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Trends in Print vs. Electronic Use inSchool LibrariesScott Lanning a & Ralph Turner aa Gerald R. Sherratt Library , Southern Utah University , Cedar City,UTPublished online: 14 Jul 2010.

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The Reference Librarian, 51:212–221, 2010Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 0276-3877 print/1541-1117 onlineDOI: 10.1080/02763871003800601

Trends in Print vs. Electronic Usein School Libraries

SCOTT LANNING and RALPH TURNERGerald R. Sherratt Library, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT

To facilitate a comparison of reference services at academic andschool libraries, a survey of resource use at school libraries wasundertaken. The survey showed that electronic references sourcesare favored at all levels of schools. The resources used may be dif-ferent, but the goal of the reference transaction is the same—tocreate a more information-literate student.

KEYWORDS school libraries, academic libraries, referencesources, usage, survey

INTRODUCTION

To mark the release of the second edition of Essential Reference Services forToday’s School Media Specialists (Lanning and Bryner 2009), we exploredsome of the differences in reference work and resource use between schoollibraries and academic libraries. One obvious difference is in the level ofthe materials used. An elementary school library does not need the OxfordEnglish Dictionary (Simpson and Oxford University Press 1989), but it doesneed a dictionary that its students can use, such as Merriam-Webster’sElementary Dictionary (Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1994). To elucidate differ-ences and similarities, we will compare resource use at the academic leveland examine the results of our survey of resource use at school libraries.

REFERENCE RESOURCE USE IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES

In most academic libraries, students prefer electronic resources. Atour university library, we circulated 41,950 items in the 2008–2009

Address correspondence to Scott Lanning, Head of Reference Services, Gerald R. SherrattLibrary, Southern Utah University, 351 West University Blvd., Cedar City, UT 84720. E-mail:lanning@suu.edu

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TABLE 1 Circulation as a Percentage of Total Library Use

Carnegie class Circulations Database searches Percent of activity

Associate’s Degree 12,648 180,839 6.5%Bacelor’s Degree 23,446 155,940 13.0%Master’s Degree 38,178 394,309 8.8%PhD 139,289 1,197,688 10.4%

academic year; compare this to the number of database searches ourstudents performed, 663,785 (Gerald R. Sherratt Library 2009). That isapproximately 16 times more database searches than circulations. Putanother way, check outs account for only 5.9% of these activities. Booksand databases are used in different ways, but this number clearly showsthat our students prefer electronic resources over print.

But how does this compare to use at other academic libraries? Theinformation presented in Table 1 above was generated with data taken fromthe Association of College and Research Libraries (2010) web site. The firstcolumn represents the schools by the highest degree granted. The secondand third columns show the average number of circulation and databasesearches reported by all the schools in that classification. The fourth columnshows the total percentage of activity represented by print circulation.

The Table demonstrates the importance of electronic sources to aca-demic libraries at all levels. In general, electronic resources are moreimportant to libraries with lower Carnegie classifications, with the notableexception of bachelor’s degree institutions. The more in-depth the researchneeds, the greater the percentage of book use. This may be due to the factthat many books are not available in electronic format because of their ageor publisher. However, book use is a small percent of these activities at allclasses of institutions.

Southern Utah University is a master’s degree granting institution. The5.9% figure noted above indicates that our students are using electronicresources more heavily than average. This could, in part, indicate a defi-ciency in our print collection or it could show that our electronic collectionsare meeting student needs.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

To see which media were preferred at school libraries, a nine-question sur-vey was developed (See Appendix). An announcement with a link to thesurvey was posted on two listservs: Library Media (http://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/library/listserve.htm), aimed at Utah-based school librarians, andLM_Net (http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/), a national listserv for schoollibrarians. There were 314 responses to the survey.

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The survey asked about the level and size of the schools where respon-dents were employed, the amount of their collective development budget,and whether respondents were licensed or endorsed. Next, the surveyasked which received the most use (print or electronic reference resources),which category of print and electronic reference resources received themost use, and the names of the most heavily used print and electronicresources.

SURVEY RESULTS

A majority of the respondents (94%) were licensed/endorsed librarians. Thenumber of students per school by type of the school, as shown in Figure 1,indicates that elementary schools generally have the fewest students withenrollment size increasing as grade level increases.

