I highly recommend that you use the JR5s as well in conjunction with whether the title becomes freely available with an embargo. We have found titles that based on the JR1 look like they should be continued, e.g. 300 uses per year, but an examination of the JR5 shows single or low double digit uses of the embargoed content, which is what you're actually paying for. That could be a long-tail effect, or it could be that the editorial quality has dropped off in recent years so your researchers aren't interested in the recent content, but either way, there's no point in paying for the latest issues if your patrons aren't using the latest issues.

You should also look carefully month by month at the 2015 and 2016 JR1 data to see if there are any huge anomalies that suggest SciHub or similar hacking and don't let those events distort your cost-per-use calculation. We had a great many journals that had single digit use month after month and then suddenly use upwards of 600 in a single month, and the same for many of the journals from that same Big Deal, regardless of subject area, which is a big red flag that it wasn't a sudden burst of research activity internally by a project, but systematic hack-downloading.

Of course you also want to look at accreditation requirements, but I've found there are virtually NO specific journals that any accreditation organization is willing to explicitly require. The one exception I can think of is JACS and chemistry, which is annoying given the conflict of interest within ACS (they will claim an internal firewall about this but I'm not buying it), but our use is high enough not to make a case about it.

Melissa Belvadi

On Fri, Jul 7, 2017 at 9:52 AM, Ken Siegert <ken.siegert@fandm.edu> wrote:

Hello!

We are planning to review both our print and electronic journals. Right now we are collecting usage stats for the last 3 complete calendar years (2014, 2015, 2016) and trying to stick to just JR1 reports. We have individually subscribed journals, packaged journals, etc. Most titles are divided up by librarian liaison area.

What factors have others looked at in determining if a subscription should continue? What's your process? Any insights are welcome.

Thanks,

Ken

-------------

Ken Siegert
E-Resources, Serials & Metadata Specialist
Shadek-Fackenthal Library, Room 011
ken.siegert@fandm.edu | 717-358-4219

Franklin & Marshall College
Shadek-Fackenthal Library
P.O. Box 3003
Lancaster, PA 17604-3003

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Melissa Belvadi

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University of Prince Edward Island

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