Open Access and Library Resources Compete in Importance

Few assessments of academic library value have included the value of open access resources, despite widespread agreement that dramatic changes in the scholarly landscape challenge the library's relevance and viability. This paper reports on faculty and graduate student perceptions of the relative importance of various resources to particular teaching and research activities. Open access resources compete in importance with full-text digital resources provided by the library. Both are more important to research than teaching, but open access resources are the most important resource in some teaching activities.