BUSINESS CONTINUITY FOR LIBRARIANS

You can't read e-journals when the lights go out

As the science, technology and medicine (STM) information sector continues to consolidate, and more journals are delivered electronically by a small group of major vendors, recent surveys from IRN Research reflect the growing acceptance of e-journals by both librarians and end-users. Other surveys show a relatively limited penetration for 'Big Deal' purchasing arrangements in the UK, and little change in restrictions on library budgets. The major concern for STM information specialists is still long-term access to archives in the digital environment.

At a broader level, an IRN survey of business continuity and disaster recovery planning in the UK has highlighted noticeable weaknesses in IT security and systems - vulnerability that should be a concern for all specialists involved in content management and delivery systems.

IRN Research specialises in the research and analysis of information markets, and regularly undertakes surveys of users of STM information in Europe. Brief extracts from some of these surveys are included in this article, including: a survey of UK academic librarians and information specialists undertaken in late 2003; a User Panel of UK STM information specialists, which IRN has established in 2004; and a business continuity survey undertaken in February 2004, covering all main UK economic sectors.

Big deals still take small share of library budgets
The share of journal budgets taken by 'Big Deal' agreements is still relatively low for most libraries, according to the results of a survey of more than 30 STM academic information managers and librarians in the UK, undertaken at the end of 2003. For the majority of respondents - 60 per cent - 'Big Deal' agreements still account for less than 50 per cent of journal budgets, and for a quarter of respondents, these purchasing models take less than 10 per cent of library budgets.

• Source: IRN Research, UK Academic STM User Survey, December 2003

Comments suggest that further penetration of 'Big Deal' agreements may be limited, as users express concerns about the number of non-core journals included in the Big Deal bundles, and about some deals which demand long-term contracts with little scope for flexibility.

Penetration of electronic-only access to journals
There is still some way to go before users will accept only e-journals. The largest group of journal titles (50 per cent) is still accessed through a combination of hard copy and electronic subscriptions. However, more than a quarter of journals (27 per cent) are now accessed only in electronic format and this percentage is rising. At the end of 2002, the percentage accessed only in electronic format was around 20 per cent. The share taken by hard-copy journals only is falling, and dropped to 23 per cent at the end of 2003.

Users' comments suggest there will be growing penetration of electronic-only access in the next few years, with cost savings and space savings given as key reasons for this shift. The development of internal portals and networks also encourages the use of e-journal systems. Librarians and information managers note that academics and students now expect online access to full-text sources, while some user-resistance to online access (which was evident in 2002 with some academics demanding continued print subscriptions) has begun to fade. The main user concern about electronic-only access to journals still centres on the need for guarantees about archive access.

Concerns over archives
At the start of 2004, IRN established a User Panel of 30 leading STM Information Professionals in the UK¹. The panel includes 20 participants from academic environments and 10 from commercial organisations. This panel will be consulted three times a year, and asked to comment on a topical issue within the STM information market. The first topic covered was access to archives in the e-journal environment, with panel members asked for their views on the 'long-term viability and reliability of digital journal archives'. Just over half of those responding to the question have concerns about access to digital archives, particularly in the event of subscription cancellations. There are also concerns that archive access will be selective, i.e. covering only heavily used titles and with limited historical coverage.

However, a significant minority of panellists also recognise the efforts being made to create viable digital archives and mention initiatives, such as: the Electronic Archives Initiative (EIA) from JSTOR; LOCKKS; and the work of the National Library in the Netherlands (Koninklijke Bibliotheek). The latter has set up agreements with Elsevier, Biomed Central, and Kluwer, to maintain digital access to archives. Librarians and information specialists are beginning to see that efforts are being made to preserve archives, but many are unsure about the long-term impact of these initiatives on their own institutions.

