Library Research, Then and Now

Sometimes I marvel at how much technological progress I've experienced during my lifetime.  Internet use was limited when I was in college.  I still remember the first television commercial to include a website--what the product was, I don't know, but I remember thinking "What the hell is 'http://www'?"  The first computer I ever owned was an IBM desktop which had no internal hard drive but booted from a floppy disk (remember those?) inserted into a B drive.  I printed to a dot-matrix printer which sounded like a combination between a jackhammer and a chainsaw when the print head was in motion.  I couldn't print anything at night for fear I'd wake my college roommate up.  Now I compute on a nifty MacBook and print to a Bluetooth printer which is so quiet I often forget I've printed anything until I discover documents in the out tray.

Last week I discovered the technological changes in library research.  I thought I knew a lot about library research from having been an academic research assistant from 1991-1996.  Among the million job responsibilities was combing through the UCSF Library for journal articles the principal investigators needed.  By the time I left the job and entered medical school, I was the equivalent of a Jedi Master at finding primary sources in the library.  When I was planning my San Francisco trip last week, I knew things had changed and I did some Web research on how to get what I needed efficiently.  I believed, in this era of high-speed Everything and virtual Doohickies, I'd be able to get almost all the papers I needed in PDF format, download them to a USB drive, then trudge downstairs to the stacks for the pre-2000 papers which, I assumed, would still be in print format only.  Well, things went well but not quite as smoothly as I'd hoped.  Here I'm presenting a rundown of library research then and now.

THEN:  1996

Step 1:  Principal investigators gave me lists of journal articles they wanted to read.

Step 2:  I prepared a "pull list" of journals by title, volume, number and page range for each article. 

Step 3:  I obtained a copy card to use in the library photocopiers.  I think the per-page charge at the time was $0.07/page.

Step 4:  In the library stacks (located in the windowless lower levels of the building), I pulled library-bound archived journals, working the stacks alphabetically by journal title.  I used to pull one generous armful then set off for the photocopy room.  Eventually I got smart and hijacked a library cart to hold all the bound journals I needed.

Step 5:  I stood at a photocopier hand-placing each page on the glass surface until all the articles were copied.  This could take a couple of hours.

Step 6:  I emerged from the library several hours after entering, the scholarly equivalent of a ream of paper in my arms.

Sometimes it was a bit more complicated.  If our library didn't carry a journal I had to arrange for another library to send the article I needed.  This required filling out little slips of paper an submitting them to the reference librarian, but the service was great--the paper usually arrived within two weeks.  All in all, the work was dull, many trees lost their lives in the name of science, and I sustained a lot of paper cuts, but at least the information I needed was readily obtainable and there weren't too many permutations of how to obtain that information.  Things are more complicated now.

NOW:  2008

Step 1:  I've been accumulating a list of papers I'd like to read in full and I investigated ways of getting these  papers without leaving Rural.  I discovered most of the scientific journals charge $30 per full-text article.  This price will rapidly sap the budget of even a highly successful rural family doctor like me.  So after commiserating with my Twitter buddies, I connected with an institutional library through which I can get the same articles for $15 each.  Better, but still steep, so I decided it would be cheaper to go to UCSF library when I was in San Francisco.

Step 2:  A few days before going to SF, I consulted with my Twitter buddies again:

ruraldoctoring @sarchet62 Wishing I'd chosen your profession as I prepare myself for flash visit to UCSF library next week. Huge list of references. 5:41 PM Oct 13th from web in reply to sarchet62

sarchet62 @ruraldoctoring are you looking up the references? as in articles you already know about? 5:47 PM Oct 13th from twhirl in reply to ruraldoctoring

sarchet62 @ruraldoctoring you could check articles at home in PubMed and if they are there get the PMID number at bottom of abstract 5:56 PM Oct 13th from twhirl in reply to ruraldoctoring

sarchet62 @ruraldoctoring the PMID number in PubMed search box will pull up the abstract it belongs to and then use UC elinks to find out if in pdf 5:58 PM Oct 13th from twhirl in reply to ruraldoctoring

