Journal Review 2012

Click here to view journal titles under review

To the Faculty:

For several years you have helped us wrestle with the rising cost and changing models of scholarly publication. The publishing industry continues to pass along yearly increases of 7-15 percent to libraries. Coupled with the recent financial environment, and the prospect of several years of flat budgets, we must again address our current subscriptions.

We invite you to look over the following lists and share with us any particular concerns you may have. Keep in mind that we currently have (and will maintain) access to approximately 45,000 journal titles through our electronic licensing and subscriptions.

Our priority is to maintain the most and best access in support of teaching and research at DePauw. The librarians and I have studied closely our usage data and recurring commitments. We have met with the Faculty Library Advisory Committee and incorporated their thoughts and concerns.

We have developed the recommendations for cancellation observing the following principles:

1. Eliminate duplication first.

We receive many titles in both print and electronic form. Duplication may not mean a perfect one-to-one correspondence, but with recent advances in ILL and varieties of electronic access, we will work to achieve the maximum access to journals for our budget dollar.

2. Maximize our flexibility to respond to book requests.

Our faculty and curriculum change over time. Books are still an important part of your teaching and research. It is imperative that the library respond to these changes and continue to build collections that are timely and relevant.

3. Preference materials that are used over materials that are not.

Some items in our collection simply receive little to no use. Cancelling some of these titles will allow us to better respond to your requests for new titles. (We recognize that not all use is accounted for in our data, making it crucial to get your input.)

Our goal is to provide you with the resources necessary for teaching and learning. We need your help to ensure that we meet this goal. I will be happy to meet with you individually or as a department to discuss this further. Please respond with any changes you wish to suggest by Friday, April 20th.  

Thanks for your cooperation and assistance.

Rick Provine
Director of Libraries 

Click here to view journal titles under review