Electronic Serials Research Articles

Recording and Maintaining Post-Cancellation Access

This article is a written account of the presentation given by Jia Mi, based on her experience as the electronic resources and serials librarian at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). Three serials projects, a journal review, a “Big Deal” subscription review, and a bound journal review brought heightened attention to the importance of recording and maintaining post-cancellation access. This paper is an overview of what she learned.

Identification of serial publications in the ISSN system: national experience and international practice

In 2020 Ukraine became a member of the International System of Standard Numbering of Serial Editions (ISSN), which will help increase the level of Ukraine's presence in the international information environment and the formation of its positive image in the world. The functions of the ISSN National Center in Ukraine are performed by the Ivan Fedorov Book Chamber of Ukraine.
 The article examines the stages of implementation of the ISSN system in Ukraine, the problematic issues that arise in the process of identification of domestic printed and electronic serials in the ISSN system, the peculiarities of the procedure for obtaining the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN).

Keeping Science Costs in Check: A Cost per Use Review of Chemistry Journals

The sciences librarian and the electronic resources & serials librarian at Colorado College identified chemistry journal subscriptions for further investigation of usage and cost. Out of 14 chemistry-related journal titles on the renewal list from the library’s subscription agent, 8 journal titles were found to have high cost per use, based on the previous year’s price divided by number of articles downloaded. The authors considered the American Chemical Society guidelines for approval for Chemistry Departments and made sure other journal and journal package subscriptions outside these 8 titles fulfilled the ACS journal requirements. The authors then attended a Chemistry Department meeting to present these findings. Faculty agreed to cancel 6 of these titles and to add an inexpensive chemistry journal package for a newer faculty member; the net savings was $39,016.23.

Predicting Potential Electronic Serials Use

ABSTRACT When assessing electronic serials, librarians often review usage reports for subscribed serials but know relatively little about the potential use of unsubscribed titles. This paper discusses methods for predicting future use, including examining use of similar materials, citation metrics, interlibrary loan requests, denial/turnaway reports, and failed link resolver requests. Each indicator can tell librarians something different about how users are discovering and attempting to access materials. This paper also shares preliminary data from two case studies that detail an attempt to correlate prior year indicators of demand with first year use data of new electronic serials acquisitions.

Using critical thinking to conduct effective searches of online resources

While the number of online databases and other resources continues to rise, the quality and effectiveness of database searches does not. Over 80% of academic, public and school libraries offer some form of Internet access (American Library Association, 2000); thousands of full-text electronic journals and serials are available online. However, Hertzberg & Rudner (1999) found that most searches are cursory and ineffective, and they provide extensive recommendations regarding the mechanics of searching. A firm grounding in the mechanics of searching is vital, but an effective search is also an exercise in inquiry and critical thinking. We begin searching a topic with certain questions; as we collect information, we form hypotheses about the topic. These hypotheses in turn guide further searching, and are elaborated, discarded or modified as we learn more.

Cooperative Cataloging Projects: Managing Them for Best Results

ABSTRACTCataloging electronic serials (e-serials) provides discovery and access to valuable resources. With the rapid growth of e-serial publishing one method of managing the cataloging workload is through cooperative cataloging projects. The University of Washington Libraries participate in a number of cooperative cataloging projects through the Cooperative Online Serials Program and the Council on East Asian Libraries. This session covered factors for managing cooperative cataloging projects and described specific projects as examples.

Process mapping as an academic library tool: Five steps to improve your workflow

The academic library is a complex organization whose staff executes numerous processes each day to deliver materials and services in a timely manner to patrons. A process where tasks, information, or documents are passed from one participant to the next is called a workflow. Libraries use workflows to coordinate tasks between people and departments and create an efficient progress of work. Interlibrary loan shipping, electronic serials acquisition, damaged item repairing, and reference desk referrals are just some of the hundreds of workflows within the academic library. When diagrammed, these workflows provide valuable information in visual form regarding the path a process takes throughout a library. Diagramming workflows is known as process mapping.