ruraldoctoring @sarchet62 OK, so: home PubMed, get PMID#. At lib, put PMID# into search and see if pdf avail. 5:59 PM Oct 13th from web in reply to sarchet62

ruraldoctoring @sarchet62 Ooooh, I love getting advice from the experts! 5:58 PM Oct 13th from web in reply to sarchet62

ruraldoctoring @sarchet62 I'm assuming, perhaps wrongly, that papers from online journals avail in library can be stored on USB drive rather than printed. 5:55 PM Oct 13th from web in reply to sarchet62

sarchet62 @ruraldoctoring pdf can be saved to and stored on USB 5:58 PM Oct 13th from twhirl in reply to ruraldoctoring

ruraldoctoring @sarchet62 A number of older papers probably in print only, so I'll have to hit the stacks and get irradiated by the photocopier. 5:55 PM Oct 13th from web in reply to sarchet62

sarchet62 @ruraldoctoring find out before you go what kind of copy card you need here at UCSD we use one that requires paying in dollar bills 5:59 PM Oct 13th from twhirl in reply to ruraldoctoring

ruraldoctoring @sarchet62 They make you buy a copy card. Rate for everyone except current students/faculty is $0.22/copy. Hence pref for PDF. 6:01 PM Oct 13th from web in reply to sarchet62

sarchet62 @ruraldoctoring our rates here are 10 cents a copy for everyone 6:05 PM Oct 13th from twhirl in reply to ruraldoctoring

ruraldoctoring @sarchet62 Re: $0.22/copy--that's the San Francisco markup for you. You should see what they charge for parking, which is another issue. 6:06 PM Oct 13th from web in reply to sarchet62

sarchet62 @ruraldoctoring remember that the library will probably NOT make change so have dollar bills with you 6:06 PM Oct 13th from twhirl in reply to ruraldoctoring

ruraldoctoring @sarchet62 Back to parking--I'm going to have to do all this while running back and forth to 2-hr parking space & moving car. Might take bus 6:07 PM Oct 13th from web in reply to sarchet62

ruraldoctoring @sarchet62 Or, if the weather is good, I'll walk. With my USB drive, reference list, and $100 in singles. 6:09 PM Oct 13th from web in reply to sarchet62

spencerjj @ruraldoctoring Sounds like you're going to a nerdy strip club ;D 6:11 PM Oct 13th from web in reply to ruraldoctoring

ruraldoctoring @spencerjj LOL! I wish I were going to a strip club. It would make for better tweet-fodder than dorking around the library all day. 6:12 PM Oct 13th from web in reply to spencerjj

Step 3:  My mother, after I whined about parking, dropped me off at the library, so I didn't need to worry about expiring meters.

Step 4:  I discover the UCSF library has now established computer stations for "UCSF affiliated only" and "general public."  As an alumna, I am a member of the general public.  Nice. 

Step 5:  On the public computers I open up PubMed.  As @sarchet62 instructed, I entered PMID# into the search field and found full-text articles available through the UCSF subscription.

Step 6:  Plug in a USB drive.  No icon appears on the desktop.  Frustration ensues.

Step 7:  Consult with reference librarian, who informs me only UCSF affiliates may download full-text articles to USB drive.  I express polite outrage at this policy.  She smiles wearily.

Step 8:  Armed with the knowledge that, even in 2008, trees must die in the name of science, I have to register for a GALEN account and fund it with a credit card in order to print full-text articles. 

Step 9:  Once this is done, I print out 13/17 articles I wanted.  The other four are not available through the UCSF network.  The resulting pile of paper is 1.5" thick and costs me over $22.00 in printing fees.

Step 10:  Feeling a bit grim, I go down to the stacks to obtain the eight remaining articles which are available in print only.

Step 11:  Am confronted with a sign announcing a re-shelving project.  At first, I don't think this will be a problem for me.

