Why not make use of Web of Science to examine what your faculty
have been citing, have your inter-library loan staff generate lists of
which titles have been requested, examine your file of pending
subscription requests to be considered, and have a look at your domestic
use statistics and your vendors' COUNTER-compliant ones?
        Many academic disciplines (e.g. psychology, geography,
anthropology, political science, sociology) are quite heterogeneous and
there are bound to be subdisciplines not taught and not an object of
research at your institution.
        The faculty are busy with other things.  The salient data about
prices and use are not in their possession unless you send them. Their
intradisciplinary expertise does not provide them with tools any better
than those you might come up with for the task of allocating funds
BETWEEN disciplines.  They have other fish to fry and many (or perhaps
most) are likely to give you rather off-hand answers.
        For my own part, I cannot see the point of buying material just
for atmosphere, or in service of an abstract notion of "essential
legitimacy".  It takes resources away from the task of serving your real
flesh-and-blood constituency (in their intellectual development).  IW

Ian Woodward
Serials Office
Colgate University Libraries
Hamilton, NY  13346
Tel: 315-228-7306
Fax: 315-228-7934

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Lash, Metta
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2005 10:24 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] establishing core collection list of periodicals
by subject

Mark,
I have just begun the same process and found the article, "Defining an
Undergraduate Core Journal Collection" by Janice Steed Lewis and John D.
McDonald from Serials Librarian v.43, iss.1 (2002), to be very helpful.
(their core list can be found at http://library.caltech.edu/john/ug.htm
and downloaded as an Access database).

If you get responses about this from others I was hoping you could
either share them with the list if others are interested or perhaps
forward them to me.

Thanks a lot,
Metta Lash
Periodicals Librarian
Montgomery College, Rockville Campus
(301)251-7126
metta.lash@montgomerycollege.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Mark L. Ferguson
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2005 9:45 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] establishing core collection list of periodicals by
subject

Dear Serials listers:

Our library is embarking on an effort to establish a core collection
list of periodicals for each academic department.  These would be titles
that each academic department determines are essential to its standing
as a legitimate academic program.  I was wondering if there are other
libraries out there who have already done this and if so what resources
you drew upon to compile such lists.  Katz, Magazine for libraries would
be an obvious source, but are there others?  Is there anyone out there
who has done this and would be willing to share those core collection
lists with others?

This kind of information could be very useful, I would imagine, to a
number of libraries, and I could use all the help I can get in
undertaking this task.  You may want to direct your response to the
listserv rather than just to me for any other interested parties out
there listening.

Mark Ferguson, Periodicals Librarian, College of Saint Elizabeth