Library Serials Cancellation Update
Date: May 25, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Susan Beck, NMSU Library, (575) 646-6171, susabeck@lib.nmsu.edu or John Sandstrom, NMSU Library, (575)646-8093, jsand713@lib.nmsu.edu
This spring the Library undertook a serials cancellation project to cover a projected shortfall in the library materials budget due to a flat budget and rising serials subscription costs. Our preliminary cancellation list of 339 titles was based on high cost per use (over $100 per use) and 10 or fewer uses during our data collection period. A complete description of our criteria for cancellation and our final cancellation list is at http://nmsu.libguides.com/budgetcuts. We sent this list to the campus community for comment and received requests to retain nearly 70 titles on the preliminary cancellation list. These titles totaled around $50,000, which put our cancellation list well below our target amount of $200,000. In an effort to meet our target amount, and limit the number of titles we had to cancel, we have decided to cancel only the five most expensive titles on the “request to retain” list, which—when combined with the 271 uncontested titles—will get us to approximately $200,000.
These five most expensive titles are:
- Brain, behavior and evolution $3,321.08 ($640.30 cost-per-use) This title is available fulltext from the ProQuest Environmental Science Journals database with a 1 year embargo
- Journal of Modern Optics $8,002.26 ($1,068.71 cost-per-use) This title is available fulltext from the Academic Search Premier database with a 1 year embargo
- Journal of Monetary Economics $2,376.66 ($623.66 cost-per-use)
- Journal of Zoology $2,671.09 ($226.90 cost-per-use) This title is available fulltext from the Environment Complete database with a 1 year embargo
- Pure and Applied Geophysics $3,693.58 ($390.78 cost-per-use) This title is available fulltext from several databases with a 1 year embargo
Please note that four of the above-listed titles are available fulltext via one or more of our library database aggregators. A complete list of titles to be cancelled is available at http://nmsu.libguides.com/budgetcuts.
The Library has researched document delivery costs for these five titles and they range from $31.50 to $43.00 per article once fair use has been exhausted. Researchers may request articles from these five journals (as well as any journal title to which the library does not subscribe) using our online Request It! Service at http://illiad.nmsu.edu and we will deliver .pdf copies to your desktop.
The NMSU Library appreciates the time and energy the University community has spent on this difficult project. Although the Library wasn’t able to retain every title requested by campus constituents, we were able to retain over 90% (62 out of 67) of the contested titles. We take our community’s feedback seriously and we strive to provide everyone on campus with access to needed information.
Unfortunately, we will continue to face serials cancellations, perhaps annually, as long as our materials budget remains static and the unsustainable scholarly communication business model persists. We have been working closely with the Provost’s office to increase our funding levels and will continue to advocate for a more robust materials budget in the months ahead. We will keep the campus posted and will provide updates if our budget situation changes.
For more information, please contact the Library’s Collection Development Coordinator, Professor Susan Beck at susabeck@nmsu.edu or Acquisitions Librarian, John Sandstrom at jsand713@lib.nmsu.edu.
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