Electronic Resources and Academic Libraries, 1980-2000: A Historical Perspective

published or submitted for publicatio

An Assessment of Australian Research Library Journal Cancellations, 1990-2003

This paper reports on the outcomes of research assessing the nature and extent of print journal cancellations by Australian research libraries since 1990. The cancellation activity of two groups of libraries, one representing the national and state library sector and the other the university library sector, was examined. These two groups were tested for their cancellation of both Australian and international journals. From the results some conclusions are reached about the factors driving the cancellations and the implications these cancellations might have for the nation's access to scholarly journal literature

Why Print and Electronic Resources Are Essential to the Academic Law Library

Libraries have supported multiple formats for decades, from paper and microforms to audiovisual tapes and CDs. However, the newest medium, digital transmission, has presented a wider scope of challenges and caused library patrons to question the established and recognized multiformat library. Within the many questions posed, two distinct ones echo repeatedly. The first doubts the need to sustain print in an increasingly digital world, and the second warns of the dangers of relying on a still-developing technology. This article examines both of these positions and concludes that abandoning either format would translate into a failure of service to patrons, both present and future

Reports Of Conferences, Institutes, And Seminars

This quarter\u27s column offers coverage of multiple sessions from the 2016 Electronic Resources & Libraries (ER&L) Conference, held April 3–6, 2016, in Austin, Texas. Topics in serials acquisitions dominate the column, including reports on altmetrics, cost per use, demand-driven acquisitions, and scholarly communications and the use of subscriptions agents; ERMS, access, and knowledgebases are also featured

TERMS: Techniques for electronic resources management

Librarians and information specialists have been finding ways to manage electronic resources for over a decade now. However, much of this work has been an ad hoc and learn-as-you-go process. The literature on electronic resource management shows this work as being segmented into many different areas of traditional librarian roles within the library. In addition, the literature show how management of these resources has driven the development of various management tools in the market as well as serve as the greatest need in the development of next generation library systems. TERMS is an attempt to create a series of on-going and continually developing set of management best practices for electronic resource management in libraries

Research in Academic Library Collection Management

This chapter describes the empirical quantitative and qualitative research and case studies pertaining to collection management practice in academic libraries published between 1990 and 2007. The topics covered include collection size and growth, material cost, library expenditures, budgets and budgeting, collection development policies, collection composition, organization and staffing for collection management, selection, and the evaluation of the collection development process and the collection itself. The chapter identifies the most influential and useful studies and the most active areas of research. The collection management research literature was limited in the methodologies employed (surveys and case studies), statistical analyses applied (basic and descriptive), and the scope of the problems addressed (inputs and processes). More studies that focus on effictiveness, outcomes, and impact are needed

Serials Cancellations: An Analysis of Processes, Criteria, and Decision Making Tools

University libraries have struggled with rising serial costs and stagnant or falling budgets for decades. In response to this situation, librarians have conducted periodic serials cancellation projects. In 2002, the Academic Affairs Libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill completed a serials review project to identify 10% of its serials and standing order budget for cutbacks. This case study, based on a series of interviews with selectors involved in this project, seeks to identify and analyze the processes, the criteria, and the tools that they used in their decision-making and to learn whether the presence of electronic resources affected these decisions. Selectors were found to use a variety of processes, criteria, and tools to make decisions mainly based on their current circumstances, the constraints of their particular collections and disciplines, and the larger university, consortial, and publishing environment, and to a lesser extent, cost and electronic access

E-Journal Usage Statistics in Collection Management Decisions: A Literature Review

This is the author\u27s manuscript of chapter 6 in the book Library Data: Empowering Practice and Persuasion, ed. Darby Orcutt, Libraries Unlimited, 2010. It is posted here with publisher permission