Serials Acquisitions Research Articles

The Experience of Using Virtua Integrated Library System in Nigerian University Libraries

The paper explores the experience of using Virtua Integrated Library System by some university libraries in Nigeria for automating their operations throughout a decade. It also accounts for the challenges encountered by the libraries and reveals their switch over to other software. Survey method was used to collect data from systems' staff and librarians of the six universities that adopted Virtua software via self-distributed online questionnaire. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select the respondents. The findings revealed that majority of the libraries used Virtua for years more than any of their previous software. The initial source of funding the software and staff training was provided by the Carnegie Corporation and MacArthur Foundation. The modules implemented by the libraries include cataloguing, circulation, administration and Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) and serials control and acquisition were partially used. The system was friendly used by the university libraries with few challenges which included increase in subscription fees. At different periods of few years back, the libraries dropped the software and switched over to Koha and locally developed library system respectively. It is recommended that the University Management of the libraries should provide adequate funds to enhance the implementation of library automation software.

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.

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.

When ERM Met Alma: The Intricacies of Content Management in a Shared Consortia Landscape

ABSTRACTIn 2013, after nearly two decades of operating in a distributed legacy Integrated Library System (ILS) environment on local servers, the Orbis Cascade Alliance, a consortium of public and private academic libraries in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, began a two-year-long process to migrate its 37 members to a shared implementation of Ex Libris's cloud-based Alma library management system (LMS) and Primo discovery interface. Although much has been written on electronic resource management (ERM) functionality at an institution level, little has been written on serials and ERM functionality and workflows within a shared consortial environment. This article discusses the challenges and opportunities of implementing a consortial-based LMS, with particular emphasis on serials and ERM functionality. Key migration issues related to serials control, acquisitions, licensing, administration, cataloging, statistics, and interoperability are examined at the institutional and large-scale networked levels. Benefits and limitations of using a shared consortial cloud-based LMS are explored, and the overall capabilities of the Alma LMS for electronic resource management are reviewed.

Reports of Conferences, Institutes, and Seminars

ABSTRACTThis quarter's column offers coverage of multiple sessions from the 2016 Electronic Resources & Libraries (ER&L) Conference, held April 3–6, 2016, in Austin, Texas. Topics in serials acquisitions dominate the column, including reports on altmetrics, cost per use, demand-driven acquisitions, and scholarly communications and the use of subscriptions agents; ERMS, access, and knowledgebases are also featured.

The Limits of Due Diligence

Best practices endorse using “due diligence” scrutiny of a company to establish the viability of the corporation prior to releasing large sums of money in a buy–sell transaction. Theoretically libraries should be able to utilize this approach to ensure protection against bankruptcy such as seen in the recent Swets failure and the earlier RoweCom/divine collapse. Using the Swets company as a case study, the steps needed to be taken to complete the due diligence process are enumerated and critiqued. The conclusion is drawn that a comprehensive financial appraisal in the current serials acquisitions framework requires expertise, effort, and investment that are outside the bounds of what many would consider to be reasonable.

Content Overlap and Replacement Cost Analyses: Tools to Evaluate Abstracting/Indexing (A&I) and Full-Text Databases in Science and Engineering

Shrinking serials acquisition budgets and increasing subscription costs for access to bibliographic and full-text databases are forcing academic librarians to reevaluate the content needs of their faculty and students. This article showcases two methods to attain a firmer grasp of the content and value of databases: comparison of journal title overlap among various abstracting/indexing databases using the JISC Academic Database Assessment Tool (ADAT), and cost analysis of unbundling a full-text journal package.

The Intersection of Standards and Professional Knowledge, Skills, and Service: One Road to Ensuring a Functional Future of Bibliographic Control for Serials Acquisition, Management, and Access

The evolution of libraries to the online format has significant implications for serials acquisitions and work flows. From an acquisitions perspective, the recent development of standards and recommended practices by numerous organizations aims at bibliographic control of the online format including the underlying metadata for accessing full text. This article discusses metadata and standards for their effect on serials bibliographic control. Our literature review reveals the colloquial use of the word standards, about which we strive for a more precise delineation. We distinguish standards from recommended practices and maintain that a broader librarian participation in developing standards benefits all relevant groups.

“Shelf-Ready” Print Serials Acquisitions

The focus of this installment of “The Balance Point” is “shelf-ready” print serials acquisitions, including functions associated with traditional consolidation services (ordering, receiving, check-in, labeling, claiming and batch shipments), and the newer capabilities of uploading check-in data automatically into library systems. Featured authors discuss traditional vendor consolidation services, pilot projects and experiments in the pursuit of what they define as genuinely “shelf-ready” periodicals. The authors view obtaining “shelf-ready” print journal issues as an effective and efficient means of managing print serials operations while coping with the demands of managing digital resource acquisitions with limited financial resources.

“Shelf-Ready” Print Serials Acquisitions

The focus of this installment of “The Balance Point” is “shelf-ready” print serials acquisitions, including functions associated with traditional consolidation services (ordering, receiving, check-in, labeling, claiming and batch shipments), and the newer capabilities of uploading check-in data automatically into library systems. Featured authors discuss traditional vendor consolidation services, pilot projects and experiments in the pursuit of what they define as genuinely “shelf-ready” periodicals. The authors view obtaining “shelf-ready” print journal issues as an effective and efficient means of managing print serials operations while coping with the demands of managing digital resource acquisitions with limited financial resources.

