E-Only Resources |
Frequently Asked Questions on Moving to E-only Journal Access
- Why are the Libraries doing this?
- How can I tell which titles are affected?
- How do I access these titles online?
- What issues did the Libraries consider in making this move?
- How are the Libraries ensuring long term access to electronic issues of journals?
- How do the online editions compare to the print editions of these titles?
- What portion of the collections is affected by this change?
Why are the Libraries doing this?
Increasingly, electronic versions of journals are available either as alternatives to paper or as enhanced forms of titles simultaneously offered in print format. Some journals are now only available in electronic format and a majority of journals in UM's collections have an electronic version. As electronic formats become acceptable or even attractive alternatives to print formats, the Libraries are working to identify situations where it is no longer advantageous to maintain both print and electronic formats of journal subscriptions.
Increasingly publishers are explicitly offering incentives to libraries to collect the electronic format exclusively or imposing new fees to maintain subscriptions in both formats. The need to offer the greatest service possible with limited collections resources forces collection managers to consider carefully when the costs of acquiring print journals, either in preference to electronic access or in addition to electronic access are justified.
The costs of maintaining existing collections continue to rise while many new initiatives on campus increase the need for new resources. In this environment, the Libraries have to consider carefully whether denial of new requests or outright cuts in our existing collections can be justified to maintain print access where electronic access is available and savings from cancellation of print duplication are possible. Particularly where publishers have created strong archiving plans and complete electronic equivalents of print editions, print cancellation is justified.
The first e-only subscriptions to journals began in 2004. The Libraries have found that this transition worked quite smoothly. Some collection cuts were avoided and a few new resources were acquired. Again for 2005, several publishers are announcing new pricing for their journals that will require either conversion to electronic-only subscriptions or new payments to maintain past access levels. After reviewing publisher archiving plans, twenty-nine publishers were identified as appropriate for migration to e-only subscriptions in 2005. The modest savings generated in a few cases will likely balance the new costs imposed in others. This will prevent the need to cut collections to maintain last year's access levels to the electronic journal collection as a whole.
How can I tell which titles are affected?
Beginning in January 2004, approximately 600 titles from four pubishers moved to e-only access. In January 2005, another 1100 titles will move as well. Occasionally, a few journals produced by a publisher are available only in print format, even when the publisher produces many other journals electronically. The Libraries will continue to renew these individual subscriptions in paper as long as electronic access is unavailable. The Catalog lists all of our journal subscriptions, whether print or electronic, and all e-journal titles are also listed in Research Port.
The Libraries will retain all paper issues already in the collections. As the last paper issues come in they will be received and bound so the switch over will seem gradual. Please check with library staff in the various current periodical areas if you are looking for a paper issue and believe it may be affected by this changeover.
How do I access these titles online?
The easiest way to access any of the Libraries' electronic journals is to go to Research Port (http://researchport.umd.edu/e-journals). The Libraries maintain a list of all active electronic subscriptions, as well as a list of Electronic Journal FAQ's which includes detailed information on accessing e-journals from on and off campus.
What issues did the Libraries consider in making this move?
The Libraries have a policy for evaluating the decision to move to electronic-only access for journals. The policy is available at http://www.lib.umd.edu/CLMD/e-verpol.html. The main issues that are considered are the comparability of the content in print and electronic versions, archiving plans and commitment of the publisher, the quality of access, and the terms of the licenses.
All of the publishers already converted or being converted to e-only access have been providing the Libraries with access to electronic versions of our subscriptions for several years. They have consistently provided reliable service, records of campus usage of the titles, and linking capabilities allowing the Libraries to provide access to articles through the Find It!(SFX) service. Find It! links records in indexing and abstracting databases to individual articles in e-journal subscriptions maintained by the Libraries.
How are the Libraries ensuring long term access to electronic issues of journals?
The Libraries would not have considered relying on only electronic access without first ensuring that a publisher has a strong archiving program in place. All of the publishers already converted or being converted to e-only access.
- have made arrangements to guarantee ongoing access to back issues if the Libraries cancel a subscription in the future,
- have backup servers to provide ongoing access if there is a failure of their main server,
- and have archives on deposit with third parties to ensure that content will remain available in the event of the demise of the publisher.
Each publisher's archiving arrangements are detailed in the licenses governing campus access to the journal titles.
How do the online editions compare to the print editions of these titles?
The Libraries have reviewed each publisher's approach to electronic publishing in comparison with their paper publications. In most cases both PDFs and HTML versions of articles are published online. At a minimum PDFs are provided. In many cases, publishers converted to e-only publish online issues in advance of print and in many cases articles are available online well in advance of the compilation of the full issue. Thus the online article is available long before the receipt of print publications. All of the content of the paper edition with the exception of advertising (when that occurs) is available online. Many publishers also offer a free table of contents notification service. When a new issue is published, you can be notified immediately via email and review the issue from your desktop.
What portion of the collections is affected by this change?
The more than 1,700 titles supplied by the various publishers account for roughly 30% of the Libraries� 6,000+ journal subscriptions paid for each year. The publishers service a variety of disciplines, so that all Library facilities and subject areas will have some subscriptions e-only.
Despite this move to e-only with many journals, another one third of our subscriptions are still available only in print format, while the final third have both print and electronic access. These subscriptions will continue until the e-only criteria area met. The number of titles available in the different format combinations is now much closer to parity than last year. At the completion of the 2004 migration, only about 10% of our titles had been moved e-only. While 2005 may represent the largest single migration in a single year, it is clear that technology and pricing will continue to affect our subscription format for years to come.
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