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Journals and Database Subscriptions - FY09 Planning
The Libraries expect to spend upwards of $5.2 million on print and electronic journals in FY08, and upwards of $1.6 million on databases (full-text resources as well as indexing and abstracting services). Unfortunately, inflation in library materials, particularly in journals, has greatly eroded our capacity for maintaining our journal collections. We anticipate that journal prices will continue to increase at a rate of 7-9% per year in the near future and databases at 5% per year.
As a result of this inflation, we project a $700,000 shortfall in FY09 if our budget were flat and if we were to renew all of our current journal and database subscriptions. Should the Libraries fail to receive an increase to the acquisitions budget of at least this magnitude we will be forced to assess once again our journal and database holdings to identify potential cancellations.
Although we will be adjusting our projections as the fiscal year unfolds, in the spring the Libraries will be pursuing strategies designed to identify places where efficiencies can minimize the cancellations required, and to set a solid base for the difficult decisions to cancel subscriptions.
First, as more and more indexing, abstracting and full text journal databases have entered the market, our database subscriptions may in some measure have become duplicative. The Libraries will undertake overlap studies to identify those databases that do not offer sufficient unique content to warrant renewal. Factors such as price, the presence (or absence) of search features, linking with other resources, use data, ease of use and similar criteria will also be taken into consideration once the degree of overlap has been identified.
Second, as in both FY07 and FY08, the Libraries will begin a process of identifying lowest priority subscriptions for meeting our deficit. In doing so, we will include faculty input gathered in the Serials Review process, last conducted in FY06. Librarians will also be working with their departments this spring to refine or update these lists and to consult on adjustments to the menu of titles under the stewardship of each department.
Third, in FY07 the Libraries conducted an extensive review of database subscriptions. Those resources identified among the lowest priorities may not be renewed. Additionally, as we receive FY09 price quotes from vendors over the course of the next few months, any price increase greater than 5% will trigger a re-evaluation. Where the number of simultaneous users can be scaled back or when the vendor can be changed to realize price savings without inconvenience to researchers, adjustments will be made.
Additionally, although the Libraries will maintain a Supporting Membership in BioMed Central so that UM authors will receive a 15% discount on article processing fees, the Libraries can no longer pay the full fees for UM authors. The Libraries will also continue institutional open access memberships in Nucleic Acids Research, PLoS and PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
Finally, although this potential strategy will not be implemented for FY09, the Libraries will undertake to study the use, price history and cost per use of journals from the publishers Elsevier and Wiley-Blackwell. The Libraries will explore the “pay-per-view” (PPV) options that these publishers offer: for some journal titles PPV may be more cost-effective than subscriptions. The Libraries would pay the per article fees on behalf of authorized UM users. Further study is required to determine the feasibility, desirability and options for the implementation of this alternative.
