Electronic journals at the BT Laboratories Library
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb040672 |
| Published date | 01 January 1998 |
| Date | 01 January 1998 |
| Pages | 6-10 |
| Author | Sheila Broadmeadow |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Electronic journals at
the BT Laboratories
Library
by Sheila Broadmeadow, Technical
Librarian,
BT Laboratories Library
The article considers the implementation of
electronic journals by the library of BT's main
research facility based at
Ipswich.
It discusses
the selection process, licence conditions,
access, software platforms, cataloguing and
searching, and
cost.
Introduction
BT Laboratories, based at Ipswich, Suffolk is the
main research facility for BT, the international
telecommunications carrier. The technical library
which is based at the Labs has provided technical
information for the staff working within the
research divisions since the site was opened in
1975.
It provides current awareness services,
information searches and document delivery via
the BLDSC mainly to the staff working in the
Systems Engineering department, as well as
answering enquiries from members of the public.
To provide these services the library traditionally
had a large paper-based collection of journals -
around 800 titles, some with multiple copy sub-
scriptions. However, around 6 years ago there was
a move to reduce costs within the company in the
face of increasing competition, and the library was
seen as a large overhead which could easily be cut.
To ensure the future of
the
library it was necessary
to use the opportunity offered by new technology
to design the 'library of the future' which could be
seen as a showcase for some of the technical
developments produced by BT's research.
These changes included a large cut in the number
of journal subscriptions and a move to more 'just-
in-time' services rather than 'just-in-case'. As
electronic journals began to appear in subsequent
years,
the policy of the library was to switch as
many subscriptions as possible to online and
availability of online access became a major
consideration in
the
journals selection policy.
This article discusses the issues to be resolved in
the acquisition and introduction of electronic
journals with particular reference to our own
experiences.
Period of change
The last 6 years has been a period of dramatic
change in the BT library
—
in its physical appear-
ance,
staffing, and the services it provides. Since
1992 the library's accommodation has been re-
duced by 67% and the physical library stock
reduced accordingly. The clerical staffing level has
been reduced by 75% by outsourcing document
supply and the use of journal consolidation serv-
ices although the library has gained the services of
a senior IT professional to support the develop-
ment of
a
digital library. However, the library has
recently celebrated the addition of all IEE1 and
IEEE2 full-text publications to its web-based
resources which, with links to the ACM's3 Digital
Library, provide access to approximately 40% of
the world's publications on telecommunications. A
major part of this resource is obviously based on
the provision of electronic journals so we have
gained some experience in the selection, acquisi-
tion and management of electronic journals.
Implementing electronic
journals
There are a number of processes involved in the
implementation of electronic journals in a library:
• Selection
• Licences
• Access - including location and method of
control of access
• Software platform
• Cataloguing and searching
Cost
Selection
The selection and acquisition of electronic journals
is more complex than for paper subscriptions.
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