Let's keep our libraries intact 3

My assertion that "researchers regard printed resources as less useful than electronic ones" is a finding of a survey commissioned by the Consortium of Research Libraries and the Research Information Network, published earlier this year. That was a broad conclusion, and the survey notes significant variations between disciplines. But most academic staff will recognise the shift in the balance of the material (printed versus electronic) they consult.

Generally libraries have to prioritise their provision according to the way their users work. Your article might have mentioned that my society's figures for UK higher education show that bookstock per student has been virtually constant for the past ten years, even though libraries' share of institutional budgets has fallen from 3.2 per cent to 2.8 per cent.

Toby Bainton
Secretary, Society of College, National and University Libraries.