Hi Karen,
We've probably converted 75-80% of our print subscriptions (or added
online access to our existing "print"). However, you're never really
able to drop your entire print collection for a variety of reasons.
There are still many publications that are not available online. We do
continue to review print subscriptions annually (and monitor online
access announcements during the course of a subscription period) and
convert our print to online at the next renewal cycle.  We also can not
convert some print titles to online only when we're unable to negotiate
a license (often cost prohibitive).  We have 5 regional campus libraries
and some licenses have a 'geographic' area clause.  In some cases a
publisher may require a subscription to the print in order to get access
to online content.  Additionally, there may be titles for which our
faculty may have a specific need for content that the publisher does not
permit a provider (often aggregator database) to digitize due to
copyright restrictions.  While some of our Special Collections titles
are accessible online (and sometimes freely accessible), our Special
Collection dept. still wants to receive the print subscriptions.  In
these cases, we retain the print but do provide online access as well.
So, with that said, we have converted as much of our print collection as
possible because this is what our faculty and students want. They want
access to content from their home, office, or dorm, 24/7.
But everything has a consequence and we've had to make trade-offs.  In
order to provide that 24/7 online access we had to shift our resources.
With fewer staff on our team (our administration believes that with a
diminishing print collection, fewer staff is needed) and a decreasing
student employee budget we could not continue to devote the
proportionate amount of staff and student resources to remaining check
in, claiming, shelving and binding.  Since we're still awaiting last
expected issues of cancelled print subscriptions we haven't truly felt
the binding process diminish  -- and who is ever 'current' with binding?
While we have stopped binding our JSTOR titles we continue to pull
issues/units, place in labeled Princeton files and shelve with bound
vols.).
We've very recently ceased checking in 80%-90% of our print
subscriptions.  We continue to use our ILS check-in components for
active subscriptions, for routing and shelving notes, but we 'froze' the
check-in function) and changed the current issue to display as
"Currently received ".  When our student employees return this fall the
emphasis will be on shelving and shelf reading to identify multi-issue
gaps and lapsed subscriptions (which will be claimed).  With open
stacks, even if we received a particular issue, we can never guarantee
that it will be on the shelf so in either case we would refer the user
to interlibrary loan because they want that article immediately, not
tomorrow or next week.
Now, more of our staff resources focus on licensing and providing access
to subscribed online content (databases and ejournals) via
SerialsSolutions and SFX link resolver.  We also have had for the past 2
years an ELibrary email inbox, monitored throughout the day by 4 staff
members, where access problems can be reported or licensing questions
(like course reserves) can be asked.

Lynn K. Cote
Serials Cataloger
Collections Services, U-2005
University of Connecticut
Homer Babbidge Library
369 Fairfield Rd.
Storrs, CT  06269-2005
ph. (860)486-6495
fax (860)486-6493
************************************
See prior ELibrary announcements at http://elibraryuconn.blogspot.com/
... and
report problems with access to electronic resources to
elibrary@uconn.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@list.uvm.edu] On Behalf Of Yacobucci, Karen
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 2:53 PM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] Libraries Moving Towards E-Only Access

Dear Serialisters,

Just out of curiosity, I am wondering how many libraries out there have
dropped their entire print collections/subscriptions and gone E-only!

I am hearing about more and more libraries following this trend and was
wondering how it has worked out for them and why they decided to make
that move.  Thanks!!  I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best,

Karen Yacobucci, MLS
Serials Librarian
New York Medical College
Health Sciences Library
95 Grasslands Road
Valhalla, NY 10595

Tel. 914.594.4213
karen_yacobucci@nymc.edu