Re: Libraries Moving Towards E-Only Access Lynn Cote 14 Jul 2008 15:49 UTC
Hi Karen, We've probably converted 75-80% of our print subscriptions (or added online access to our existing "print"). However, you're never really able to drop your entire print collection for a variety of reasons. There are still many publications that are not available online. We do continue to review print subscriptions annually (and monitor online access announcements during the course of a subscription period) and convert our print to online at the next renewal cycle. We also can not convert some print titles to online only when we're unable to negotiate a license (often cost prohibitive). We have 5 regional campus libraries and some licenses have a 'geographic' area clause. In some cases a publisher may require a subscription to the print in order to get access to online content. Additionally, there may be titles for which our faculty may have a specific need for content that the publisher does not permit a provider (often aggregator database) to digitize due to copyright restrictions. While some of our Special Collections titles are accessible online (and sometimes freely accessible), our Special Collection dept. still wants to receive the print subscriptions. In these cases, we retain the print but do provide online access as well. So, with that said, we have converted as much of our print collection as possible because this is what our faculty and students want. They want access to content from their home, office, or dorm, 24/7. But everything has a consequence and we've had to make trade-offs. In order to provide that 24/7 online access we had to shift our resources. With fewer staff on our team (our administration believes that with a diminishing print collection, fewer staff is needed) and a decreasing student employee budget we could not continue to devote the proportionate amount of staff and student resources to remaining check in, claiming, shelving and binding. Since we're still awaiting last expected issues of cancelled print subscriptions we haven't truly felt the binding process diminish -- and who is ever 'current' with binding? While we have stopped binding our JSTOR titles we continue to pull issues/units, place in labeled Princeton files and shelve with bound vols.). We've very recently ceased checking in 80%-90% of our print subscriptions. We continue to use our ILS check-in components for active subscriptions, for routing and shelving notes, but we 'froze' the check-in function) and changed the current issue to display as "Currently received ". When our student employees return this fall the emphasis will be on shelving and shelf reading to identify multi-issue gaps and lapsed subscriptions (which will be claimed). With open stacks, even if we received a particular issue, we can never guarantee that it will be on the shelf so in either case we would refer the user to interlibrary loan because they want that article immediately, not tomorrow or next week. Now, more of our staff resources focus on licensing and providing access to subscribed online content (databases and ejournals) via SerialsSolutions and SFX link resolver. We also have had for the past 2 years an ELibrary email inbox, monitored throughout the day by 4 staff members, where access problems can be reported or licensing questions (like course reserves) can be asked. Lynn K. Cote Serials Cataloger Collections Services, U-2005 University of Connecticut Homer Babbidge Library 369 Fairfield Rd. Storrs, CT 06269-2005 ph. (860)486-6495 fax (860)486-6493 ************************************ See prior ELibrary announcements at http://elibraryuconn.blogspot.com/ ... and report problems with access to electronic resources to elibrary@uconn.edu -----Original Message----- From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@list.uvm.edu] On Behalf Of Yacobucci, Karen Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 2:53 PM To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU Subject: [SERIALST] Libraries Moving Towards E-Only Access Dear Serialisters, Just out of curiosity, I am wondering how many libraries out there have dropped their entire print collections/subscriptions and gone E-only! I am hearing about more and more libraries following this trend and was wondering how it has worked out for them and why they decided to make that move. Thanks!! I look forward to hearing from you soon. Best, Karen Yacobucci, MLS Serials Librarian New York Medical College Health Sciences Library 95 Grasslands Road Valhalla, NY 10595 Tel. 914.594.4213 karen_yacobucci@nymc.edu