This fourth in a series of surveys conducted over the past decade examined faculty attitudes and behaviors on key issues ranging from the library as information gateway and the need for preservation of scholarly material, to faculty engagement with institutional and disciplinary repositories and thoughts about open access.  For the first time, we also looked at the role that scholarly societies play and their value to faculty.

Methodology

Following an initial introductory letter, survey questionnaire booklets were physically mailed to 35,000 faculty members in September 2009. A total of 3,025 complete responses were received and tabulated, for a response rate of approximately 8.6%. Demographic characteristics, including discipline, are self-reported. In 2006, we deposited the dataset with ICPSR for long-term digital preservation and access, and we intend to do so again with the 2009 dataset. 

Findings

Full Report (PDF)

Key findings of the Faculty Survey 2009 include:

• Discovery and the Evolving Role of the Library (PDF of Chapter 1)

Basic scholarly information use practices have shifted rapidly in recent years and, as a result, the academic library is increasingly being disintermediated from the discovery process, risking irrelevance in one of its core areas.  

• The Format Transition for Scholarly Works (PDF of Chapter 2)

Faculty members’ growing comfort in relying exclusively on digital versions of scholarly materials opens new opportunities for libraries, new business models for publishers, and new challenges for preservation.  

• Scholarly Communications (PDF of Chapter 3)

Despite several years of sustained efforts by publishers, scholarly societies, libraries, faculty members, and others to reform various aspects of the scholarly communications system, a fundamentally conservative set of faculty attitudes continues to impede systematic change.

You can learn more about these and other conclusions through our publications, presentations, and webinars.

Publications

• Roger C. Schonfeld and Ross Housewright, Faculty Survey 2009:Strategic Insights for Libraries, Publishers, and Societies

Presentations 

• Nancy Maron, Research and information habits in the social sciences and humanities: Findings from the Ithaka S+R Faculty Survey, STM Annual Spring Conference, April 22, 2010
• Roger C. Schonfeld, The Strategic Implications of Faculty Attitudes on the Shift to an Electronic Environment, Digital Dilemmas Symposium: Challenges + Opportunities + Solutions, April 16, 2009
• Roger C. Schonfeld, Faculty Attitudes 2009: Findings from the Latest Ithaka S+R Survey, Coalition for Networked Information Spring Meeting, April 12, 2010
• Kevin Guthrie, Repackaging the Library: What Faculty Think, University of Hawaii at Manoa, April 7, 2010
• Kevin Guthrie, Repackaging the Library: What do Faculty Think?, University of Oklahoma Libraries Annual Conference, March 5, 2010 
• Ross Housewright, Faculty Attitudes 2009: Results from Ithaka S+R’s latest nationwide survey, ITHAKA Sustainable Scholarship Forum, March 30, 2010

Webinars