University of California
Collection Management Initiative

As access to information in digital form has become widely accepted among
scholars and ever more promoted by publishers, research libraries are
facing new challenges in managing and preserving mixed print and electronic
collections. These new challenges include:

    * Understanding the behavior and attitudes of users that affect
acceptance of digital as a substitute for print journal publications.

    * Developing institutional strategies, policies and methods for
acquiring, storing, and archiving journals in a mixed print/digital
environment.

    * Documenting and planning for changes in demand and usage of digital
and print journals when print is located in storage.

The University of California, with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation, is addressing these challenges through the Collection
Management Initiative, a two year University systemwide research project.

 From October 2001 through September 2002, about 300 print journals, for
which electronic access and publisher data are available, have been
temporarily removed from the shelves of the nine campuses of the UC system.
These titles represent a variety of subject areas from  fifteen leading
publishers. During the course of the experiment, faculty and students will
rely on the digital versions of these titles to meet their information
needs. Persistent access to these materials will be ensured by depositing a
print version in the University's regional library storage facilities.

During the project, usage data will be gathered, and researcher experiences
and preferences will be assessed. Each of the libraries withdrawing
journals from the shelves has been paired with another library which is
leaving journals on shelves and also recording use statistics. This
strategy will provide comparative data to increase understanding of the
experimental findings.

The University will use what is learned to develop strategies, policies and
programs for the future management of library collections consisting of
both digital and print formats.

If you are interested in learning more about the project, want a list of
the publishers and titles being studied or want to follow our progress
please visit out web site http://www.ucop.edu/cmi. We hope that you find
the project of interest and welcome your comments.

 Laura Fosbender <laura.fosbender@UCOP.EDU>