Evaluating,Selecting, and Acquiring Electronic Resources

Abstract

The entire back archive of over 140 titles published by Oxford Journals has recently been digitized from print and made available online. The author discusses the motivation behind this undertaking, the resulting end product, and reviews the advantages of an online archive over a traditional print collection both to librarians and to academic researchers. The author also provides an overview of the business models and logistical challenges of such a project which will be of interest to librarians and of relevance to all journal publishers considering a similar digitization program.     

Web-Exclusive Articles in Traditionally Print Periodicals

Abstract

This article examines the phenomenon of Web-exclusive articles offered by traditionally print periodicals and provides examples of various types of periodicals with inconsistent contents between their Web and print editions. The author discusses citation issues that confuse users and librarians with inconsistencies and lack of standards in coverage of Web-exclusive articles in full-text databases and by publishers. These inconsistencies cause difficulties in retrieving, archiving, and OpenURL linking to Web-exclusive articles.     

Newsletters for Networks

Abstract

In the previous installment of this column, Donnice Cochenour wrote about Project Muse, Johns Hopkins University Press's project to provide electronic access to its journals. This column will explore OCLC's collaboration with publishers who are making traditional print publications available electronically. Serials Review interviewed Andrea Keyhani, Manager of Electronic Publishing at OCLC, about traditional print publishers' interests in electronic distribution of journals, OCLC's solution to publishers' migration to electronic distribution, enhancements to their Guidon software, and libraries' costs and archive concerns.     

Introduction to AACR2r Revised Chapter 12

Abstract

Several political commentary journals are among America's best-known print journals. This article analyzes their online editions to see how well they are making use of such elements as interactive discussion, rapid publication, and ancillary links. Political discourse has been a mainstay of journal publishing since Addison and Steele started the Spectator, the first periodical for a popular audience, in London in 1711. Some of the oldest American journals are those featuring political commentary. Such journals proliferated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when some of their writers and editors like William F. Buckley Jr. grew to be considered powerful political forces in their own right.     

Print Magazines for American College Libraries

Abstract

This paper opens discussion about the periodicals that are left behind in the debate over the transition from print to electronic journals in academic libraries, particularly college libraries. The author annotates 100 English-language print magazines titles that support a liberal arts curriculum and the leisure reading of an American college community. These titles should be maintained in print versions for browsing and usefulness, even if online availability exists. Magazines, with their mix of articles, illustrations, sidebars, tables, charts, graphs, lists, and short features, still have an important place in college libraries.     

Enhancing Access to Rare Journals: Cover Images and Contents in the Online Catalog

Abstract

At the University of Colorado at Boulder University Libraries, the Special Collections and Cataloging and Metadata Services Departments have been testing Innovative Interfaces' Millennium Media. In a recent project, librarians and staff digitized cover images and tables of contents for issues of selected journals from the Tippit Collection and linked the digitized enhancements to the catalog records for the associated titles. This article reviews the steps involved with the project, shows the results, and describes where this now ongoing effort will fit in the workflow of the departments involved.     

Connecting Print Patrons to Electronic Holdings with Shelf Dummies

Abstract

After a two-year renovation, the Kent State University Music Library reopened as the Performing Arts Library. Before the closure, some serials were sent to the depository or reclassified within the library. In order to assist patrons browsing print journals or searching for articles in the stacks, library staff created shelf dummies detailing print and electronic holdings information as well as indexing for each title. Patron feedback has been positive, and the project has helped both library staff and patrons better understand accessibility and location of journals.     

Is Check-In Checking Out?

Abstract

Technological innovations have made changes in library procedures commonplace. Nonetheless, many librarians have been startled by the University of Nevada at Reno's decision to quit checking in print serials. Four serialists address the future of serials acquisitions in light of the technological advances that continue to transform library procedures. Serials Review 2003; 29:224–229.     

E-journal Management Systems

Abstract

Electronic journals are being added to library collections at exponential rates. Recent developments in e-journal management systems offer libraries a variety of solutions for enhancing the visibility and flexibility of their electronic journals. This article examines and compares Serials Solutions, JournalWebCite, TDNet, and Serials Cybrarian, four current e-journal management programs that create and integrate multiple lists of journal titles, regardless of format, into a single list. These systems can reduce or even eliminate common serials control problems for librarians. Readers will gain insights that will enable them to better understand and consider the value of an e-journal management system. Serials Review 2002; 28:176–194.     

Rock is a Way of Life: The World of Rock ‘n’ Roll Fanzines and Fandom

Abstract

While advantages of electronic publications are obvious and far reaching, most electronic journals are still published also in print since libraries do not acquire electronic journals but only access them through licenses. Libraries with substantial electronic publications, however, no longer “compile” collections in a traditional sense. One consequence of electronic only access is that the permanent availability of information that implicitly used to be found in print collections is no longer guaranteed. Digital publishing dramatically alters both the roles of libraries and publishers in preserving records of science. This article discusses the contribution of national libraries, particularly the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (KB; National Library of the Netherlands), to cooperate with publishers to secure the permanent archiving of electronic publications.     

Marriage and Family Periodical Indexes

Abstract

Auburn University Libraries wanted to reduce the amount of work devoted to current print issues in a manner acceptable to public service librarians and patrons. The Current Periodicals collection in the Ralph Brown Draughon (RBD) Library, the main library, has been reduced to only those periodical issues for which reliable online access is not available. Current issues that have online access are kept in the Acquisitions Department in a “closed stacks” arrangement. “Closed stacks” issues are available to patrons upon request. The experience at Auburn University demonstrates that reconfiguring processes for Current Periodicals involves collaboration between technical and public services with minimal difficulties and introduces new efficiencies. The librarians hope to save time and resources and reduce missing issues and claims. They are monitoring patron reaction to the change.     

The 5K Run Toolkit: A Quick,Painless, and Thoughtful Approach to Managing Print Journal Backruns

Abstract

Increasingly, academic libraries are choosing to discard or place in storage print journals that are now available online. The identification of these titles and related collection analysis activities are often time-intensive. The approach at the University of Saskatchewan Library was to develop an online toolkit that combined available data from disparate sources including the integrated library system, SFX link resolver, and OCLC's WorldCat and then present them in a collaborative open source environment. This paper demonstrates how the careful combination of existing data presented in a simple online format allowed subject specialists to make accurate print journal deselection decisions quickly and painlessly.     

Planning the Future of Research Library Collections,the Janus Conference on Research Library Collection: Spring 2006 Update

Abstract

The editors scan approximately 120 journals in all disciplines for reviews of serial publications. Journals published since 2010 were monitored for this installment of Serials Review Index. Suggestions for journals to be included in future columns are welcome.