Evaluating User Experience and Access Data to Reveal Patrons’ Print and Digital Serials Preferences

ABSTRACTThis article presents user experience data collected through surveys and interviews at an art museum library to offer a comprehensive picture of a diverse population of patrons’ print and digital access preferences for serials. The results of this study show that the line between digital and physical research preferences is incredibly nebulous, as patrons who start with digital sources often print out a copy for taking notes, and patrons who begin with physical resources often make a digital copy for future reference. Patrons do not necessarily prefer one format over the other in all cases, but rather realize that each new project requires a customized approach to research. This type of user experience data informs library services and empowers librarians to curate access to electronic and print serials in response to patrons’ specific research habits, impacting collection development, acquisitions, and outreach efforts.

Stewardship of the Digital Scholarly Record and of Each Nation’s Published Heritage

ABSTRACTDigital preservation of electronic serials has been a matter of concern to the library community for over a decade. Reviewing the current preservation landscape, there is evidence of progress but also of the need for further work. A group of institutions that work together as part of the Keepers Registry has made great progress in preserving increasing numbers of electronic serials, using the International Standard Serial Number to identify and target serials not currently preserved for long-term use. This success is evident in the aggregate, but also in the specific focuses and accomplishments of these individual “Keepers.” By working together the institutions involved have demonstrated the feasibility and promise of achieving digital preservation of serials at scale.

Electronic Resources and Serials Staffing Challenges

This article examines some of the issues related to electronic resources and serials staffing. Incorporating information from the literature, interviews with librarians working in the field, and data from job advertisements, this investigation addresses the challenges of identifying the primary job responsibilities of an electronic resources or serials librarian. The NASIG core competencies, library school curricula, and salary considerations are also covered.

Twelve years of access to electronic serials in Russia: Results and perspectives

ABSTRACTWe investigated collection development within the system of information support of research in Russia at the state-funded level. The analysis has been performed from the point of view of the structure and research output of Russian science. We employed the method of bibliometric analysis using InCites by Clarivate Analytics. Our results demonstrate that the state-funded set of subscriptions provides more than 55% of total world output and meets about 70% of the communication needs of Russian researchers in all Essential Science Indicators research areas. A strong correlation of informational support and research output is demonstrated.

Scoring the Quality of E-Serials MARC Records Using Java

ABSTRACTIn 2015, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC) adopted a policy of cataloging electronic serials in the online catalog to represent the Library's large electronic journal holdings. Historically there had been no consistent policy of cataloging e-serials at UIUC, so this decision also required retroactive cataloging of the Library's existing holdings. In order to add the more than 100,000 titles to which the library has access, batch searching and bulk loading records are necessary. This can be particularly challenging with serials records, due to bibliographic changes (such as title and publisher) and record duplication in OCLC WorldCat. This column describes a Java program, written by the author, which aids in selecting high-quality records from batch searches to be bulk loaded into the catalog. The program scores the quality of Machine-Readable Cataloging Record (MARC) records based on data in a select number of fields and discards records that fail to meet minimum criteria, such as correct format or language of cataloging. The program ultimately ensures that certain base criteria are met, while creating more efficiency in the process of bulk loading e-serials records.

Providing and Maintaining Access to Electronic Serials: Consortium and Member University Library’s Perspectives

ABSTRACTOntario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) is a consortium of Ontario’s twenty-one university libraries. Scholars Portal E-journals (SP E-Journals) is an OCUL-sponsored digital repository containing over 45 million full text scholarly articles drawn from 19,000 journals covering every academic discipline. SP E-Journals exports its holdings to various knowledge bases including SFX. Scholars Portal (SP), OCUL’s shared technology infrastructure provider, maintains a central SFX instance for member libraries’ content subscribed via OCUL. The University of Windsor’s library is an OCUL member library that, until recently, used SFX as its Open Uniform Resource Locator link resolver for OCUL and local subscription content. This study will examine the work flow and problems encountered in maintaining central and local SFX instances, as well as discuss the advantages and challenges of providing and maintaining access to electronic serials at the consortium and member library levels.

