Value for Money in Electronic Journals
Abstract The author examines the proposition that electronic journals provide enhanced value for their costs when compared to print subscriptions. At the journal, article, and use levels, the author reviews the pricing policies of two different journal publishers, one commercial and one nonprofit. He confirms and extends these findings using recently published research. Whereas much research remains to be undertaken on the basis of standards, and definitions must be agreed on, the existing, albeit imperfect, evidence indicates that both libraries and their readers benefit significantly from electronic journals in the areas of cost per use and convenience of delivery of scholarly and research literature. This proposition serves as a clarion call for more detailed research based on agreed-upon on standards. Serials Review 2003; 29:83–88.
Zero-based serials review: An objective, comprehensive method of selecting full-text journal resources in response to local needs
Abstract Most serials reviews have focused on the cancellation of currently held resources with high cost per use. In contrast, the latest serials review at Manhattan College employed a more fundamental indicator of cost-effectiveness and did not use the library's initial holdings as a starting point. After compiling a list of 2717 wanted journals—those identified by departmental faculty—we evaluated several thousand full-text journal resources (online databases and single-journal subscriptions) to identify those that provide the most cost-effective access to the wanted journals. Our iterative process led to a 50% increase in the percentage of wanted journals held, a 35% reduction in cost per wanted journal, a 3% reduction in total expenditures on full-text journal resources, and a substantial reduction in inequality of holdings across academic departments. Because costs are low in the initial rounds of the process, the same general method can be used to reduce expenditures. Two-thirds of the selected journals could have been acquired for just one-third of the total expenditure, and 80% could have been acquired for just 53%. Our results demonstrate that objective methods based on cost per wanted journal can achieve good results, and that commercial publishers' databases can be central to a cost-effective journal collection.
White Paper on Electronic Journal Usage Statistics
Les statistiques d'utilisation des revues electroniques sont utiles aux bibliothecaires comme aux editeurs, mais ces derniers redoutent de fournir des donnees qui pourraient nuire a leurs interets. L'enquete realisee par l'A. sous l'egide du CLIR (Council on Library and Information Resources) permet d'identifier les problemes partages par les bibliothecaires et les editeurs/aggregateurs quant a la collecte et a l'analyse des donnees statistiques d'utilisation, tout en fournissant la base d'une discussion, prelude a la cooperation entre les parties interessees. Parmi les problemes communs aux deux groupes figurent l'absence de donnees comparables, l'absence de contexte, des donnees incompletes, la promotion, le contenu fourni, l'impact de l'interface sur l'utilisation, le modele economique et la vie privee de l'utilisateur. Les bibliothecaires sont plus particulierement concernes par des questions de justification de budget et d'impact sur la selection ; les editeurs par des applications internes. Les editeurs doivent decider quelles donnees fournir et avec quelles normes de collecte et de fourniture. Les mesures portent sur ce qui est utilise, qui l'utilise, quand et comment et sur la presentation des donnees. Cette normalisation garantit aux bibliothecaires et aux editeurs qu'ils disposent de donnees comparables et fiables. Les questions de production de donnees utiles et d'interpretation de ces donnees doivent etre discutees. On trouvera en appendice les resultats des entretiens avec les bibliothecaires, les editeurs et les fournisseurs, les recommandations de l'ICOLC (International Coalition of Library Consortia) sur les mesures statistiques d'usage des ressources du web, ainsi que la mention des projets realises dans le domaine.