Chemistry journal use and cost: Results of a longitudinal study

Journal-use studies were conducted in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Chemistry Library in 1988, 1993, and most recently in 1996. Between 1988 and 1996, the cost of purchasing the journal collection rose 66.9% while use of the collection rose 34.2%. These increases occurred during the cancellation of over 180 chemistry journals between 1988 and 1996. The data point to a collection with obvious top journals that generate most of the use. While the data confirm the 80/20 rule ( 84% of use was generated by the top 100 journals in 1996, approximately 20% of the journal collection), journal use is even more focused toward the top: approximately 40% of aU use in 1996 was generated by the top 10 titles. Use of the top 10 journals rose 60% between 1988 and 1996, with nearly identical titles occupying the top 10 positions over 8 years. Longitudinal trends in journal use and cost are explored, recommendations are made for successful journal-use study methodologies, and time series, data-centered collectian development is addressed

Surveying the damage: Academic library serial cancellations 1987 through 1990

A longitudinal study of serial cancellations was conducted by analyzing the cancellation lists between 1987 and 1990 from five midwestern libraries of the Association of Research Libraries. The study was designed to test the primary hypothesis that large academic libraries, faced with the same negative impacts on their budgets, are cancelling the same or similar types of serials. This hypothesis was disproved. Results of the study showed that, of 6,503 cancelled titles, only 281 (4 percent) were cancelled at more than one library, resulting in 6,222 (96 percent) unique title cancellations within this survey. Results also provide an overall profile of the at-risk journal. An additional survey of collection development officers gives insight into the cancellation decision-making process. The impact on serial collections in research libraries is also explored

E-book Use and Value in the Humanities: Scholars’ Practices and Expectations

This research is a part of Values, Outcomes, and Return on Investment of Academic Libraries (“Lib-Value”), a three-year study funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services IMLS grant # LG-06-09-0152-09. We gratefully acknowledge this support. In addition, the authors wish to thank Jean-Louise Zancanella, our graduate research assistant on this project, for her careful work. Portions of the survey results were presented at the Library Assessment Conference in Seattle, Washington, in August 2014 and will be published in those proceedings; other prepublication presentations took place at the Charleston Conference in November 2013 and 2014 (no proceedings publications are available; this paper represents the sole published culmination of this research)

Approval Plan Profile Assessment in Two Large ARL Libraries: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Pennsylvania State University

Two Association of Research Libraries member libraries, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC) and Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), evaluated their monograph acquisition approval plan profiles to answer basic questions concerning use, cost effectiveness, and coverage. Data were collected in tandem from vendors and local online systems to track book receipt, item circulation, and overlap between plans. The study period was fiscal year 2005 (July 1, 2004–June 30, 2005) for the approval plan purchasing data, and circulation use data were collected from July 1, 2004, through March 31, 2007, for both UIUC and Penn State. Multiple data points were collected for each title, including author, title, ISBN, publisher, Library of Congress classification number, purchase price, and circulation data. Results of the study measured the cost-effectiveness of each plan by subject and publisher, analyzed similarities and differences in use, and examined the overlap between the two approval plans. The goals were to establish a benchmark for consistently evaluating approval plan profile effectiveness and to provide a reproducible method with baseline data that will allow other libraries to collect comparable data and conduct their own studies

Library collection deterioration: a study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

A survey of bound items in the bookstacks of the University of Illinois library at Urbana-Champaign was conducted following the methodology used in the 1979 survey of the Green Library stacks at Stanford University. A reliable random sampling technique was used. The survey found that 37.0% of the items at Illinois are seriously deteriorated (paper is embrittled), 33.6% are moderately deteriorated (paper is becoming brittle), and 29.4% are in good condition (paper shows no signs of deterioration). The total cost of the survey was $1,845.45 (excluding permanent staff salaries). The methodology can be adapted by other libraries for collection condition surveys

Making Choices: Philosophies and practices in collection assessment and evaluation: A report of the symposium

The fifth annual collection development symposium sponsored by the University of Minnesota and MINITEX was held May 18, 1998. The program topic for 1998 was “Making Choices,” with special focus on collection assessment and evaluation. Over 180 individuals attended the event, representing many mid-western states and Canada. Four speakers addressed choices for libraries, followed by a response from a panel of regional collection librarians. As University of Minnesota University Librarian, Tom Shaughnessy, told the audience in his welcoming address, “There is nothing more critical to libraries than collections and assessments.” The speakers supported this theme with four well-informed “Making Choices” presentations

A capital idea: generating book funds through a centennial celebration endowment campaign

Following nearly three years of planning and negotiation, an endowment fund‐raising campaign was launched on behalf of the chemistry library at the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign (UIUC). The campaign, tied to the 100th Anniversary of the chemistry library, was directed at UIUC School of Chemical Sciences (SCS) alumni and SCS faculty. Contributions were sought to create a $200,000 “birthday endowment,” a continuing fund to purchase books for the chemistry library, and endow the library monograph budget with at least$10,000 per year

National trends in academic chemistry serial collections, 1992 - 1994

Domestic serial holdings and cancellation data for science titles for the years 1992 through 1994 were collected from ten ARL libraries throughout the United States, based on their use of the F. W. Faxon Company as their primary domestic serial vendor and with their permission. The Library of Congress classification Q (science) was selected for further analysis. The Q and, more specifically, the QD (chemistry) data are analyzed to determine national trends in chemistry serial holdings and cancellations for the years 1992, 1993, and 1994. Findings show duplication among science subscriptions to be higher than for serial collections as a whole and that chemistry serial collections had the highest dollar value of serial cancellations during the three-year study period