A committee at my college is currently in the process of envisioning our
library for the next 20 years. As part of this process, I'm working on
projecting shelving needs for periodicals.

I'll report 3 scenarios:
1. Needs if current print subscriptions are maintained for 20 years,
2. Cuts & weeding that would be necessary to maintain zero growth,
3. Shelving needs if subscriptions progressively move to online only.

Scenario 3 is the most likely course of action, but estimating the rate
of conversion to online only requires some crystal ball gazing. To that
end, I'm interested in the best guesses of SERIASTers on two points:

At what rate will your library cancel print subscriptions in lieu of
online only access?

What portion of your periodicals collection will still arrive in print
in 2026?

Please take it as a given that myriad uncertainties make the decisions
very complex, so answers are speculative. Therefore answers of "it
depends" shall be fined ten dollars, payable to the offender's favorite
charity ;).

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