When my library devoted a task force to this very topic this summer, we determined that because of the ephemeral nature of online material and the expense of paying for perpetual access, we would continue to subscribe in print to the most important titles in our collection.  Since we are a faith-based college, this included material that integrated faith and various disciplines as well as faith-based journals and magazines.  We also decided to continue getting print issues of magazines that we have a very extended run on like Time and National Geographic, both of which have some cultural significance and we have issues dating to the beginning of the twentieth century.  We solicited our profs for their opinions on what was essential as well.

 

If you are switching to online only, you will have to research which journals allow you to have perpetual access to anything you’ve subscribed to and which will require you to buy access to archival material.  You also have to be careful when a journal switches publishers or if a publisher changes how their license agreement works.  If you are relying on aggregator databases for a lot of titles, it can be very tenuous.  Publishers can pull out at any time.  It can also be much harder to do inter-library loan because you don’t really own the content so you have to consider how much of that you do and what’s most in demand.  Online has many downsides, but you have to weigh it against the fact that students/faculty want to use online more than print and we are here for the patrons.

 

 

Abbigail Stauber

Library Technician

Geneva College - McCartney Library

3200 College Avenue

Beaver Falls, PA 15010

acgregg@geneva.edu 

 

 

 

Dear colleagues,

I am Elham Abdallah, a new member on the SERIALST. I am in charge of the serials and interlibrary loan department at the main library of the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik-Lebanon.

Our library is an academic library that includes all fields of taught.

Three weeks ago, due to an upper administrative decision, we switched our print law reference collection and journals to online medium; unfortunately, our online law collection (LexisNexis Academic, JurisClasseur, Dalloz.fr) does not provide perpetual access to the subscribed content.

Could you please help us by sharing with us your expertise?

Is there any need to sustain our print collection or can we stop it to switch to only online?

What kind of dangers we can face by relying the online medium without perpetual access?

You can either send me an e-mail directly, and I will submit a summary later on SERIALST, or you may share it on the SERIALST public.

Our library appreciates all your help. 

Thank you in advance!

Elham,

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