Step 12:  Experience a twinge of nostalgia when I go down to the stacks.  All the hard-core students study down here, away from the pretty view and comfy chairs on the main level (pictured above).  A few are hard at it, sitting on straight-backed chairs at carrels.  I think they are pharmacy students because they have scientific calculators and look like they're confronting the horror of physical chemistry.  Pharmacists have to do a lot more advanced math than doctors do, so the next time you see your hospital pharmacist, give her a big hug.

Step 13:  Falling back upon my old research assistant habits, I begin to work the stacks in alphabetical order.  In the "A" section, this is what I see.  A million boxes, and a million more empty shelves.  The empty shelves would have contained 4/7 print papers I wanted to get.

Step 14:  Major nostalgia attack in the photocopy room, which is staffed by the same dour copy card salesman and--I swear--the same ancient photocopiers:

Step 15:  Walk home with a pound of dead trees and a bad attitude.

The worst part is I now have to take the full-text articles which I printed from PDFs and scan them back into PDFs so I can use a reference software to keep sources on track.  Does that make sense?  No.

I suppose I had bad luck going to the library during their reshelving project, but what is up with disabling USB drive access from the public computers?  I suppose the $0.22/page printing charge is helping prop up this great research institution, but I mean really.

At least I didn't spend $30 for each of the 15 papers I managed to obtain.  For my next task, I will write a stiff note to the library staff regarding the virtues of paperless computing.

Comments

[Aaron A. Davis]

If you became a preceptor for a medical school (taking a student for 2-4 wks every so often), that could make you affiliated and you'd have access to that schools information resources.

I know a dermatologist who does this.

An added benefit of this is that you'd be able to have that same medical student look up and download those papers for you...as long as it was also part of their education of course.

-AAD

[Theresa]

Aaron--good suggestion. Currently I'm precepting DO students but I know my former advisor at UCSF is interested in sending students up here.

[Rixa]

I am really spoiled--I have access both through my graduate student institution (although that will end this semester once I graduate) and through my husband's college. Faculty spouses have full access to the library's electronic databases, ILL system, etc. And if you ever need something electronically, I am willing to help out!

[Bardiac]

Also, you're aware of the costs to make your copies, but you don't mention the costs of making copies when you worked as a research assistant. I'm guessing (from my own work) that those copies were paid for through a grant, and that monies also went from the grant, department, or other institutional group to help buy subscriptions for the library (or copying rights).

I'm also guessing that a grant or something paid for your time.

Time to write up a grant proposal?

[Robin]

I have access to a medical school library, thus can download about all journal articles for "free". I can't imagine having to print them all. I agree...that's a waste!

As an FYI, Sage Publications is offering free access to all their online journals/digital media this week:

http://www.sagepub.com/home.nav

[Theresa]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the offer, Rixa--I'm probably going to take you up on it one day.

Bardiac: I don't think my research rises to the level of grantworthiness at this point. There are also some advantages to being an independently funded scholar, although a cheap bill of fare is not among them.

Robin: when I was a med student--not so long ago--we had to photocopy everything. Thanks for the free sagepub tip.

[Rachel]

Gah, I'm sorry your experience was so frustrating. I don't know about the USB drive policy, but I wonder if maybe you could have emailed the PDFs to yourself? I hope that in medical libraries in general, things are going to become easier-we've installed a networked copier/scanner, for example, so even if you need to copy from print, you can scan and send the PDF to your email rather than making paper copies if you like. The NIH public access policy may also be of help in the future as NIH-funded articles start to be deposited in PubMed Central. It frustrates me to hear of others having frustrating library experiences.

[Theresa]

Hi Rachel--yes, I tried to be crafty and email the PDFs to myself, but what I received was the "log in to your account and get ready to pay for your PDF" screen for the journal. (Thanks to the wonder of the iPhone I was able to check incoming email right away.)

I suppose I'm asking a bit much to get my papers for free or low cost AND be paperless as well, but here I am with a solar roof over my head and a hybrid parked in the garage and I'm compelled to print 100+ pages because the library won't accept a USB drive? I mean--geez.

[Kelly]

I'm a serials librarian at a medical school in the UK, so I may be able to explain.

