as delivered at the American Chemical Society Meeting, Chicago, August 26, 1993
There have been many cancellations of subscriptions to the printed Beilstein Handbook of Organic Chemistry among U.S. aca- demic libraries in the past two decades. As an academic chemis- try librarian at Indiana University for nearly 18 years, the author has participated in a number of surveys by the Special Libraries Association and other professional groups designed to determine which libraries continue to maintain subscriptions to expensive reference sets. Each succeeding survey reveals a dwindling number of subscribers to Beilstein. Cancellations of Beilstein certainly took place in academic institutions before the availability of the Beilstein Database. But, the fact that an alternative "pay-as-you-go" source of information is now accessi- ble online is seen in some quarters as a compelling argument to cancel the printed subscription. Several librarians have pub- lished in the library literature studies of the cost-benefit of maintaining a print subscription to Beilstein. Invariably, they have concluded that in their institutions, printed Beilstein subscriptions should be stopped.(1) The cost of a print subscription to Beilstein has risen dramatically in recent years, over 50 percent since 1989/90. 1993/94 $32,041 1992/93 $31,743 1991/92 $31,351 1990/91 $23,945 1989/90 $21,185 1988/89 $21,764 Table 1. Print Subscription Payments for the Beilstein Handbook at Indiana University, Fiscal Years 1989-1994. By way of contrast, the full subsidy provided to the end-users atall eight campuses of Indiana University for online searching of STN International's CAS ONLINE Academic Program files has risen 90-130 percent since 1989/90. In fact, CAS ONLINE costs exceeded the printed Beilstein subscription cost in one of the last three complete fiscal years, 1991/92. 1992/93 $27,203 1991/92 $32,953 1990/91 $22,177 1989/90 $14,295 Table 2. CAS ONLINE Academic Program Search Costs at Indiana University, Fiscal Years 1990-1993. It has been projected that the fifth supplement to the printed Beilstein Handbook covering 1960-79 will be completed by the year 2000. Furthermore, due to reduced production costs, a prediction was recently made that the cost of the printed Beil- stein will not be higher in future years than it was in 1993.(2) The authors of one of the recent articles on the cost- effectiveness of Beilstein conjecture that, "Neither library staff nor the chemistry community may be familiar enough with Beilstein to maximize its effectiveness."(3) If that possibility exists for the printed Beilstein, the same could be true for the Beilstein Database. The Beilstein Database currently has infor- mation on over 5.3 million compounds. In late 1988, the database was loaded on the STN International system, followed in October 1989 by DIALOG. In light of the availability of the online file and the complementary Beilstein Current Facts CD-ROM product which covers the literature from 1990 to the present, it was decided to conduct a survey of academic libraries to determine the level of usage of both the print and electronic products. Since the author views the complete Beilstein product line as a "database," the survey was not limited to electronic forms of Beilstein. Methodology, Population, and Sample The lack of both time and resources to conduct a full-scale scientific inquiry led to the decision to concentrate on the academic subscribers to the Chemical Information Sources Discus- sion List (CHMINF-L). CHMINF-L is a LISTSERV electronic mail discussion group, which at the time of the survey had over 650 subscribers from a variety of organizations. It is difficult to determine exactly how many of the sub- scribers to CHMINF-L are at academic institutions due to the idiosyncrasies of the Internet Domain Name System. However, at least 125 different academic institutions were represented among the subscribers on July 1, 1993. It was assumed that the chem- ists and librarians using a source such as CHMINF-L are among the more computer-literate potential users of the Beilstein Database. No attempt was made to contact other categories of potential users. On June 1, 1993, a request for assistance in designing the questionnaire was sent to 34 librarians who were CHMINF-L sub- scribers on that date. These people were selected because they were thought to be knowledgeable about Beilstein, as judged from the quality of their contributions to CHMINF-L or from past discussions of Beilstein with the author. Three library school professors who teach science literature courses were included among the 34 in that group. Seven re- sponses resulted from the inquiry. In addition, a discussion of the planned survey was held with six chemistry librarians on June 8, 1993 at the Special Libraries Association National Conference. The feedback received from these