We Went Mobile! (Or Did We?) Reviewing and Promoting Third-Party Device Neutral Library Resources

ABSTRACTAcademic libraries have been working diligently to provide device neutral mobile access to key elements of their library websites, like hours, contact information, and catalogs. But once a mobile user makes it through these access points on his mobile device, what happens beyond that point? Can he or she use the library’s links to third-party content, like interlibrary loan forms, the institutional repository, and databases, on a mobile device? Laura Turner, Head of Technical Services at the University of San Diego’s Copley Library, recently performed basic mobile testing of third-party content links on her library’s website. She relied on resource reports generated by Alejandra Nann, Copley’s Electronic Resources and Serials Librarian, as well as Nann’s troubleshooting of access issues during the testing. Their presentation reviewed the efforts and outcomes of testing links to the resources on mobile devices as well as workflow suggestions and promotional ideas for incorporating mobile access as a library service.

Education and Criminal Justice Faculty Value Electronic Serials over Print to Support Professional Activities

A Review of:
 Jones, G. F., Cassidy, E. D., McMain, L., Strickland, S. D., Thompson, M., & Valdes, Z. (2015). Are serials worth their weight in knowledge? A value study. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 41(5), 578-582. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2015.07.004
 
 Objective – To determine the faculty assessed value of print and electronic serials. 
 
 Design – Qualitative survey.
 
 Setting – Doctoral research institution in the southern United States of America. 
 
 Subjects – 122 tenured or tenure-track faculty from the School of Criminal Justice and the School of Education.
 
 Methods – A survey was designed to measure the value of online and print serials for key faculty activities: research, publishing, course preparation and development, service, and personal interests. Measures included: recentness of use, the extent to which library journals supported work in the key activities (minor, moderate, or major), requirement of students to use online or print journals in their courses, cancellations of personal journal subscriptions in favor of library subscriptions, and travel to other libraries to use library journals. 
 
 Main Results – Twenty-seven faculty responded to the survey (22%). Two of the respondents (7%) had never used the library journals, though the majority (93%) had. Of those who used library journals, the most recent use was of online over print publications. 
 
 For each key activity, 40%-87% of the respondents reported they had never used print journals, and those who did use print reported that it supported their work only to a minor extent, primarily in the area of research. Respondents noted they used online journals most frequently for research (92%), publishing (83%), and course preparation and development (76%). Service is the least supported by journal use in either print or online, with 87% of the respondents never using print and 50% never using online journals for service. 
 
 The respondents who taught undergraduates required the use of online journals over print journals at a ratio of 3:1 for assigned readings, course activities, and writing assignments. The ratio increased to a range of 4.5:1 to 8.5:1 across activities for graduate students. Respondents indicated that print (22%) and online journals (72%) had the highest use in assigned readings. The majority of respondents required graduate students to use online journals in all activities and less than a quarter required the use of print.
 
 Twenty respondents (80%) had not dropped personal subscriptions, but among those who did, print subscriptions were more likely to be dropped than online. If institutional access were available, 55% indicated that they would drop a personal subscription for online access, and only 27% indicated they would cancel personal subscriptions for print access. Those who did drop subscriptions cited cost, storage space, and ease of access to library journals as their motivation. Faculty comments praised the serials holdings, especially the holdings of back issues. 
 
 Finally, the majority of respondents (74%) reported not having traveled to another library for journal access, but those who did, accessed materials for research, class preparation, and publishing. Many of those who went to other libraries did so because they were closer to their residence or they needed to access original manuscripts.
 
 Conclusion – Participants used journal subscriptions for all of the key activities surveyed, with research and publishing the top reasons for use and service the lowest. Both undergraduate and graduate students were required to use both print and online journals, with graduate student use being greater for online access. Faculty acknowledged their use of print and online journals for key activities to a major extent, with a strong preference for online journals.

Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do (Read Serials)

Ms. Dorothea Salo, Faculty Associate at the School of Library & Information Studies of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, argued passionately and cogently about the obligation of librarians to protect the privacy of patrons using electronic serials and the data generated from that usage. Libraries should forcefully express their concerns to vendors of such resources about their collection and commercialization of user data and should stipulate provisions in their contracts and licensing agreements to prevent such misuse of patron’s personal information.

