Eva Isaksson edited New library and new collection policies.tex  over 9 years ago

Commit id: 3b829ac3be7d24c60be11bf8feb2b3cb0f5e865a

deletions | additions      

       

The new home for astronomy materials is Kumpula Campus Library, right at the heart of the largest science campus in Nordic Countries. The collections cover mathematics, statistics, computer science, chemistry, physics, geophysics, meteorology, astronomy, geosciences and geography. Several department libraries had been merged with the Campus library, which was opened in 2000. The observatory collections were the last to arrive to compete for the remaining shelf space. When 388 sleft metres of printed astronomy journals were brought in from the Observatory, most major physics journals had been e-only already for several years.   There was soon a new trend to increase efficiency and to reduce the cost of storing "passive" printed materials. It was decided that Kumpula Campus library would be completely renovated into a somewhat smaller unit. Some 40\% of printed collections were sent away -- mostly to the National Repository Library. The 388 shelf meters of astronomy journals melted down into 86 shelf meters in the process. All journals were stored in moving boxes for more than a year, from autumn 2013 on.  The astronomy book collection was similarly cut. This happened at a time when the astronomy e-book collections were starting to grow. Most of the books that left the collection dated back to 1960s and 1970s (Figure 2).   The printed astronomy collection available to the astronomers is just a fraction of what it used to be. Instead of lamenting the fact we need to ask whether the Helsinki astronomers have access to astronomy resources they need in order to do research.