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Session 1441

Taking off the Training Wheels: the migration from print journals to ejournals at the University of Arizona.

Maliaca Strom-Oxnam Science-Engineering Library, University of Arizona

When we were children, we all learned how to ride a bike and eventually most of us learned that you have to take off the training wheels. That’s exactly what happened at the University of Arizona Library, hereafter referred to as the UA Library, when it implemented its "no duplication" policy on the purchase of print and electronic resources. The UA Library took off its training wheels by urging librarians to move away from the traditional print format of materials in favor of the electronic version unless the move would result in substantial increases in cost, or problems with the delivery of content.

In calculating the costs of maintaining a print journal collection, not only must one include the ever-increasing subscription prices, but also the costs associated with the day-to-day maintenance activities such as processing, cataloging, shelving, and replacement of damaged, lost and stolen items in the collections. At the UA Library, not only was the cost of maintaining the print journal collection a problem, but the physical space necessary for storing the journals was decreasing. In 1999, the UA Library was at 75% capacity for the storage and shelving of the entire library collection with an average growth rate of 5% per year. With a capacity above 90%, the shifting and reshelving of materials becomes almost impossible. Not only was the UA Library facing a critical shortage of space for materials, but also for study areas, storage, and library personnel. These problems, coupled with the fact that staffing throughout the UA Library had decreased, caused difficulties in ensuring that incoming journals and materials could be processed and made available to library customers in a timely manner.

The UA Library expected that by moving to electronic formats wherever possible, not only would the physical growth rate of the collection be slowed, but collection costs would also be reduced. Hence, it was determined that the UA Library would move to maximize access to content, while reducing the growth rate and collection costs, by implementing a "no duplication" policy.1 Materials that were available in both print and electronic formats would only be purchased in one format, preferably electronic.

Although the purchase of a variety of library materials (e.g. books, databases, journals) was included in the "no duplication" policy, the policy most greatly impacted the UA Library’s movement towards electronic journal subscriptions. Instead of canceling print subscriptions immediately and relying solely on the electronic journal collections to provide content to library customers, the UA Library established a one-year period to work with publishers, vendors and the campus community to ensure a smooth transition. What would the University of Arizona’s campus community think? Would they accept this new electronic method for obtaining scholarly literature with grace and ease or would they long for the days of the print journal?

Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2001, American Society for Engineering Education

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Strom, M. (2001, June), Taking Off The Training Wheels: The Migration From Print Journals To Ejournals At The University Of Arizona. Paper presented at 2001 Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 10.18260/1-2--9846