Managing Serials in an Electronic World the Stirling Experience Sonia Wilson University of Stirling Library 19 October 2004

University of Stirling The campus-based University of Stirling founded 1967 Other campuses – Highland (in Inverness) –Western Isles (in Stornoway) 9,000 students –7,000 undergraduates –2,000 postgraduate 70 nationalities represented on-campus

Information Services Library Serials collections – 2,000 current print titles, 7,000+ ejournals Budget for 2004 is c£537,000 Serials staff –1 information officer (cataloguing and electronic journals) –4 assistants (invoices, acquisitions of books serials and collection management)

Importance of serials Rapid communication of scholarly research Journal articles are the source of up-to-date research information Research income is crucial for their future development Competition for the limited research funding is fierce

Different types of serial Academic or scholarly journal, published by learned societies or academic and commercial publishers Newspapers and weekly periodicals and magazines Official serials and legal series (legislation and law reports) Annual reports Conference proceedings Statistical series Integrating resources (eg looseleaf publications)

Collection development Support undergraduate and postgraduate research Mixed holdings and access strategy Subscriptions reviewed by staff annually This may result in substitution or cancellation Substitution of print for electronic Considerations - ease of access and support requirements Academic staff consulted – demonstrations arranged

Collection management – Subscription agents Traditional subscription management tasks Subscription management databases Access to up-to-date journal and price information Clear detailed invoices to customer requirements Renewals and cancellations of subscriptions Respond effectively to missing issue claims Back issues of journals Discounts for consortium customers

Collection management – Cataloguing Serials – previously the Cinderella of the Library world Library catalogue – holdings of both print and electronic serials Cataloguing issues: –Volume –Volatility –Multiple URLs –Access rights Cataloguing practice constantly evolving

Collection management – Serials administration Library Management System Serials changes – bibliographic, frequency etc Management information –Statistics –Periodical listings etc Binding Further automation and interaction with other University systems

Collection management – Stock Move to Stores CASS Disposal of stock

Exploiting the serials collection Library catalogue Library web pages and newsletter Current issue display User guides Publicity events and information skills training

Financial management Target funding for Information provision Departmental allocations Price increases, inflation and VAT Financial reporting – monitoring expenditure Payments – prepayment scheme or regular invoicing, invoice authorisation, purchasing cards

Managing electronic journals Time of Transition – access to information Access to e-journals in a number of ways – do we catalogue everything Resource pages on the web Serials Solutions E-journal gateway Updating the LMS Methodologies for controlling access Financial aspects Legal aspects

Archiving of ejournals Perpetual access? Publishers – licence agreement terms to check –Continuing access after termination of contract –Continuing access if the publisher ceases to operate –Time limits on securing archival copy –Maintenance fees for continuing access to subscribed content Ejournals aggregators - OCLC negotiated permanent archival access to subscribed content for customers Digital preservation crucial

Open Access Publishing – the future? E-print archives Local digital repository for theses and research dissertations Local E-print repository

Thank you Stirling University Library Sonia Wilson, Information Officer (Bibliographic Services)