Another progression shown by the results is in the size of the collec-tion development budget by the type of school. As the level of the schoolincreases, the size of the collection development budget increases (Figure 2).Also, we noticed that as the enrollment of the school increases, the collectiondevelopment budget increases (Figure 3).

REFERENCE RESOURCE USE IN SCHOOL LIBRARIES

The question “Which format of reference resources gets the most use by yourstudents at your library?” revealed that print reference resources achievetheir highest popularity in elementary schools. The use of print referenceresources decreases as the level of the school increases (Figure 4). The use

FIGURE 1 Number of students per school by type of school.

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FIGURE 2 Collection development budget by type of school.

FIGURE 3 Collection development budget by school size.

FIGURE 4 Format of reference resource use by type of library.

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of print and electronic reference sources at the “about the same” scale ofactivity accounts for about 25% of the use at all school levels. Electronicreference resources are the preferred resources at all levels, increasing inpopularity as the grade level increases.

When we look at format usage by size of school, we see that studentsat smaller schools have a greater preference for print than those at largerschools (Figure 5). When we check these preferences by budget (Figure 6),we see more clearly the preference for print materials. This can be explainedby the cost of electronic sources versus their print counterparts. Althoughthe preference for print decreases, use at “about the same” level increasesas budgets increase, and electronic reference sources are preferred between56% to 63% at all levels.

These results illustrate the decline in the use of the print referenceresource. As one would expect, print is still valuable in elementary schools,

FIGURE 5 Preference by size of school.

FIGURE 6 Preference by collection development budget.

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smaller schools, and schools with small collection development budgets. Inelementary schools, print reference resources offer ease of use and serveas great teaching tools of information literacy for students new to findinginformation. Print also offers affordability to schools on limited budgets.However, the preference at all levels is for electronic reference sources,which offer many features that print cannot compete with, such as enhancedsearching, a wider range of sources, and multimedia materials.

PRINT AND ELECTRONIC REFERENCE SOURCES

School librarians were asked to pick which category of print refer-ence resources were the most popular in their libraries. Encyclopediaswere the most popular print sources at all levels of schools (Figure7). When asked to name print sources, librarians most often citedWorld Book Encyclopedia (World Book, Inc. 2010) followed to a muchlesser extent by Compton’s Encyclopedia (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.2004), Encyclopedia Britannica (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 2007), andEncyclopedia Americana (Scholastic Library Publishing 2006). These titlesare a good reflection of the various levels of students served.

Biographies are popular at all levels of schools, whereas dictionariesplay a lesser role. Almanacs and atlases get some use at the elementary level,with World Almanac and Book of Facts (Joyce 2009), and Guinness WorldRecords (Glenday 2009). receiving several mentions, but usage declines asthe level increases.

Web search engines, such as Google, are highly used electronic refer-ence resources in school libraries (Figure 8). When asked to name electronicreference sources, librarians responded most often with Google. Ask and

FIGURE 7 Category of print reference resource use by type of library.

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FIGURE 8 Category of electronic reference resource use by type of library.

Bing were a distant second and third to Google. Search engines dominate atthe middle school level and are the preferred source in high schools. Thispoints to the need for, and importance of, information literacy instruction atall levels to teach students how to find good materials on the Internet. Thisis not a need that stops at high schools. We in the academic community aretrying to teach our students this same skill.

EbscoHOST received the most mentions by school librarians whenthey were asked to name some of their most used resources. Specificsubscription databases receiving the most mentions in order were SIRS,CultureGrams, Biography Resource Center, World Book Online, BritannicaOnline, Opposing Viewpoints, and History Resource Center.

Web portals, such as Yahooligans, are the most accessed electronicresources in only a few cases, and mostly at the elementary level. Specificweb sites such as Wikipedia, which received more mentions than any othernon-subscription site, account for a surprisingly small number of the mostused electronic resources. Ebooks are at the bottom of the list. This wouldindicate that they are not yet viable, stand-alone reference resources or arenot yet available in schools. We usually receive an electronic reference bookas part of larger databases or aggregators, such as Oxford Reference Onlineor Gale Virtual Reference Library.

