2011 Articles

Still Bound for Disappointment? Another Look at Faculty and Library Journal Collections

Rutner, Jennifer Anne; Self, Jim

After the publication of "Bound for Disappointment: Faculty and Journals at Research Institutions" by Jim Self in 2008, academic libraries found new insights into one particularly frustrating piece of data. LibQUAL+ survey results have consistently shown that faculty at institutions with ARL libraries report negative perceptions of library service regarding journal collections. One key finding of Self's study was the strong correlation between satisfaction with journal collections and overall satisfaction with library services for faculty. This study is a continuation of Self's work, and applies the same methodology to recent LibQUAL+ data from ARL libraries and the faculty at Columbia University. Three years later, we hope to understand whether this trend of dissatisfaction has continued at ARL libraries, and particularly at Columbia. Why are faculty at Columbia dissatisfied with journal collections? Have other areas of library service become more important to faculty? As academic libraries continue to invest heavily in journals, particularly electronic journals, how can we continue to understand this issue, and meet faculty needs?