This brings up an interesting issue. In the budget climate many of us face, we just don't have the resources to purchase a serial in multiple formats. In the case you described of the prof who "insisted" you keep buying all three formats, I'm pretty sure we'd have been able to reject that "request" and have our VP-Academic fully support us. We're at the point where if we can get the same content cheaper by changing to online-only, we do it without consultation, and we're prepared to fight any faculty, no matter how senior, on that issue, and, again, I fully expect to win because in tight budget times, no one who matters when it comes to budget issues will brook that kind of idiosyncratic nonsense around here.  

In fact, a few times I've had to fully cancel what might have been considered "core" titles (or drop down to relying on embargoed "free" access), faculty protests have backed down in the face of hard usage data with no blowback after a bit of grumbling. The only ongoing grumbling we still face is from our well-publicized decision to cancel Web of Science after an exorbitant price increase.

Do many of you still work in a climate of irrational preference overriding budget concerns, and if so, have you tested your higher admin support lately?

Melissa

On Fri, Jan 9, 2015 at 12:34 PM, Diane Westerfield <Diane.Westerfield@coloradocollege.edu> wrote:

Just wanted to throw in that you should check for notes in the records about who originally requested/selected the journal, and was it for a specific department or professor. This may determine whether you might have some blowback if you cancel a journal that turns out to be the favorite of an active professor.  We use Innovative Millennium as our ILS; there are often notes in the order and/or checkin records regarding this information.

 

Our school is small enough that it’s pretty easy to talk to other librarians and find out what may cause contention. Also figure out which professor is long gone, and nobody else does research or teaching in XYZ area, so XYZ journal is almost never used and is pretty safe to cancel. If you’re a larger school it may be more of formal project.

 

You can also talk to any old-timers about historical blowups. Then do some investigation to see if the blower-uppers are still around. Has their attitude changed? For example, we had a professor who demanded we keep a certain journal in all 3 formats (online, print, and microform). That was maybe 10 years ago. The person is now retired and seems to appreciate the online access a lot more, and is less wedded to print. If we could gin up the funds to buy the archives, we might be able to cancel the print (and withdraw all the bound volumes) without too much bad reaction.

 

Of course, you are probably going to have to cancel some “potential blowup” titles, but you can identify proactively what might cause problems and figure out politic approaches to communication. (and let the faculty know that budget problems are forcing your hand.)

 

Diane Westerfield, Electronic Resources & Serials Librarian

Tutt Library, Colorado College

diane.westerfield@coloradocollege.edu

(719) 389-6661

(719) 389-6082 (fax)

 

 

 

 

From: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@LISTSERV.NASIG.ORG] On Behalf Of Caroline Dean
Sent: Friday, January 09, 2015 6:40 AM
To: SERIALST@LISTSERV.NASIG.ORG
Subject: [SERIALST] subscription review/cancellation exercise - the 3 scenarios

 

 

***Cross-posted to multiple lists; please excuse duplication.***

 

Dear colleagues

 

The subscriptions (e-journals, p-journals, databases) budget at the University of Cape Town Libraries is facing a budget cut. Our finance department has asked us to draw up scenarios on what the impact to the university will be if the subscriptions budget is cut by 5, 10 and 15%?

 

Have you undertaken such an exercise recently? Or even a straight-forward review/cancellation exercise? What are some of the criteria you used to evaluate titles for retention or cancellation?

 

Thank you

 

Regards

Caroline

 

 

 

Caroline Dean

Acquisitions Manager

University of Cape Town Libraries,

Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa.

 

Tel: +27 21 6503701

Fax: +27 21 6502044

Email: caroline.dean@uct.ac.za

 

 

 

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