In relation to this thread, has anyone developed a written policy of how the Core journals are determined for your institution? I am in the process of developing some policies for our periodicals and electronic databases and this would be helpful.

Thanks,
M. Lou Nesson
Librarian, Periodicals & Electronic Databases
Massasoit Community College
One Massasoit Blvd.
Brockton, MA 02302-3996
508-588-9100 X1932
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-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU]On Behalf Of STEVE
BLACK@FACULTY@ACADEMICAFFAIRS
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 10:15 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Core Journals

  I've used a combination of impact factors from Journal Citation
Reports, designations as "basic" from Magazines for Libraries, local use
data, and faculty rankings (scale of essential, needed, optional) to
create ranked lists of titles in each discipline represented at my
college. It's helpful, but is no silver bullet.

  I would recommend making a ranked list for each discipline, but be
flexible about where the cutoff is between what is core and what is not.
What constitutes a core changes over time for many reasons, including
changes in:
   journals (editors, focus, publisher, on schedule, etc.)
   academic programs
   Faculty with particular interests coming and going
   Availability in full text, and reliability of access

  Faculty can be accepting if they are aware of the need for the ranking
process. It's important to give them the opportunity for input, so I'd
highly recommend including some kind of faculty ranking. Expect a low
response rate, though. Include other criteria in your rankings so
students of faculty who don't bother to respond don't get screwed. And
make it clear that you're talking about the print collection, so faculty
know that the title may still be available online [if indeed that's what
you mean].

  The big picture is the question, "What do I want my print serials
collection to be in the future?" It's really tough, because none of us
know how completely scholarly journals will migrate to online-only. But
I think the right approach to defining a core is to focus on the
long-term value of each print serial.

Steve Black
Reference, Serials, and Instruction Librarian
The College of Saint Rose
392 Western Avenue
Albany, NY 12203-1419
blacks@strose.edu
(518)458-5494
-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Lois Schultz
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 8:33 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] Core Journals

Hi,

We are trying to determine a core list of journals for our collection.
These would be journals that we would not cut in times of budget cuts.
Has anyone developed a core list?  If so, I am interested in what
criteria was used in selecting the titles, how it was accepted by the
teaching faculty, and how well  it is working?  Thanks for any insights
provided.

Lois Schultz
Professor and Head of Technical Services
263 Steely Library
Northern Kentucky University
Highland Heights, KY 41099
mail toschultz@nku.edu
(859)572-5275