Our library has conducted a review of serials assigned to academic
departments on a three-year cycle for some time. During this round we
plan to offer an incentive to departments by giving back a portion of
the cost of cancelled titles to be used for new subscriptions.

Faculty retirements and the resulting changes in teaching and research
directions stimulated by new faculty make the policy of tying new
subscriptions to cancellations attractive.

My review of the literature found numerous articles on methods to
identify serials for cancellation, but I found no reference to the
use of incentives in the process. I would appreciate citations of
any articles I missed, and hearing from libraries who routinely
give back a percentage of the cost of cancelled titles for new
subscriptions.

Keith Stetson
Collection Development Librarian
Fairfield University Library