” becomes principally useful searching of chemical databases

ACS Chicago 2007

Useful Chemical SearchingUseful Chemical Searching

Important databases owned in 2001– Print CA– Print Science Citation Index

Making them “useful”– SciFinder–Web of Science

ACS Chicago 2007

Access to ArticlesAccess to Articles

Need not be through own holdingsTransition to electronic accessPremium on scope– Can we get to any and all journals?

Secondary is speed– How long until article in one’s hand?

ACS Chicago 2007

Phase 1 – Fall 2002Phase 1 – Fall 2002

Librarians approach department with the annual “generate the hit list” request

ACS Chicago 2007

Department’s response:Department’s response:

Cancel print CACancel Tetrahedron LettersPurchase single-seat SciFinder

licenseEstablish department line item for

one-day document delivery with CISTI

ACS Chicago 2007

SciFinder in the classroomSciFinder in the classroom

First introduced in second semester of first year (organic chemistry lab)

Instruction by science librarian Assignment to search on pinacol

rearrangement, locate a recent article in an organic chemistry journal and summarize the article

All subsequent lab classes require some search and reporting (compound information, introductory materials to lab reports, etc.)

ACS Chicago 2007

SciFinder Search StatisticsSciFinder Search Statistics

2006—2007 5,083(June-Feb. 07)

2005—2006 7,7612004—2005 7,5912003—2004 8,0312002—2003 6,295

ACS Chicago 2007

Phase 2 – 2003-2006Phase 2 – 2003-2006

Cancel print ACS journalsConsortial arrangements to get

electronic access to full ACS suite and additional Wiley publications

ACS journal backfileWeb of Science

ACS Chicago 2007

Trinity University ConsortiaTrinity University Consortia

TICUL (Texas Independent College & University Libraries) – provides access to all ACS journals

GWLA (Greater Western Library Alliance – provides access to many Wiley journals (along with TICUL)

Oberlin Group – provides WoS

ACS Chicago 2007

ACS online journal downloadsACS online journal downloads

2006—2007 5,635 (June-Jan. 07)

2005—2006 5,9202004—2005 5,191

ACS Chicago 2007

Phase 3 – 2006-currentPhase 3 – 2006-current

Library unilaterally cancels all Elsevier journal subscriptions

Creates accounts for each department with ScienceDirect – allow faculty to purchase articles as

needed for $30/eachCurrent chemistry journal

subscriptions - 61

ACS Chicago 2007

Department’s responseDepartment’s response

Disappointed in lack of inputLoss of “our” moneyLoss of control

ACS Chicago 2007

New directionsNew directions

With cost savings from Elsevier cancellations, exploring– RSC backfile (single-time purchase)– Elsevier MDL Discovery Gate– Additional SciFinder seat– Nature publication suite

ACS Chicago 2007

Take home messageTake home message

Librarians and faculty as partners– Librarians educate faculty as to

publishing realities– Faculty define pedagogical/research

goalsExplore alternatives– iTunes model

ACS Chicago 2007

AcknowledgmentAcknowledgment

Diane Graves – Coates Library directorChemistry faculty – Nancy Mills, Bill

Kurtin, Michelle Bushey, Chris Pursell, Bert Chandler, John Spence, Adam Urbach, Laura Hunsicker-Wang, Jessica Hollenbeck

All of the other usual suspects