Hi Michael,
I no longer am directly involved in this process but oversee those who are. We still have about 350 active print titles we are receiving – this, in spite of aggressively working
to reduce that number over several years. It may have to do with the particulars of our collection (many small publishers, e.g. in bible and theology) as well as other factors such as our preference to retain a print copy if we are unable to retain or negotiate
for permanent ownership of backfiles of online journals. Like others, we do not retain back issues for things duplicated in JSTOR, and there is a limited number of print titles for which we have limited retention.
In addition, due to the shrinking bindery business from budget cuts and the switchover to mostly online journals, per unit binding costs have shot up. Ironically, that makes
it that much harder to justify continuing to bind. I still believe that binding is the cheapest preservation for materials that we wish to retain in perpetuity that come in serial form. Another factor for us locally is that our entire bound journal collection
is now housed in a nearby but off campus storage facility due to a space crunch in our main library. That off campus collection is not static, it’s being added to as we continue to bind print journals. One concern I have is ceasing binding and then not being
able to directly keep track of loose issues and therefore losing them over time.
Push may come to shove, though, as we are facing another large reduction in our collections budget for FY22 to meet a large overall budget shortfall for our institution. Binding
costs may be scrutinized even more carefully than before. Even so, I still think if we are in this for the long-term, binding serials is the cheapest way to ensure long-term access for print journals.
Steve
Steve Oberg
Assistant Professor and Group Leader for Resource Description and Digital Initiatives
Buswell Library | Wheaton College (IL) | +1 (630) 752-5852
From: <serialst@simplelists.com> on behalf of "van Sickle, Jennifer" <Jennifer.vanSickle@trincoll.edu>
Reply-To: "serialst@simplelists.com" <serialst@simplelists.com>
Date: Monday, March 1, 2021 at 2:58 PM
To: "serialst@simplelists.com" <serialst@simplelists.com>
Subject: [SERIALST] RE: Binding serials
Hello,
We stopped binding what remained of our print periodicals a few years ago due to budget cuts, space concerns, and reduced staff. This academic year, our current
print subscriptions are at a minimum and consists of A) art history or B) titles that faculty still want but aren’t available online. If the titles are available in JSTOR, unless specifically requested by faculty, we discard the issues once they’re added
to the archive.
--Jennifer
Jennifer L. van Sickle M.L.S.
Science and Electronic Resources Librarian
Trinity College Library
LITS A40
300 Summit St.
Hartford, CT USA 06106
860-297-2250
(Fall 2020: leave message or e-mail jennifer.vansickle@trincoll.edu)
From: serialst@simplelists.com <serialst@simplelists.com>
On Behalf Of Rodriguez, Michael
Sent: Monday, March 1, 2021 9:59 AM
To: serialst@simplelists.com
Subject: [SERIALST] Binding serials
Hi everyone,
UConn holds many unbound serials - mostly backlog, as we are down to only a handful of new print receipts. Are your libraries still binding serials? Why or why not? If you do, how
do you decide which serials get bound and which get shelved permanently unbound?
Thanks in advance for sharing your perspectives!
Michael
Michael Rodriguez
(he/him/his)
Collections Strategist
UConn Library
369 Fairfield Way, Unit 1005
Storrs, CT 06269-1005
860-486-9325
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