Library budgets
Spending on STM information by academic institutions remains very tight. In the STM User Survey in December 2003, 58 per cent of respondents stated that no increases in library budgets will occur in the coming financial year, and any new subscriptions will have to be matched by cancellations. Some 21 per cent have yet to find out if budgets will increase, but the remaining 21 per cent are expecting some increase in budgets.

Disaster planning
As the majority of internally-generated content, records, and administrative systems switches to digital formats, and as more external content is delivered via electronic systems, wider questions arise about content security and business continuity. Research Information readers should take note of the results of a survey that IRN Research has just completed for the NCC Group plc². The research considered the role of business continuity and disaster recovery planning, and the vulnerability of organisations to security breaches and attacks across a range of sectors and industries. More than 300 interviews were undertaken with IT managers and business operations managers, in UK manufacturing, service sectors, utilities, construction, and government. The research concentrated on larger companies and organisations, i.e. those with more than 100 employees.

While the majority of businesses and organisations have disaster-recovery plans and vulnerability tests in place, the survey highlighted clear areas of weakness that would have a serious impact on business-systems continuity for UK business and government. IT systems shutdown would occur in the majority of businesses and organisations in less than a day as a result of a mains power loss. Almost a third of respondents would be able to maintain IT systems for less than an hour during a power loss.

The overwhelming majority of businesses and organisations (85 per cent) have disaster recovery plans in place, and most have tested these plans in the past 12 months. However, a significant minority of large sites (30 per cent) have not tested these plans recently. A majority carry out vulnerability testing on a regular basis (58 per cent) but 34 per cent do not. User definitions of 'regular' also vary considerably, and of some concern is the fact that only around half of respondents claiming to run regular tests were willing or able to say how often these tests were undertaken. Some 46 per cent run tests more frequently than annually, 28 per cent run annually or less frequently, but more than a quarter (26 per cent) did not know how often tests were run.

By aggregating scores per sector across various criteria (see table note below), an indication of the sectors showing the greatest IT systems vulnerability is obtained. There are wide variations in vulnerability, but the sector with the highest vulnerability is clearly government (in this survey, this covers 60 government organisations interviewed, comprising 50 in local government and 10 in central government).

• *Paper & pulp ranking based on 3 criteria (Power loss excluded)
• Note: Based on composite scores for each sector for following criteria: How vulnerable to attacks (% answering 'not vulnerable'); percentage of companies able to continue systems indefinitely during power loss; penetration of regular vulnerability tests; penetration of disaster recovery plans.
• Source: What will do you when the lights go out? February 2004

There are clear implications for librarians and information managers responsible for the maintenance and monitoring of electronic content, and this led IRN Research to investigate how aware STM information professionals were of disaster-recovery plans, and how involved they were in the development and monitoring of these plans. Participants in the STM Information User Panel were asked the question 'Does your organisation have a disaster-recovery plan?' and a reassuringly high percentage - 67 per cent - stated 'yes'. Another 17 per cent said 'no', and 17 per cent did not know. None of the participants claimed to have any involvement in plan-development and monitoring.

Specific issues, such as library and information budgets and access to archives, are crucial for most STM librarians and information professionals, but our business continuity survey also confirms that librarians and information professionals should take a strong interest in wider issues, such as IT security systems and disaster-recovery planning programmes. Content access and delivery will increasingly rely on the smooth operation of IT systems, so librarians and information specialists should be aware of the disaster-recovery plans and IT systems vulnerability tests operating in their organisations, frequency of plan updates and tests, and areas of responsibility. Where there are gaps in the planning and testing process, librarians and information specialists should be among those pressing for more regular IT systems vulnerability tests and regular appraisals of disaster-recovery plans.
David Mort is a director of IRN Research

¹ UK STM Information Specialists User Panel, three times a year. IRN Research. For further details, including information on adding questions to the panel, contact dmort@irn-research.com.
² What will you do when the lights go out? A survey of business continuity and disaster recovery in UK industry. February 2004. IRN Research for NCC Group plc.

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