efforts led to the development of the preliminary questionnaire which was evaluated by a chemist who has taught chemical literature courses. The final version of the questionnaire was distributed via CHMINF-L on July 7, 1993, with responses requested by July 26. After a reminder was sent to CHMINF-L on July 19, a total of 35 usable responses from 33 different academic institutions was received by August 1. Five of the responses were from people outside the United States. Twenty five of the respondents were librarians, and ten were chemists. Of those ten, eight were faculty members in chemistry or a related science, one was a staff member in a chemistry department, and one was a graduate student. Twenty one people listed themselves as staff members in a library that serves chemists. Results I. Use of the Beilstein Database and Current Facts. Twenty six of the respondents had searched the Beilstein Online Database in the past 12 months, with over half of those being rather infrequent searchers. All but one of them performed the searches themselves, and a number commented that the searches were done as intermediaries for others. 6 times or less 9 1 time per month 7 2-5 times per month 7 6-10 times per month 2 > 10 times per month 1 ---- 26 Table 3. Frequency of Searching the Beilstein Database in the Past 12 Months. In about half of the institutions (N=16), costs of searching the Beilstein Database are subsidized, but at eleven places there is definitely no subsidy. Since January 1992, academic subscribers to the printed Beilstein Handbook of Organic Chemistry or the Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry or the Beilstein Current Facts CD-ROM LAN version have been eligible for the "Springer Chemistry Academic Program on STN."(4) The main features of the program are: - an 80 percent discount on the usage of the Beilstein, Gmelin Online, and Gmelin Formula Index Databases - a cap each year on the maximum payment of DM 10,000 per account number and per database - database is accessible whenever STN can be searched. STN is the overwhelming choice of vendor on which to search the Beilstein Database at the responding institutions. Twenty nine people search Beilstein on STN, whereas only six had searched the database on DIALOG. Even those six indicated more use is made of the STN system. However, only thirteen of the re- sponding institutions receive the 80 percent discount, all of them because of subscriptions to one or both of the print products. Significant numbers of cancellations of the printed Beil- stein have occurred in the academic institutions in the past decade. Canceled in: N 1991-93 8 1988-90 4 1985-87 3 Prior to 1985 5 --- 20 Table 4. Currency of Beilstein Print Cancellations. The availability of the Beilstein Database was a factor in eight of the cancellation decisions, but one person stated, "...online availability was used as a 'ploy' to mollify faculty who might have objected." Whatever the reason for the cancellations, budgetary savings apparently resulted for all of the institutions which canceled. None reported spending as much recently on searching the database as was spent to maintain a full subscrip- tion to the printed Beilstein, with one respondent indicating "...less than $200 spent online last year, and probably much less." Interestingly, the availability of the 80 percent discount for online searching of the Beilstein Database was not perceived as an important factor for deciding whether to continue to sub- scribe to one or both printed handbooks. Seventeen of twenty four respondents said it was of little or no importance, six considered it somewhat important, and only one described it as very important. However, there is relatively little support for continuation of the printed Beilstein after the completion of the Fifth Supplement. Twenty one of thirty respondents indicated they do not want the printed version to continue. The Beilstein Database is not perceived as particularly difficult to search. Sixteen of 29 respondents felt it was either less difficult (N=2) or about the same level of difficulty (N=16) as other databases. Three even stated that no databases are difficult to search. However, ten people categorized Beil- stein as more difficult than other databases with which they were familiar. The great majority (21 of 27) think that the database is less difficult to search than the printed Beilstein. If a front-end software interface is used to search the database, it is likely to be STN Express. Eleven of the twenty respondents reported using STN Express. The database is searched for a variety of purposes in aca- demic institutions. These include reference, teaching, and even as an index to the printed source. Respondents were asked to rank their uses of the database using the following scale: 1 = rarely or never used for this purpose 2 = sometimes used