This is a copy of a short summary of the Ithaka Survey which was written for the June Joint R&I/Library Research  Report. A more detailed analysis of the Ithaka results will be available in the near future.

The Library has received the results of the Ithaka survey (http://www.sr.ithaka.org/services/surveys/) which  was sent to 718 academic staff on 1 May. The survey was completed by 285 staff, a response rate of about 40%. The results reflect a largely positive attitude to the library and are consistent with international trends demonstrated by Ithaka surveys from other regions. Not surprisingly academics have moved away from the physical library model, embracing electronic services and focusing on the added value the library can offer in the areas of learning, teaching, and research support.

For the majority of academics the most valuable role of the library lies in managing and paying for academic resources (96%). There is a heavy reliance (94.29%) on the journal articles and scholarly monographs provided by the library for academic teaching and research. A high number of respondents (80.44% and 84.44% respectively) also report concern about the information literacy skills of both their undergraduate and postgraduate students and recognize the library’s contribution in addressing these issues.

Fewer respondents are aware of the library’s potential role in supporting their own research by assisting with publication selection, dissemination and impact of research outputs. However the university library was identified, closely followed by IT, as a valuable potential source of support for managing and preserving research data.

The survey also indicates a high level of support for open access with academics wanting to ensure the broadest possible readership for their research. Respondents also make good use of institutional and disciplinary repositories, with 72.05% reporting that they deposit journal articles and conference papers in the UC repository.

Electronic journals and books are valued but there are still reservations, particularly around scholarly monographs, with 39% of respondents reporting that print monographs still play a very important role in their research, especially for in-depth reading.

The survey indicates that the majority of academics are open to adopting new digital learning technologies and using open source instructional resources in their teaching.  Difficulties in locating suitable open access material are evident with 44.58% of respondents indicating challenges in this area.