Electronic journals are usually acquired in "bundle" form from the publisher (i.e. the library pays for an annual licence, the price of which is usually quite astronomical *ahem*, to obtain all the titles said publisher produces, or in the case of very large publishers, all of the health & life sciences titles). These bundles come with tedious and convoluted licence agreements that the library must adhere to, or risk losing their licence altogether. Licences restrict access to staff and students of the institution only, which means that alumni (amongst other visitors) are not entitled to access the electronic journals.

I guess that explains why you couldn't download articles to your USB drive. The issue isn't the USB drive per se, it's the fact that the publisher doesn't want you to access the journals, and the library has no choice but to enforce that.

The publisher, of course, wants you to pay $30 per article instead.

It sucks.

It's not just the library users who suffer, the library budget does as well. One other major stipulation of most licence agreements is that libraries are not allowed to cancel their print subscriptions, even if they also have electronic access and NO ONE uses the print journals. Some libraries are now choosing to toss the print journals in the recycling bin as soon as they arrive in the post. It's an astonishing waste of money - not to mention trees. But hey, the publisher can't risk losing out on income...

I could rant on for days...

[dragonfly]

I had access to every article I wanted while doing honours, but don't now that I am not doing research any more. What I do have is friends who will download articles for me if my university doesn't subscribe to it (in exchange for me proof reading their thesis drafts).

Not being able to have articles in pdf form and search them is a pain...when they have been scanned in a sloppy manner so that the text is at an angle to the horizontal it is very frustrating as well....

[Hilary]

I love library research!

Have you ever heard of EBSCO? It is a subscription service. They provide access to hundreds of journals (in pdf format)from different publishers. Their core BioMedical Collection would probably be what you would be interested in.

I have only used it on an institutional level. Maybe you can convince your hospitalist group to get a subscription? I am not sure what the pricing is for individual subscriptions, but the institutional pricing wasn't horrid, from what I remember.

I love their format, too. You can do advanced searching using PubMed (Medline) or many of a multitude of permutations. They have folders and saved searches and emailing options...I sound like a commercial.

They can provide a list of titles in their different subscriptions, or, you can do a quick search on PubMed. Go to "link out" on any article you need and see if EBSCO is one of the links out. It usually is, especially on the most commonly accessed journals.

[Michelle]

You know you don't have to scan all of those PDF articles into a reference software. You can easily download the citation from PubMed and upload it into the reference software. It keeps track of the information just as neatly but without taking up all of the space of having the PDF of the article.

[Chris Shaffer]

Kelly is right - it's almost certainly the publisher's license restrictions that prevent you from getting copies of the PDFs.

[Sandy Swanson MSL MPA]

You might look into using Loansome Doc, which was developed to aid rural doctors and others gain access to the literature.

Sign up for an account in PubMed, using the "order documents" link on the left side of the PubMed page. You'll find a list of participating medical libraries as you go through the process of signing up for the account. You'll need to contact the library of your choice for authorization and to see what their terms are. Some libraries offer services at no charge, while others may charge a modest fee.

Then when you need articles, you can order them through PubMed and they just show up in your email box, in PDF format, often within a couple of days.

Find out more about Loansome Doc at
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/loansomedoc/loansome_home.html

[Anon. med student]

A tip only applicable to UCSF (perhaps for your next visit).

The hospital library at SFGH is a "branch" so to speak of UCSF and as such they have access to the UCSF subscribed journals. They are extremely nice and have a bank of computers for "staff & students" that do not have a sign-in code. They also have old paper journals for many of the core clinical journals. They also have "public" computers usually used by hospital patients for which there is usually no wait.

They do not participate in the UCSF copy card scheme and charge $.25 per copy, but do have USB ports and I believe you can save the articles.

You might want to check them out on your next visit. Parking is better than on Parnassus. There is also a regular shuttle between them and the main campus. Call first for hours [usually 8 to 6 weekdays]; if there is a campus holiday on a Monday or Friday they often close for a three day weekend.

Hope this helps.

p.s. I enjoyed all your pics of the UCSF library!

[mary]

try highwire.stanford.edu