for this purpose 3 = frequently used for this purpose. Use Raw Score Total Score _N_ Average 3 _2 _1 ready reference 7 11 10 53 28 1.89 comprehensive data 6 12 10 52 28 1.86 teaching tool 2 5 19 36 26 1.35 rxn/preparation 10 11 6 58 27 2.15 other - - 9 9 9 1.00 Table 5. Uses of the Beilstein Database. The data indicate that users of the Beilstein Database are fre- quently seeking to find reaction or preparation information. Somewhat less frequently, they are searching for quick access to particular data or performing exhaustive searches for data. The database is used relatively infrequently in teaching. In comparison to other databases containing physical or chemical property data, the Beilstein Database is clearly seen by the respondents as superior. Eighteen of twenty six people viewed it as more useful than other databases they had searched for this purpose, three felt it was about the same, and only two considered it less useful. Although the Beilstein Database was not viewed by most respondents as overwhelmingly better than others for reaction or preparation information, six of the re- spondents believe it is better for this purpose, six feel it is about the same, and six consider it less useful. The respondents had searched a wide variety of databases in both categories, but most frequently they were comparing Beilstein to the CA File: in 9 cases for physical/chemical properties and 17 cases for reac- tion/preparation information. Next most frequently mentioned were Gmelin (N=7) and CASREACT (N=6), respectively. The capability to search the Beilstein Database by structure is seen as somewhat important or very important by twenty two people (11 each). However, seven consider structure searching of the file to be of little or no importance. For primary research published after 1979, the Beilstein Database includes references to literature almost up to the present. The entries for the post-EV data contain actual numeri- cal values only for these five properties: boiling point, melting point, density, optical rotatory power, and refractive index. While all of these are considered by the respondents to be useful properties to have in the database, they were less enthusiastic about the last two. When asked to rank the properties on a scale which had: 1 = of little or no use 2 = somewhat useful 3 = very useful, the average scores showed boiling point and melting point tied at 2.54, with density a close third at 2.44. Optical rotatory power scored 1.96, and refractive index, 1.69. A minority of the institutions responding have made avail- able the Beilstein Current Facts CD-ROM product; only ten of them have it. Of those that do, eight of the ten keep Current Facts in the library, one has it in an office, and another in a labora- tory. Only three respondents felt that the CD-ROM has led to an increase in searching the Beilstein Database. However, seven believe it has increased the use of the printed Beilstein. There is more use made of Current Facts than the database by six of nine respondents, but also less use made of Current Facts than the printed Beilstein by five of the ten respondents. Six of the ten feel that the ability to search Current Facts by chemical structure is very important, three view it as somewhat important, and only one felt it was of little or no importance. II. Use of the Printed Beilstein Handbook of Organic Chemistry. A few additional general questions were asked about the printed Beilstein. Earlier in this paper, it was noted that a significant number (22 of 33) of the responding institutions had canceled the printed Beilstein. It was of interest to determine what other factors besides the 80 percent discount for searching the Beilstein Database had contributed to that decision. Seven- teen people pointed both to a need for savings to avoid canceling primary journals and a perception of a very high cost per use as factors leading to the cancellation decision. Other factors were not considered important by many of the respondents. Only four cited the availability of Beilstein at an academic institution within a one-hour drive as a factor, and only one had gone so far as to establish a borrowing arrangement with another library. The sharing of such an expensive tool as Beilstein is typically done by allowing people from outside the holding institution to come for on-site usage, a practice described by seven respond- ents. It was somewhat surprising to find that three institutions were actually required by the administration of the library to cut Beilstein. Among other factors cited for canceling Beilstein was the long delay in publication of the data. Eight of the respondents stated that their institution had purchased the Beilstein Centennial Index covering the Hauptwerk and supplements EI-EIV (literature through 1959) in a single set of Chemical Name and Molecular Formula