Disciplinary Differences Between Faculty in Library Use and Perceptions

Abstract

Current literature provides little in terms of general faculty use or perceptions in relation to the library. In many institutions, liaisons reject the results and recommendations of these studies as not generalizable to their specific situation and instead are reactive, responding to the immediate needs of the most vocal individual faculty members in the disciplines with which they work. The purpose of this study is to provide a level of detail on faculty use and perceptions that does not currently exist for librarians and administrators making decisions regarding the future of the academic library. In particular, this study develops profiles of faculty use and perceptions of the library for specific academic disciplines and helps librarians and administrators identify differences and similarities in disciplines relating to faculty use and perceptions that can then determine future strategies. While many commonalities existed between disciplines, differences were also apparent. General groupings of disciplines within the humanities and the sciences tended to have more in common with each other than those in the social sciences, although differences existed within these as well. Library administrators and liaisons looking to make better decisions relating to services and collections can utilize the distinctions to understand some priorities for individual disciplines.