What Users Want: A View from the Lab Bench

Jane Rigg, Laboratory Member, Administrative Staff, the Davidson Lab, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

On the topic of customer service, librarians and Elsevier have a shared interest in serving the research community. To get a first-hand view of what researchers need, Library Connect went straight to the research lab — the Davidson Lab to be exact — and spoke to Jane Rigg, main administrator for this prestigious group at the California Institute of Technology. Jane has worked at Caltech since 1971, with Dr. Eric Davidson, Norman Chandler Professor of Cell Biology. Library Connect’s Chrysanne Lowe, VP for global account development and channel marketing, caught up with Jane to discuss the complicated relationships between researchers, librarians and publishers.

Library Connect: Can you give us a brief overview of your work at the Davidson Lab? In layman's terms, what is the focus of the research there?

Jane Rigg: We’re studying the molecular biology of sea urchin embryos, focusing on gene networks. Our research is really about getting to how the adult body plan is formed, so it cuts across both developmental biology and evolution. There are no immediate applications, but that’s why you do basic research.

LC: And you “run” the lab? What exactly is involved in running a lab of this calibre?

Rigg: Well, I mean I run it like an elephant. (Laughs.) There are about 35 people in the lab, so amongst getting papers out and grants out and taking care of Eric (Davidson) it’s pretty busy.

LC: As an example, how many papers a year are generated by 35 people?

Rigg: I’ve observed that it goes in three-year cycles. You have two years where you might have, let’s say, 10 – 12 papers a year, and then the third year it goes a little higher and you have 15 - 16. Then it goes back down to 10 - 12, with multiple authors on all. And, of course, there are other kinds of output; for example, we have a lot of responsibility for the sea urchin genome project.

LC: That’s a significant output. What are the information needs of a research lab like yours?

Rigg: Well, we all need access to our library system, which we have. And through that we have access to PubMed, Web of Science and a Caltech system called IBID which will request articles the library does not have. The library is excellent at doing that. Usually you’ll have the article by the next morning.

LC: How do your colleagues utilize research papers in their work?

Rigg: I would say most people — the post-docs and graduate students — don’t access articles on a daily basis, but they certainly do look up timely articles. The lab has a weekly information session to review articles from the literature.

LC: Really? So you all get together for a weekly research review session?

Rigg: Yes, we assign various topics and each person reports on a package of papers to the rest of the lab.

LC: So this is a way for busy people to keep up? Fantastic.

Rigg: Exactly. Of course everyone tries to keep up on their own specialties, but this a way to stay abreast of a broad span of information. I think most labs have a variation on this.

LC: And do they also get donuts?

Rigg: (Laughs.) All they get is a hard seat and information overload.

LC: Is there a difference in information needs for lab administration, i.e. grantwriting and the like, versus information needs for research purposes?

Rigg: Oh, of course. And since Eric is writing a book, I’m on PubMed or Web of Science constantly. That’s certainly different from what a normal post-doc would be doing.

LC: So as a lab manager, how do you work with the library?

Rigg: Well, of course the most immediate way we work together is that every year we get a list of journals to cut. And to be truthful I’ve never seen a journal on that list that didn’t beg the question: Why are we getting that journal in the first place? I mean there’s some really obscure stuff. But that’s good in that they’ve been able to keep things going without cutting the real core of the library. This is definitely to our betterment.

LC: How do you work with your librarian?

Rigg: Well we’ve known each other for a long time. He’s very aware of what professors and students need. I think librarians all try to do the best they can and they get very, very frustrated, I know. I got a call from our librarian a couple years ago when Mechanisms of Development spun off Gene Expression Patterns, which used to be a subset of the journal. I don’t know why, but he called me and was infuriated. The library never subscribed to that journal. So we don’t get it through the library. We actually get our own subscription directly from Elsevier. But really the library is very aware and I think they do a wonderful job.

LC: So for certain specialized publications the lab gets its own subscriptions?

