Lougee, W.P., Sandler, M., and Parker, L.L. (1990). The Humanistic Scholars Project: A study of attitudes and behavior concerning collection storage and technology. College & Research Libraries, 51(3), 231-40.

Abstract #4

This paper describes a study done at the University of Michigan Library to assess "humanist research behaviors and attitudes toward remote storage of collections and technology." Given the growing practice of storing collections off-site or mediating access to

collections digitally, this study speaks to the possible access problems these new practices create for one of the library's most involved patrons: the humanities scholar. The study seeks to understand its findings not only in terms of "faculty-librarian interactions," but also in terms of "faculty acceptance" of the new systems.

At the time this article was written, off-site book storage was increasing alongside the frustration of the humanities scholar at this process. Researchers theorized at the outset of the experiment that this was because the criteria used to determine which books should go into storage—usually, frequency of usage—often make no sense to humanities scholars, who frequently study old, arcane works. The methodology of this study was three-part. First, researchers designed an electronic database, called the RLIN, to catalog books no longer immediately available to users browsing the stacks. Second, the researchers trained interested faculty and graduate students as to how to use the RLIN. Finally, the researchers administered two surveys to the faculty and students, one before they began their training and one after they had completed it. From these surveys, the researchers gleaned a series of “behavioral measures”—including those related to “library and computerized access,” “use of remote