binding, budget, budget cuts, electronic resources, Library Staff, print cancellations
In Library Staff, Print subscriptions on February 19, 2009 at 12:50 pm
While I agree with the sentiment that appeared in library committee minutes at our sister institution -
that is, if the choice is between periodicals and staff, obviously the staff need to be preserved -
I’m beginning to wonder, are serials always the first to be cut from academic library budgets during difficult times?
The academic library where I work is cutting
-staff positions (currently and hopefully only through attrition)
-computer footprint (college-wide cut of 11% of machines)
-some electronic resources (based on usage statistics and cost)
-all print journals that can be subscribed to in online format
-some memberships through which we receive serial publications
-almost all journal and monograph binding
-and they’re investigating moving some of our online journal subscriptions to a pay-per-view model
A moderate reduction to the book acquisitions budget will also be made.
You’ll begin to notice that the sub-department of serials (2 FTE), while we’ll likely be keeping our jobs, will bear the brunt of the cut in materials budgets.
So, we’ll have our jobs (I hope), but what exactly will we be doing when our job responsibilities are so reduced?
Is this similar to what’s happening at other libraries?
blogs, bX, electronic resources, ERM, Ex Libris, SFX
In ERM, Electronic Resouces on February 16, 2009 at 10:21 am
Ex Libris is in beta with a new e-serials service called bX:
“a first-of-its-kind service to provide library users with article-level recommendations based on collective usage data amassed from research communities around the world.”
The new application, which harvests usage data from Ex Libris’ link resolver SFX software, is in testing in sixteen institutions worldwide.
It’s very exciting that usage data will work directly to help researchers discover sources in addition to its use in collection development planning.
Follow the buzz at: http://bxbeta.blogspot.com/
See the press release at: http://www.exlibrisgroup.com/category/bXOverview
binding, check-in, electronic resources, Library Staff, local holdings, print cancellations, title changes
In Library Staff, Print subscriptions on January 29, 2009 at 1:01 pm
While I’ve already posted about journals check-in, I’m wondering how other library systems with multiple library sites manage serials in general.
I work in the ‘central’ branch at a college where there are two additional branch libraries. A few years ago the decision was made to decentralize much of the serials administration, such that subscriptions, renewals, binding, and cataloging continued to be administered by the ‘central’ library staff, but check-in was managed by the branch libraries for titles which were shelved there.
This decentralized serials administration model poses problems for claiming missing issues, updating the cataloging for title changes and mergers (etc.), updating the frequency of the publication, and collecting journal issues for binding – all among the other exciting things that the world of serials throws our way.
These problems may all become non-issues as we move progressively towards an electronic-only serials collection, but in the meantime, it is a collection management mire.
Do you work with serials in a multi-site library system? How does your library system handle serials administration?
