We do not have a blanket policy. We have been reviewing each title or group
of titles separately in consultation with faculty. For example, if a
journal package becomes available electronically we will compare the costs
of print vs. electronic, and survey faculty in the relevant subject area to
see if they are willing to switch and whether they want us to retain the
print backfiles. And just as Tian Zhang wrote, we also distinguish between
"journal collections" with title browse functions and complete coverage vs.
"full text databases" such as Lexis Nexis or the Gale Infotrac databases.
We do not try to cancel titles in those.

Yes this is time-consuming but we are a small college and we rely heavily
on our faculty to help determine the needs for resources. We want them to
be involved in decisions about how we spend our money, and having them as
participants and advocates helps us when it comes time for the
administration to make budget allocations.

Pat Thompson

Patricia Thompson
Assistant University Librarian for Resource Management Services
Jesse Ball duPont Library
University of the South
735 University Ave.
Sewanee, TN 37383
931-598-1657
pthompso@sewanee.edu
http://library.sewanee.edu/