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Evidence is presented of the extent to which libraries from around the world are experiencing financial hardship as a result of the world-wide economic downturn. Comparative analyses are provides on the grounds of country, sector and size of institution. The article concentrates on the situation of UK and US university libraries and is based on the findings of two research projects: (1) a global questionnaire survey to which more than 800 institutions responded; (2) a focus group study involving 16 UK university librarians. (Contains 2 tables and 6 figures.)

This article reports on the findings of an international online survey of early career researchers (ECRs) with regard to their authorship and peer review, attitudes, and practices, which sought to discover how the new wave of researchers were utilizing these key aspects of the scholarly communications system. A questionnaire was developed on the back of a 3‐year longitudinal, qualitative study and was distributed through publisher lists, social media networks, university networks, and specialist ECR membership organizations. Identical English, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and French versions of the questionnaire were used. Results from 1,600 respondents demonstrated that 82.7% had co‐authored a paper, and most had performed a variety of authorship tasks. Almost half the respondents reported being subject to various authorship policies, although a quarter said they were not aware of any such policies. Almost all Chinese ECRs reported being subject to authorship policies, but only a third of UK ECRs reported the same. Three‐quarters of ECRs had experience in responding to peer review, and half had been peer reviewers. Half the respondents had a good experience of review and viewed it as a valuable way to improve their authorship skills. However, there was some criticism of some shortcoming such as lengthy peer review and superficial or uninformed comments by reviewers. Double‐blind review was the preferred methodology, and there were few suggestions for how to improve the review process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the second phase of a Research Information Network study, which sought to establish the impact of e-journals on the scholarly behaviour of researchers in the UK. The first phase of the project was a deep log analysis of the usage and information seeking behaviour of researchers in connection with the ScienceDirect and Oxford Journals databases. This paper reports on the second phase, which sought to explain and provide context for the deep log data by taking the questions raised by the quantitative study to the research community via interview, questionnaire and observation. Nine major research institutions took part, six subjects were covered and the behaviour of about 1400 people was analyzed. Findings show that academic journals have become central to all disciplines and that the e-form is the prime means of access. Most importantly the study demonstrates that computer usage logs provide an accurate picture of online behaviour. High levels of gateway service use point to the re-intermediating of the broken chain between publisher and reader. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper evaluates the e-book usage and information seeking and reading behaviour of thousands of business and management students. Comparisons are made with students in other subjects. The data largely come from the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)-funded National e-Books Observatory (NeBO) project as well as the JISC User Behaviour Observational Study. The main sources of data were: a) transactional logs obtained from the MyiLibrary platform regarding 127 UK universities; b) questionnaire data for more than 5000 students and staff at these universities; c) hard-copy library circulation and retail sales data; and d) focus groups held with 50 staff and students from selected universities. The main findings were that e-textbooks can prove to be extremely popular and widely used, mainly for obtaining snippets of information and for fact finding. The main reason for using e-textbooks was ease of access and convenience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports on the results of the project 'Evaluating the usage and impact of e-journals in the UK'. Using deep log analysis techniques, we evaluated the use of the Oxford Journals database in regard to life sciences, economics and history by 10 major UK research institutions. The aim of the study was to investigate researchers' digital behaviour, and to ascertain whether it varied by subjects and disciplines, or in relation to the institutions. The findings revealed significant subject and institutional differences. Life scientists were the biggest users. Economists made the greatest use of abstracts. Historians proved to be the most active searchers. Research intensive universities were characterized by high volume use and short session times, light sessions, and sessions which utilized few of the search functions available. Open access journals featured strongly in the ranked lists of life sciences and history; and Google was an extremely popular means of accessing journal content, especially so in the case of historians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This study, a part of JISC-funded UK National E-Books Observatory, aims to find out about the perspective of students and academics, the main e-book users, on e-books. Design/methodology/approach - The paper provides an analysis of two open-ended questions about e-books, contained in a UK national survey conducted between 18 January and 1 March 2008. The survey obtained a response from more than 20,000 academic staff and students; 16,000 free-text responses were obtained to these two questions. Findings - The study discloses that convenience associated with online access along with searchability was the biggest advantage of e-books. The study shows a potential market for e-textbooks; however, e-books have yet to become more student-friendly by improving features such as printing and screenreading. Originality/value - This is the biggest survey of its kind ever conducted and it improves one's knowledge of what the academic community thinks of e-books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This JISC funded UK National E-Books Observatory study is a benchmarking survey of e-book usage and perceptions in more than 120 participating universities. The paper aims to present the results that investigated: use of e-books in general (methods of obtaining e-books, reasons for using, viewing/reading behaviour in connection with e.books); use of e-books provided by the library; use of JISC collection texts (use and awareness); use of the library and print material in general. Design/methodology/approach - The study is based on an online survey which was conducted between 18 January and 1 March 2008, over which period 22,437 full or partial responses were received. Findings - The study shows that e-book penetration is very strong (61.8 per cent of all students are already using them in connection with their scholarly work, as teachers or students), so the e-book revolution has already happened but clearly it has some way to go. Originality/value - The paper presents the results of the biggest survey of its kind ever conducted, which represents a huge advance in one's knowledge of e-book use on a national scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate of the results of a survey which asked people where they went online for their health information, why and what success they had. The prime purpose of the questionnaire was to obtain information on the audience for health information web sites and to obtain feedback as to what they used online health sites for. The focus was on two major publicly funded health internet sites: NHS Direct Online and the BBC web site. Design/methodology/approach - An online survey was carried out with a population of internet users in the UK in the winter of 2004, yielding a sample of nearly 1,000(923) people and a response rate of 4.4 per cent was achieved. Findings - The survey identified that indeed both sites were well used although their users were very different in terms of how they arrived at each site and in terms of what they were looking for. Outcomes resulting from using the sites are discussed and compared. Though outcomes differed between NHS Direct Online and the BBC the data suggest that the national sites were not meeting the demanding information needs of some users. Originality/value - It is the first time that two publicly funded national sites that aim to provide the UK population with health information are compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]