electronic sources for researchers, and their "disappearance"

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006
From: Gretchen Walsh, African Studies Library, Boston University gwalsh@bu.edu

Don Osborn's query and comments touch on some truly important issues both for academic research and for teaching students how to do research. H-Africa has had some good discussion on the necessity of accuracy and authority in online information resources (e.g.,Wikipedia) but permanence of resources is also essential.

It is difficult enough to do historical research when only one library in the nation may have a copy of the book needed, and when one has to check a fact, confirm a page reference, etc., one has to go through the interlibrary loan process again. When the resource online disappears completely, as in the cases Osborn describes, the effect is devastating. Many of us have had this experience. I've also seen bibliographies on student papers that do not provide enough information for anyone to find the resource - this is a combination of both the potential disappearance of the site, and the lack of citation skill on the part of the student.

A short article in the July 7, 2006 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education ("Hot Type" P. A20) describes another aspect of the problems with online publication. The article refers to Gutenberg-e, a digital publishing collaboration between the Electronic Publishing Initiative of Columbia University and the American Historical Association (http://www.gutenberg-e.org). It caught my eye because one of the authors mentioned was a graduate student at my university whose book on Mozambique was published in Gutenberg-e last year, and another book mentioned in the article is Helena Pohlandt-McCormick's work on Soweto.

The Chronicle article focuses on the problem of acceptance of electronic publishing among the academic establishment. For instance, few academic journals have reviewed the works in the Gutenberg-e project.

There is another concern: permanence, similar to the problem of Osborn's disappearing web pages and pdf files. Libraries subscribe to services providing online access to journals. However, they are paying only for access to those journals. If a library decides to drop a subscription to a print journal, it retains (or at least has the right to retain) possession of the past issues it has paid for. If a library decides to drop a subscription to an online full-text journal subscription, it no longer will have access to any of the past issues. Even more seriously, if the provider decides to drop a journal it once offered, the library no longer has access to any part of the run. I recall one case where a provider dropped one journal and substituted another title which it felt would be more useful -- without consulting the subscribers.

Electronic access to information and scholarship is a powerful and beneficial tool. It can also lead to the end of academic life as we have known it. We must allbe aware of the dangers as well as the benefits andwork to prevent disaster.

From: H-NET List for African History and Culture [mail to:H-AFRICA@H-NET.MSU.EDU] On Behalf Of Colleen Vasconcellos Sent: 15 September 2006 18:38 To: H-AFRICA@H-NET.MSU.EDU Subject: : Responsibilities to

Thanks to Sally Schramm for this. CW.