Survey on conference recording service among the institutions of the leibniz association

Abstract: In order to determine the demand for a conference recording service within the Leibniz Association, a survey was conducted (using the LimeSurvey software) among all Leibniz institutions (except TIB) from 12 to 24 March 2018. Of the 92 institutions surveyed, 68 took part in the survey (73%), of which 43 completed the survey in full (47%). Only the latter results were taken into account for the evaluation. The participants of the survey come from all 5 sections, with the most participants from section A (35%) and the least from section E (9%). All respondents stated that they organize or host at least 1-2 events per year, while 35% organize or host 3-5 events and a relative majority of 42% organizes or hosts more than 5 events a year. There are talks at all events and a vast majority of 86% stated that there are on average up to 30 talks at each of their events. 42% of the respondents stated that they already recorded events in the past, while 54% did not. However, the comments showed that most institutes had only very occasionally produced recordings and in some cases only audio recordings. Therefore, an enormous majority of 77% stated that they were interested in a Leibniz conference recording service with only 14% stating that they were not interested. The remaining 9% did not answer the question or commented that their interest would depend on the exact conditions of the service. We conclude from this survey that there is a very great potential and an enormous demand for LeiCord within the Leibniz Association. We estimate from the results that all Leibniz institutes together host and organize about 350-500 events annually with a total of about seven to ten thousand talks. With more than three quarters of the respondents being interested in a conference recording service this represents an enormous treasure trove of scientific communication that can be opened to a larger audience.