Library resources increase resources to meet students' needs

Viterbo students now have access to over 50,000 online journals, up from 20,000 online journals in 2002-2003.

Interim Library Director Nancy Steinhoff told Lumen that the Todd Wehr Memorial Library has increased its electronic resources as more students complete research outside the library.

Circulation of print books in the library declined from 21,753 in 2005-2006 to 18,481 in 2008-2009, according to the library's 2008-2009 annual report.

Even with the decrease in circulation, Steinhoff said that the library continues to work with instructors to provide books that support the curriculum. "Everything we do has the student in mind," she said. "We haven't stopped ordering books, and we never will."

Steinhoff, who also serves as the instruction and reference librarian, said the library could purchase electronic reading devices, like Kindles, in the future.

"Anything electronic is a tool, and the more tools you have – including print books – the more you're serving the needs of students," Steinhoff said.

Online journal collections and databases are useful because more instructors are emphasizing the use of peer-reviewed, scholarly referenced sources in journals, Steinhoff said.

The library's journal subscriptions have dropped from over 1,200 to fewer than 600. Steinhoff said the library doesn't subscribe to as many individual journals because of the increase in online databases. Some, like JStor (which stands for "journal storage") have collections of full journals from the same publisher. The VU library subscribes to five journal collections.

Other databases, like Academic Search Complete, provide access to individual articles from a variety of publishers. These databases may focus on a certain subject, such as nursing or education.

Steinhoff said subscriptions to online databases are typically more economical for the library. The cost of one chemistry print journal could be over $2,000 for one year, she said. 

The library pays up to $11,000 per year for a journal collection like Science Direct, Steinhoff said, but the collection gives access to over 900 titles. 

"It's more bang for our buck," Steinhoff said.

The library's budget has increased in the last five years to support new majors and accommodate the rising costs of electronic resources. The library's biggest expense is journals, both online and print, Steinhoff said. The cost of journal subscriptions rises every year by approximately 10 percent. The cost of databases rises about five to seven percent.