Indexes. Of those who did not purchase the Centennial Index, cost was the over-riding factor, although some cited the duplication of existing volume indexes, and space considerations. There was also a feeling that the set does not get enough use to justify the expense of the new index. One confident librarian noted that "If you have a librar- ian that knows how to locate compounds, the index is a luxury." Several years ago the Beilstein Institute introduced an IBM PC computer-based product to assist in finding the location of a compound in the printed Beilstein. That is SANDRA, a tool which allows the user to draw the structure with a mouse. In spite of the existence of such a program, only eight respondents feel it has increased the use of the printed Beilstein Handbook at their institutions. One person noted, "...despite my efforts to pro- mote it, few people ever use SANDRA." Perhaps some of the prob- lem lies in the fact that SANDRA is only available for an IBM PC or compatible computer. Fourteen people listed the Macintosh as the computer they use most, with two of those also using IBM PCs or compatibles. Twenty one respondents use IBMs exclusively. Almost all (33 of 35) have their computers equipped with suitable communications devices to search online. The decline in the use of the Beilstein Handbook was noted by twenty six of thirty two respondents, with only five believing that its use has not decreased in the last 20 years. One person stated, "I think the use of Beilstein has declined in the past 20 years as organic chemists have not brought along their students as they were taught to use and rely on Beilstein. This product has also suffered from the onslaught of online products/databases that have spoiled chemists into an instant fix for information which differs from the slow, methodical print-based research performed by chemists only 10 years ago." It is possible that the existence of central science li- braries (or the inclusion of science materials in a general library serving all disciplines) may have also contributed to the decline in the use of Beilstein. Nine of thirty three respond- ents indicated the library they normally use is in another build- ing than the one in which they work. But it is likely that the disuse of Beilstein could be linked to another factor not really examined in this study--the relative decline in foreign-language ability among scientists and librarians whose native language is English. There is also relatively less emphasis presently placed upon formal instruction in the chemical literature by professional organizations such as the American Chemical Society compared to several decades ago. However, efforts are being made to teach people how to use the printe Beilstein. Although nine people responded that Beilstein Handbook users at their institutions are self-taught, there is clearly an at- tempt being made at most institutions to teach its use in a more formal manner. People are usually taking advantage of the free printed material available from the publisher (33 respondents), but they also often produce their own materials to supplement the publisher's materials (19 respondents). A few (N=5) even use audiovisual materials. There is considerably less training being offered to end- users for the Beilstein Database. Thirteen librarians and five chemists reported that they had the responsibility for offering such training at their institutions, but an additional thirteen stated that no one has this responsibility. In response to the question whether usage of the Beilstein Database had increased significantly after a training session or workshop was offered, only three responded affirmatively. Six said "no," another six said they did not know, and seven stated that there had never been a training session. III. User Comments. A number of comments from Beilstein users were culled from both CHMINF-L and this survey in order to lend a further dimen- sion to this study. Ann Bolek of the University of Akron stated on CHMINF-L, I think that online searching of Beilstein on STN is very inex- pensive, if you know what you are doing. I am usually looking for one property for one compound. I crossover the Registry Number from the Registry file to the Beilstein file, display the fields available (D FA) and then display the information for the property I want if it is in the fields available. My Beilstein searches usually cost between $2 and $3, which is less than most of my Chemical Abstracts searches, even with an Academic Dis- count.