CONCLUSION

The survey of school librarians extends what we know about the desirabil-ity of print references sources at the K-12 level. Print reference resourceuse exhibits a general decline versus their electronic counterparts, receivingthe least use at both higher education and school libraries. Although thepreference for print reference resources increases as we move down from

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high schools to middle schools to elementary schools, in no case are printreference sources the preferred format.

However, this survey confirms the importance of encyclopedias to theresearch process at all levels. Whether in-print, where they are the mostused category and the most mentioned titles, or in their online incarnations,where they are part of the subscription databases category and receive goodmention by name, encyclopedias are the foundation of the reference collec-tion. Depending on the level of the student, the encyclopedia may be theprimary source for a project or it may represent the starting point. At theacademic level, we may not often use World Book or Britannica; however,Wikipedia and specialized encyclopedias become important first stops in theresearch process for many students.

One point reinforced by the survey is that librarians at every levelhave more in common than not. We seek to provide our constituents withthe necessary resources needed to conduct meaningful research while alsoproviding them with the required skill-sets to effectively find, evaluate,and use that information. Resources have changed, as have the tools andskills needed to access those resources. The information landscape has alsochanged, continuing to become larger and more complex. However, theoverall goal of the librarian, at every level, remains constant. We seek toteach and inform, for we know that now more than ever, information literacyskills are vital in creating a better student and enlightened citizen.

REFERENCES

Association of College and Research Libraries. 2010. 2008 statistical sum-maries. www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/trends/2008/ (accessedFebruary 18, 2010).

Gerald R. Sherratt Library. 2009. Annual report 2008–2009. http://www.li.suu.edu/library/Annual%20Report/Lib%20Annual%20Reprt%202008=09%20Final.pdf(accessed February 24, 2010).

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 2004. Compton’s encyclopedia & fact-index. Chicago:Author.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 2007. The new Encyclopaedia Britannica (15th ed.).Chicago: Author.

Glenday, C. 2009. Guinness world records 2010. London: Guinness World Records.Joyce, C. 2009. The world almanac and book of facts, 2009. New York: World

Almanac Books.Lanning, S., and J. Bryner. 2009. Essential reference services for today’s school media

specialists. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1994. Merriam-Webster’s elementary dictionary. Springfield,

MA: Author.Scholastic Literary Publishing. 2006. Encyclopedia Americana (International ed.).

Danbury, CT: Author.

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Simpson, J., & Oxford University Press. 1989. The Oxford English dictionary (2nded.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

World Book, Inc. 2010. The World Book encyclopedia (2010th ed.). Chicago: Author.

APPENDIX

Reference Resource Use SurveyThank you for participating in this survey. Your answers will help us developa picture of reference resource usage in school libraries.

The survey should take 5 minutes or less to complete. The 10 questionsare spread out on 3 pages. You may stop at any time, but we would appreci-ate it if you answered all the questions. Your answers will be confidential. Ifyou have any questions about the survey, please contact either Scott Lanning(E-mail: Lanning@suu.edu) or Ralph Turner (E-mail: TurnerR@suu.edu).

To be entered to win the $25 gift card, please provide your contactinformation, question 10, on the last page of the survey. Your personalinformation will in no way be associated with your answers to the surveyquestions.

1. What levels does your library serve?� Elementary� Middle School/Jr. High� High School

2. How many students does your school serve?� 1–399� 400–799� 800–1,199� 1,200–1,599� 1,600+

3. How large is your collection development budget?� $0–$499� $500–$1,499� $1,500–$2,999� $3,000–$5,999� $6,000+

4. Are you a licensed/endorsed school library media specialist?� Yes� No

5. Which format of reference resources gets the most use by your studentsat your library?� Print� Electronic� About the same

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6. Which category of print reference resources gets the most use by yourstudents at your library?� Almanacs� Atlases� Biographies� Dictionaries� Encyclopedias

7. Please list the titles of a few of your most used print referenceresources.1.2.3.4.5.

8. Which category of electronic reference resources gets the most use byyour students at your library?� Web search engines (i.e. Google)� Web portals (i.e.Yahoo Kids)� Subscription databases (i.e. EBSCOhost’s MAS Ultra or Middle Search

Plus)� eBooks (i.e. Gale, Oxford, Greenwood)� Specific Websites (i.e. Wikipedia)

9. Please list the titles of a few of your most used electronic referenceresources.1.2.3.4.5.

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