ALCTS Collection Development Librarians of Academic Libraries Interest Group (CDLAL-IG)

 

Saturday, January 31^st, 2015, 3:00 to 4:00pm

Hyatt Regency McCormick Prarie Room B

http://alamw15.ala.org/node/25143

 

Please join your fellow collection colleagues at the ALA Mid-Winter meeting, to discuss the following topic:

 

When Should Academic Libraries Withdraw Print Serials when Electronic Versions Exist? 

 

Summary: For many academic libraries, especially those that support science education and research, science print holdings were cancelled years ago, some more than a decade.  Such libraries have relied only on electronic versions of ejournals – and patrons prefer this.  Yet, libraries hold “legacy” print volumes on shelf, even though publishers and other vendors have scanned and created electronic backfiles of these older print holdings.  Should academic libraries even keep these print legacy volumes when there are stable, high resolution scans available online, and when such e-versions are backed up via Portico and similar systems?   What about regional, print dark archives – are they even needed?  How many?  If so, do such archives need a print copy of the most recent journals, given that so few, if any, academic libraries subscribe to print journals in the sciences anymore?  Should the approach be taken by discipline/field?  What criteria should be developed to make such determinations?

 

Two short (5-7 minute) presentations “for” and “against” withdrawing print will be followed by open discussion by all present. 

 

Approximately 15 minutes will be left after this topic to discuss what CDLAL-IG should focus on at the Annual Meeting in San Francisco.  We are also looking for a volunteer to step up and server as Vice Chair for 2015/16, becoming Chair in 2016/17. 

 

Moderated by:

 

Michael Leach (Harvard U.), Chair, ALCTS CDLAL-IG

Anne Liebst (U. Arkansas, Little Rock), Vice Chair, ALCTS CDLAL-IG

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