Date: Tue, 10 Oct 1995 11:35:51 -0400
From: Diana Marshall <marshd@SAGE.EDU>
Subject: Re: Serials review & cancellation projects--request for info.

On Fri, 6 Oct 1995, Matara Gunapala wrote:

> We are in the process of reviewing the serials collection in our Library. Our
> aim is cancel subscriptions to duplicate subscriptions across campuses as
> much as possible and to cancel subscriptions to low used serials and place
> orders for more useful titles. There are many libraries who have
> undergone this process and I'd appreciate very much if you could let me
> know your ideas or experience regarding the following for the moment:
>
> 1) What methods can we use for surveying the usage of bound, unbound and
current serials in the library?
    We, at the Sage Colleges libraries, keep daily usage statistics on
journal usage.  We ask students not to reshelve the journals that they
use.  Student Library workers reshelve the journals after logging them
into a notebook.  We have been keeping statistics for eons.  Maybe a
month of keeping daily stats during peak time would due for you.  Or, if you
have more time, keep more stats on a regular basis.
If you want more information on this process, let me know.

> 2) How useful is using document delivery data for selecting new titles for
> subscription? Any other methods to select more useful serial titles?
> I don't have experience with document delivery.

> 3) How should we go about getting the support of the teaching staff of the
> university for this process?
> I don't have first hand experience with dealing with faculty and
  support for getting library materials.  However, I can tell you that
each department has a budget within which they must stay.  This allows
the departments to get materials in the library pertinent to their
subject area.  If they go over budget, they would decide what
subscription they can cancel in order to replace it with another title.
Some departments need to retain certain journals to meet accreditation
requirements, so those rarely get cancelled.  I also understand that it
is very difficult to get faculty to agree to cancel anything!

  Hope this was of some help.  Let me know if I can be of more help to you.

> I'd appreciate very much if you'd reply to me direct.
>
>
> Matara A. Gunapala
> Library, Victoria University of Technology, Australia.
>
> (email to: mgunapala@vut.edu.au)
>
>