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Re: Core Journals Kristina DeShazo 18 Nov 2004 17:51 UTC

The Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Library Collection
Development Policy is available for anyone to review on our website at
http://www.ohsu.edu/library/depts/colldevcomm/cdcpolicy.shtml .  Our
collection development team has developed a serials decision database to
monitor OHSU usage of titles from various sources.  Every year, the data
is used to identify low, medium and high use journals.  You can see the
grid we use at
http://www.ohsu.edu/library/depts/colldevcomm/colldevcomm2004.shtml#topic3
.

Hope this helps!
Kristi

Kristina DeShazo
Electronic Serials Librarian
Oregon Health & Science University
Mailcode: LIB
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road
Portland, OR 97239-3098
(503) 494-1637
mailto:deshazok@ohsu.edu

>>> MLNesson@MASSASOIT.MASS.EDU 11/18/2004 8:49:49 AM >>>

In relation to this thread, has anyone developed a written policy of
how the Core journals are determined for your institution? I am in the
process of developing some policies for our periodicals and electronic
databases and this would be helpful.

Thanks,
M. Lou Nesson
Librarian, Periodicals & Electronic Databases
Massasoit Community College
One Massasoit Blvd.
Brockton, MA 02302-3996
508-588-9100 X1932
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-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU]On Behalf Of STEVE
BLACK@FACULTY@ACADEMICAFFAIRS
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 10:15 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Core Journals

  I've used a combination of impact factors from Journal Citation Reports,
designations as "basic" from Magazines for Libraries, local use data, and
faculty rankings (scale of essential, needed, optional) to create ranked
lists of titles in each discipline represented at my college. It's
helpful, but is no silver bullet.

  I would recommend making a ranked list for each discipline, but be
flexible about where the cutoff is between what is core and what is not.
What constitutes a core changes over time for many reasons, including
changes in:
   journals (editors, focus, publisher, on schedule, etc.)
   academic programs
   Faculty with particular interests coming and going
   Availability in full text, and reliability of access

  Faculty can be accepting if they are aware of the need for the ranking
process. It's important to give them the opportunity for input, so I'd
highly recommend including some kind of faculty ranking. Expect a low
response rate, though. Include other criteria in your rankings so students
of faculty who don't bother to respond don't get screwed. And make it
clear that you're talking about the print collection, so faculty know that
the title may still be available online [if indeed that's what you mean].

  The big picture is the question, "What do I want my print serials
collection to be in the future?" It's really tough, because none of us
know how completely scholarly journals will migrate to online-only. But I
think the right approach to defining a core is to focus on the long-term
value of each print serial.

Steve Black
Reference, Serials, and Instruction Librarian
The College of Saint Rose
392 Western Avenue
Albany, NY 12203-1419
blacks@strose.edu
(518)458-5494
-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Lois Schultz
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 8:33 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] Core Journals

Hi,

We are trying to determine a core list of journals for our collection.
These would be journals that we would not cut in times of budget cuts.
Has anyone developed a core list?  If so, I am interested in what
criteria was used in selecting the titles, how it was accepted by the
teaching faculty, and how well  it is working?  Thanks for any
insights provided.

Lois Schultz
Professor and Head of Technical Services
263 Steely Library
Northern Kentucky University
Highland Heights, KY 41099
mail toschultz@nku.edu
(859)572-5275