Impact of electronic journal collections on a New Zealand Academic Library

Abstract

This research investigates the impact of e-journal collections on a New Zealand academic library. The study explores in depth how e-journals collections impact on different areas in the library. It reviews the migration of e-journals into the library; the factors determining this impact and several basic assumptions and findings relating to the impact of e-journals on different areas of the library. The mixed method study was conducted in two main phases. In the first phase, data relating to e-journals of seven university libraries was collected from CONZUL and CAUL to provide an overall picture of their impact on New Zealand academic libraries. During the second phase, five librarians from three different areas of one library were interviewed to explore how e-journals impact on each of their activities as well as to provide further explanations for the numeric data. The findings of the current research show that the impact of e-journals on the investigated library is significant. In contrast to findings of previous studies, e-journal collections contributed to an increase in most activities of the library. The reduction of some activities is not outweighed by the ongoing workload for monograph traffic. Overall, the library seems worse off in terms of money but it successfully meets the demands of its users. On the basis of the research findings, recommendations are made to shed light on the impact of e-journals on the library.