(5) An anonymous CHMINF-L subscriber stated: I am a chemist, who does chemistry, and I often feel a little out of place in this group which seems to be mostly chemists or non- chemists who do library things instead of chemistry, but I'd like to say something from a chemist's point of view. Beilstein is a handbook, and it contains data. It also contains reactions, and it contains references, but the thing Beilstein has that nothing else has is data. If you need a melting point, or an nmr spec- trum, or an ionization constant of an organic compound, there's no quicker place to find it than Beilstein. If Beilstein is infrequently used, it isn't because it's not useful, but because chemists and the librarians who help them don't know how to use it. In the last two months there have been a number of questions posted here, for example, how to make chloroform from carbon tet, where the Xray crystal structure of a phosphonic acid could be found, what the ionization constant of an acid is, and several others, and the answer was the same, it's in Beilstein. I am fortunate enough to have instant access to part of Beilstein (Hauptwerk through E-II), and not too inconvenient access to the whole thing, and I use it at least two or three times a day, often more. It's no more difficult to use Beilstein than thin layer chromatography; all it takes is a little effort to learn how, and like tlc, the more you use it the easier it gets and the more you realize what it can do for you. The cost of printing one copy of one subvolume of Beilstein must be about $50. It's the cost of producing it (abstracters, computers, subscriptions--the Beilstein Institute can't cancel Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon when it goes up to $7400) that makes it expensive, and that's a constant. Each time a subscription [to Beilstein] is canceled the constant has to be divided by a small- er number. People who complain about paying $30,000 can thank those who canceled at $20,000. Books are usually out of date by the time they're cataloged, journal articles are available on loan, but NOTHING can take the place of Beilstein.(6) These sentiments were echoed by a respondent to the present survey: There is no substitute for Beilstein. The justification of expense for dropping the subscription doesn't quite wash--Science Citation Index is $15,000 for the CD-ROM, Beilstein is $30,000. In 5 years SCI will be worth about zero; Beilstein will still be as useful as ever. It is true that Beilstein is not used as much as it should be, because the present generation of organic chem- ists don't appreciate its utility. Part of the problem is that the librarians don't know how to use it and don't appreciate its utility, and don't suggest its use. STN's Numeriguide and CASRE- ACT databases are beginning to do the same thing, but there's a tremendous gap between E-V and 1992 when they start.(7) Summary and Conclusions Some academic librarians have chosen to sacrifice subscrip- tions to the printed Beilstein Handbook of Organic Chemistry in order to reallocate the money for other purposes. Since far less money is typically spent on searching the Beilstein Database than was paid for the printed Beilstein, money can be diverted to the maintenance of primary journal subscriptions. There is not a lot of searching of the Beilstein Database being done at academic institutions, despite the existence of an 80 percent discount for those institutions which do maintain subscriptions to Beilstein. Structure searching capability is seen by most searchers as an important feature of the database. Relatively few academic institutions have subscribed to the Beilstein Current Facts CD- ROM product. Those that have Current Facts report that it leads to increased use of the printed Beilstein, something an earlier computerized product, SANDRA, has not been very successful in achieving. It was a bit of a surprise to find that Current Facts does not seem to increase searching of the Beilstein Database. A minority of academic librarians remain faithful subscrib- ers to the printed Beilstein. However, there is a perception among some chemists that neither librarians nor their colleagues have either an appreciation for Beilstein or an understanding of how to use it. It remains to be seen whether that same attitude will be associated with the Beilstein Database. REFERENCES AND NOTES (1) See, for example: Chrzastowski, T.E.; Blobaum, P.M.; Welshmer, M.A. A Cost/Use Analysis of Beilstein's Handbuch der Organischen Chemie at Two Academic Chemistry Libraries. Ser. Libr. 1991, 20(4), 73-84. Knee, M. Beilstein and Gmelin: Keep or Cancel. Libr. Acq. Prac. Theor. 1992, 16(4), 443-450. (2) Luckenbach, R. Beilstein Centennial Index--180 Years of Organic Chemistry (and 1.5 Million Compounds) at Your Fingertips. Abstr. Pap. Amer. Chem. Soc. 1993, 205, Part 1, CINF 24. Com- ments by Dr. Luckenbach to a question posed from the audience. (3) Chrzastowski, Op. Cit., 82. (4) Luckenbach, R. Beilstein at Academic Rates. CHMINF-L, Chem. Inf. Sources Disc. List February 4, 1993. (5) Bolek, A. "Re: Beilstein at Academic Rates." CHMINF-L (Febru- ary 3, 1993) (6) CHMINF-L: listserv@iubvm.ucs.indiana.edu (7) Personal Communication