Rebuilding: Organizing and Operating Under New Management

In 2014, the highly experienced Head of Electronic Resources and Serials Services at Auburn University Libraries retired. Parallel changes in workflows, staffing, and organizational structure were also taking place, resulting in an intense period of transition that included merging two units. This presentation describes the transition process from the perspective of the new Head of Technical Services and one paraprofessional staff in the merged units. The presentation focuses on the processes of change, guiding philosophies, and lessons learned.

Space Case: Moving from a Physical to a Virtual Journal Collection

Journal publishing has evolved and changed considerably over the years, leaving many libraries to grapple with analyzing and identifying the purpose and scope of these collections. After numerous discussions and an analysis of how the current print journal collection was being used, Kraemer Family Library at the University of Colorado–Colorado Springs decided to withdraw over 50% of the library’s print journal holdings in order to create a collaborative space for students. This article begins with an overview of journal publishing as it relates to academic libraries and the impact of electronic serials on the scope and purpose of a print journal collection. It then highlights the steps used to complete the project, and communication goals and methods employed to keep library staff members, faculty on campus, and other constituents aware of the changes taking place in the library.

Are Serials Worth Their Weight in Knowledge? A Value Study

The researchers aimed to use qualitative measures to define value as applied to print and electronic serial publications held at Sam Houston State University. Researchers examined faculty key activities—namely, Research, Publishing, Course Preparation and Development, Service, and Personal Interests—and also asked about the perceived extent of support that library journals provided for these key activities. The results of a survey sent to the faculty of two major colleges, Education and Criminal Justice, emphasized the importance of electronic over print serials for research, publishing, and teaching. Many respondents reported that they never used print serials for key activities but have recently used electronic serials. The print serial collection was reported to provide only minor support for the key activities whereas the electronic serials collection was reported to support those to a major extent. Most faculty respondents reported that they would drop subscriptions to personal interest journals if the Library obtained electronic access.

A Survey of Electronic Serials Managers Reveals Diversity in Practice

A Review of:
 Branscome, B. A. (2013). Management of electronic serials in academic libraries: The results of an online survey. Serials Review, 39(4), 216-226. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.serrev.2013.10.004
 
 Abstract
 
 Objective – To examine industry standards for the management of electronic serials and measure the adoption of electronic serials over print.
 
 Design – Survey questionnaire.
 
 Setting – Email lists aimed at academic librarians working in serials management.
 
 Subjects – 195 self-selected subscribers to serials email lists.
 
 Methods – The author created a 20 question survey that consisted primarily of closed-ended questions pertaining to the collection demographics, staff, budget, and tools of serials management groups in academic libraries. The survey was conducted via Survey Monkey and examined using the analytical features of the tool. Participants remained anonymous and the survey questions did not ask them to reveal identifiable information about their libraries.
 
 Main Results – Collection demographics questions revealed that 78% of surveyed librarians estimated that print-only collections represented 40% or fewer of their serials holdings. The author observed diversity in the factors that influence print to digital transitions in academic libraries. However 71.5% of participants indicated that publisher technology support like IP authentication was required before adopting digital subscriptions. 
 
 A lack of standardization also marked serials workflows, department responsibilities, and department titles. The author did not find a correlation between serials budget and the enrollment size of the institution. Participants reported that they used tools from popular serials management vendors like Serials Solutions, Innovative Interfaces, EBSCO, and Ex Libris, but most indicated that they used more than one tool for serials management. Participants specified 52 unique serials management products used in their libraries. 
 
 Conclusion – In surveying academic librarians engaged in serials management, the author sought to identify trends and standards in the field, but instead found significant variation in serials budgets and processes amongst the responding libraries. While it is clear that electronic subscriptions are a significant development and now a permanent feature of serials management, decisions to move from print to digital are complex and definitive conclusions about best practices for serials transitions could not be drawn from this study. 
 
 The survey revealed that institutions have invested in staff and tools for the management of electronic serials, but staffing configurations and tool combinations are also extremely diverse. The author concluded that the lack of standardization in these areas and the disconnect between institution and serials budget size indicated a serials landscape that was highly individualized and customized to each institution’s unique needs.