Two new December 2009 reports from the UK’s prolific RIN, part of a cluster of five such reports…
1) Overcoming barriers: access to research information (PDF link)…
“This report finds that many researchers are encountering difficulties in getting access to the content they need and that this is having a significant impact on their research.”
“technical limitations such as log in/authentication problems (26%) or problems with proxy servers and off-site access (a particular problem for researchers [seeking to access ejournals] – a majority in the humanities and social sciences – who spend significant amounts of time away from their home institution)”
“The proportions of those who felt the impact [of unavailable ejournal content] as having a ‘significant’ impact on their research were higher in the arts and humanities“
2) How researchers secure access to licensed content not immediately available to them (DOC link, Word)…
“emailing the author directly […] creative searching online, primarily using Google Books and Google Scholar […] accessing cached content; and signing up for free trials with publishers […] buying books online, usually second-hand, when they are unable to get access via other routes.”
[ Hat-tip: Open Access News ]