How, what, and why science faculty read

One part of a library use survey administered in 1993 to the users of the libraries of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville was analyzed to provide a profile of the reading behaviors of science faculty. The survey questions were grouped into the four steps in accomplishing a document reading: finding, getting, reading, and using a document. The science faculty tended to find their document by browsing. The document was generally obtained from a personalized subscription. Science faculty predominately read journals and books and read almost 50 articles a year from the journal they obtained their last read document from. The science faculty were mostly likely to use their reading for research. Science faculty appreciated the capabilities of electronic document transmission, but had a marked preference for paper transmission. Few differences were found between science and non-science faculty, mostly in their specific concerns for electronic or print transmission and in the uses of their readings.