Research Goes On: Post-Observatory Astronomy Resources in Helsinki

Transcription

1 Research Goes On: Post-Observatory Astronomy Resources in Helsinki Eva Isaksson Helsinki University Library / Kumpula Campus Library LISA VII conference

2 There have been some changes in Helsinki in a nutshell: University of Helsinki Astronomy Department was merged in 2010 with the Department of Physics after 175 independent years Helsinki Observatory Library was merged with the new Helsinki University Library Everything was moved physically: astronomers, collections, the librarian Large parts of the collections were sent away Later, Kumpula Campus Library cut 40% of its printed collections in Outcomes? 2

3 From here: Helsinki Observatory To here: Kumpula Science Campus - largest in Nordic Countries 3

4 Helsinki Observatory Inherited collections from Turku, former site of the university - founded by Queen Christina of Sweden in 1640 The Helsinki observatory was built in 1834 No major changes or upheavals for 175 years Full of old instruments, manuscripts, separata, books, photographic plates, maps, exchange collections, reprints, staff publications, journals, ephemerides, etc. Starting point in 2009: 810 shelf metres of print 4

5 Where did everything go? 1: it was sent elsewhere Finnish National Library University of Helsinki Central Archives National Repository Library in Kuopio Recycling Other takers: Tuorla observatory (Russian language books) Finnish Horological Museum (books+journals on clocks) Department of Physics (reprints of department of astronomy publications) etc. 5

6 Where did everything go? 2: it was kept (sort of) Exchange Collection in remote storage Pre-1950s books as museum exhibits Catalogs and atlases in remote storage Kumpula Campus Library active collections The observatory library was the last department library to be merged and there was barely enough space left to accommodate the remaining collections A large part had to be put into remote storage (more or less expensive) a temporary solution 6

7 New Actor in the field: Helsinki University Library 2010 merger of all the faculty, department and other library units of the University Independent institute with own budget and own policies ~220 employees 24,3 M annual budget 1.9 million annual visits 81 shelf kms e-journals, e-books 4 campus libraries, open to all New Main Library

8 Kumpula Campus Library Right at the heart of the largest science campus in Nordic Countries Mathematics, statistics, computer science, chemistry, physics, geophysics, meteorology, astronomy, geosciences and geography collections Print collections reached a maximum in 2010 when Observatory collections were added Meanwhile, other disciplines had started going e-only to save space Boxed journals 8

9 Transplanted astronomers visit Kumpula Campus Library For a welcome coffee + cake 9

10 Kumpula Campus Library renovation Desperate need to save expensive space and to start going e-only to follow new collection policies Major renovation underway Printed collection cut 40% (more later?) Printed journals stored in boxes for a year (until autumn 2014) Printed astronomy journals cut: from 388 shelf metres (Observatory) to 86 shelf metres (now) Boxed journals 10

11 Books Books at the Observatory now Merged collection at Kumpula 2011 Collection after cuts at Kumpula

12 Collections provide sources for new research the right sources? Publications by Helsinki astronomers (Web of Science) 12

13 Survey: what are astronomers really using (or citing)? Method: 1. Harvest astronomy articles with DOIs from local research database 2. Search Scopus with DOIs 3. Harvest references (easy) 4. Identify all by hand (painstaking) Scopus cited sources survey: references in University of Helsinki astronomy publications How many of those were accessible online? How many were not? 13

14 Articles: almost all were available 99% were available at the time of writing either online or in printed form 93 % of cited articles available online 6% available in print 1 % not available in the library 14

15 University of Helsinki co-author map for aaa astronomy publications (WOS data ) Caveat: the cited sources could originate from coauthors, i.e. from other libraries 15

16 Books: steady use of printed library books E-books hard to detect from references and not widely used until about 2013 on missing here 70 % of cited books available in print 30 % not available in the library 16

17 Books again Current book collection at Kumpula now What astronomers cited

18 Other surveys, similar results Questionnaire to Helsinki astronomers re: printed journal use, June % never use printed journals anymore Top 5 print journals are popular magazines or general science journals Most often read in print: Tähdet ja avaruus (Finnish) Nature Science Scientific American Sky and Telescope Astronomisk Tidskrift (Swedish) How often did you use a printed journal ? 18

19 Thesis citations survey 2013 Bachelor s theses at Department of Physics 2012, with astronomy B.Sc. theses Notable differences in citing practices: References to course materials & course books, theses (most of these are online) References to online image & data sources Almost no references to conference papers Cited journals practically always online 19

20 Question from LISA VI: can the merger effect be measured? Yes? From 2010 onwards, Helsinki astronomers suddenly started citing much more (even considering that they also publish somewhat more) This is the cited articles availability graph shown earlier Merger

21 Comparison of A&A citations for 4 Finnish astronomy institutes Yes? Sharp changes in 2010 for Helsinki and another university with astronomy reorganized Citations for Finnish A&A publications (WOS) (*) Big reorganization for Helsinki & Aalto univ. 21

22 A&A Finnish collaboration network map Planck collaboration? Something else? The reasons could be complex, as bibliometrics seldom gives straight answers 22

23 Conclusions? Maybe Big changes we not only left the old Observatory, but also entered a new collection policy era Astronomers seem productive and almost print-free (they only need more e-books) A new generation will be using e-only sources Helsinki University library BookNavigator 23

24 Thank you! Our astronomy books were stacked in new location last week 24