Rigg: Yes. And of course Eric is editor of Developmental Biology so we get that. We get PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) because he’s a member of the Academy. We also subscribe to Development. Of course the library has that title also, but Eric still likes the feel of a real journal. And we get Gene Expression Patterns.

LC: That’s interesting. Even with all your online journals, there are still a few publications you want a physical copy of in the lab.

Rigg: That’s right. It’s whittling down. The bottom line is: For Eric’s favourite journals, he still wants print.

LC: So, it’s really just a matter of tradition?

Rigg: It is. But there are times when print offers benefits. For instance, if Eric wants to reproduce a figure from a paper, the quality of scans from electronic copies is not as good as those directly from a print journal. So there are some reasons for at least keeping the last couple of years of those journals in the lab — if you’re writing a book. (Laughs.)

LC: What are your expectations as to good customer service from your library? You’ve mentioned that if the library keeps the core journals you feel you are being well-served.

Rigg: Right. I mean, if they started sending around a list saying they were going to cut their subscription to Mechanisms of Development, I would be very upset. But if it’s some arcane Swedish journal I’ve never heard of, it’s fine with me.

LC: Does the library ever add new titles? Or are you always faced with cuts?

Rigg: No, they do in some special cases add journals. For example, they’re getting Developmental Cell, which surprised me because that’s the same situation as with Gene Expression Patterns — where the title was spun off from the original journal. But, I think that happened long ago enough that they didn’t react with such a hissy fit this time. (Laughs.) Gene Expression Patterns is a minor journal so I can understand in some ways why they decided not to subscribe to it. But it’s a nuisance for us because we do, in that case, have to have a department copy.

LC: Now, I’m going to ask a controversial question here. It’s clear that you have a great relationship with your library. If the library can’t subscribe to something you need, you are very understanding and your lab will take its own subscription. That means that somewhere within CalTech the money is being paid for this. Have you ever thought of pooling resources?

Rigg: (Long pause.) No. The labs are pretty much like little fiefdoms and pooling just wouldn’t work. You’d just end up with a mess. As far as the library goes, except for this one isolated incident, I’ve had no problems with the decisions they’ve made. If, when they send around the list next year, I want to protest about one of the journals, I can do that. And they would probably comply if I could show that it was used. So no, I think I want them to do their business…

LC: And you’ll make your own decisions and you’ll both respect each other.

Rigg: Yes. (Laughs.)

LC: Now, what are your expectations as to good customer service from a publisher?

Rigg: I want publishers to work with the library so that I can use the university library system as the primary access point for journals. I don’t want to go to ScienceDirect directly; it’s there in the background, but for me I like the “Amazon-simplicity” of a one-stop shop.

LC: Overall, are you optimistic or pessimistic about where publishing is heading and how it will impact your lab?

Rigg: I’m very optimistic. I think it’s going great. I think it’s getting easier and easier to access what you want quickly. I think the role of the traditional published journal is important — the excellent peer review process — and I can’t see any reason it shouldn’t continue to grow.

LC: We realize that when license negotiations get heated between libraries and the publishers, researchers are often caught in the middle. What are your feelings about this and what suggestions do you have for both librarians and publishers?

Rigg: Well, I’m just grateful I haven’t been involved. I don’t know the details and I don’t want to know. All I want to be sure of, is that somehow the two sides keep it going so we can have access to probably more journals than we need. But, if these situations are forced upon us, it’s better to go with maintaining core e-journals, even if that means you have to keep cutting obscure journals. I mean, we have to keep this going somehow. So I think it’s just a steady stream of compromises here. To be perfectly honest, both sides can probably get a bit holier-than-thou and that doesn’t help. I think for the end user at least, the library and the publisher have managed to keep things going at a good clip and that’s what we care about.

LC: Very pragmatic words of wisdom for all of us. Jane, we really appreciate you making the time to talk with us. Rigg: Thank you. It’s been a pleasure.