Potential Disciplinary of the NASA ADS Expansion: An evaluation of disciplines, communities, and costs of expansion

Abstract

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory/NASA Astrophysics Data System is a digital library supporting researchers in astronomy, astrophysics, and currently to a lesser extent, physics and geophysics. The ADS has been in operation since the early 1990’s, and indexes virtually the entirety of published astronomy and astrophysics material; in addition, the system contains full-text scans of most astronomy and astrophysics research articles prior to 1997. The ADS is currently considered an essential component of research in these fields; usage analysis shows that the system is used almost daily by the majority of the astronomy research community, and the collaborations the organization has forged with publishers, data providers, scholarly societies, and other online resources vastly increase the capabilities and efficiency of information-searching in the community. The model has proven successful for this community and the Harvard Library is interested in expanding the scope of the system to include additional disciplines. This report details an investigation of the costs, risks, and potential benefits of expanding the scope of the ADS, on behalf of the Harvard Library.