The View from the U.K.: The Economic Crisis and Serials Acquisitions on an Offshore Island

This article considers the case study of university libraries in the United Kingdom, and their exposure to the effects of the worldwide recession. Exchange rate changes have been a noteworthy aspect of the U.K. situation, with the pound sterling deteriorating markedly against both the Euro and the U.S. Dollar. Examples of the impact of these changes are outlined. The implications of government spending plans over the next few years are also examined. Some possible ways of coping with these changes are explored, including the expansion of shared services, a reduction in the prevalence of publisher bundle subscriptions, and an increase in the impact of open access activity.

Navigating a Course for Serials Staffing into the New Millennium

In this session, Lynda Fuller Clendenning and Lori Duggan presented information about a recent reorganization at Indiana University Bloomington Libraries that pulled together serials acquisitions staff and electronic resources library staff into a single unit. They discussed the impetus for the reorganization, the recommendations of a consultant hired to analyze the workflow, and the transition from a silo model toward one involving more cross-training. They also covered the skill set required to work with electronic resources, the relationship and coordination with all areas of the library (technical services, collections, information technology, and public services), some details of the new workflow, and some future issues under consideration.

Bridges to China: Developing Partnerships Between Serials Librarians in the United States and China

University librarians in China face many of the same challenges related to serials management that confront librarians in the United States. The authors discuss the importance for librarians in the United States, especially those working with serials, to establish and build ties with librarians in other countries, such as China. Benefits of an exchange could include sharing information about best practices, exchange of serial materials, and working together on mutually advantageous projects. Acknowledging the growing interest in international library exchange programs, the authors relate their own institution's efforts to build international ties with Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and Shaanxi Normal University in Xi'an, China. In establishing these ties, the authors have traveled to China and interviewed librarians about serials acquisition, processing, and management.

Bridges to China: Developing Partnerships Between Serials Librarians in the United States and China

University librarians in China face many of the same challenges related to serials management that confront librarians in the United States. The authors discuss the importance for librarians in the United States, especially those working with serials, to establish and build ties with librarians in other countries, such as China. Benefits of an exchange could include sharing information about best practices, exchange of serial materials, and working together on mutually advantageous projects. Acknowledging the growing interest in international library exchange programs, the authors relate their own institution's efforts to build international ties with Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and Shaanxi Normal University in Xi'an, China. In establishing these ties, the authors have traveled to China and interviewed librarians about serials acquisition, processing, and management.

E-Journal Access: A Collaborative Checklist for Libraries, Subscription Agents, and Publishers

ABSTRACT Many serials librarians can relate incidents where communication has broken down during efforts to establish and maintain access to electronic journals. Questions often arise about who is responsible for specific tasks, and who is to be contacted in certain circumstances. This article presents a “collaborative checklist” to address such questions and discusses the processes by which each of the major parties in the serials acquisition chain (library, subscription agent, publisher) contributes to the establishment and maintenance of access to electronic journals. The checklist comprises fourteen categories of tasks and the portion for which each party is responsible. Each category is meant to serve as a guide for designing a procedure for the particular task that is addressed, within the context of the whole process of establishing and maintaining access to electronic journals.

The Keys to Successful Change Management for Serials

ABSTRACT Recent debate among librarians focuses on how the acquisition and management of electronic resources can be incorporated into traditional technical services workflows. From the perspective of serials acquisition, this may mean many changes and new responsibilities. But the degree of success in such undertakings depends foremost on whether or not an organization can reconcile new expectations and new responsibilities with the traditional organizational culture and structure. Serials departments, serials librarians, and serials staff are often on the front lines of dealing with the changes that new technologies, new work processes, and new organizational relationships can bring. In order to make the most of these changes with respect to serials acquisition and management, the author proposes four key areas that any library should examine before contemplating change: (1) The information and serials environment, (2) organizational structure and culture, (3) workflow analysis and staff resources, and (4) the implementation and use of technology.

Examining Workflows and Redefining Roles

SUMMARY Paula Sullenger, Serials Acquisitions Librarian at Auburn University and Jia Mi, Electronic Resources/Serials Librarian at the College of New Jersey discussed electronic resource workflow models at their respective institutions. Services are available from vendors that aid in streamlining workflow for handling print resources and electronic journals. In addition, in-house statistics are used to determine serials tasks to eliminate and job functions to realign.

Financial Issues

ABSTRACT In the aftermath of the bankruptcy of a major periodicals vendor, serials acquisitions changed forever. The resulting disruption in the subscription process occupied librarians, publishers and vendors for over 2 years, affecting thousands of libraries and costing millions of dollars. From the initial Request for Proposal to each year's renewal payments, the subscription process will never be the same as all parties try to ensure that this disaster will never be repeated. Libraries concentrated on developing constructive strategies for coping now and in the future, while publishers provided graced issues in accordance with a subrogation plan developed by the bankruptcy court.

A Serials Acquisitions Cost Study

This paper is based on time and cost studies conducted at Iowa State University (ISU) between 1986/87 and 2000/2001. Serials acquisitions functions were evaluated and examined with a view toward using the results as a management tool. Previous cost center papers by the authors and others focused only on monograph acquisition functions. Analysis of the data collected at ISU suggests that libraries that have developed standards for serials acquisitions processing could reap significant benefits through the use of consistent sets of information for management decisions, including, but not limited to, reassigning staff time to new and evolving tasks.

Citation Analysis of Dissertation, Thesis, and Research Paper References in Workforce Education and Development

Citation analysis of 265 Workforce Education and Development (WED) dissertations, theses, and graduate research papers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) was used to (1) determine core serials in the discipline, (2) provide Morris Library with a guide to serials acquisition and maintenance in the discipline, and (3) provide future WED students with a core list of WED journals. This study has applicability as a specific instance of applied citation analysis as well as for academic librarians faced with acquiring and maintaining serials in WED.