USING CITATION ANALYSIS AS A COLLECTION MANAGEMENT TOOL AT VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY A POSTER SESSION ASEE JUNE 2003 IBIRONKE O. LAWAL

WHAT IS THE STORY? 1. STATE BUDGET CRISIS 2. VCU LIBRARIES HAVE TO CUT THEIR MATERIALS BUDGET 3. SERIALS HAVE TO GO

No accurate user statistics for print publications. Vendor produced user statistics for electronic publications are not reliable. Reasons For this Study

Methodology Using Web of Science, cited references within publications of Faculty in the following VCU departments were analyzed: Biomedical, Chemical, Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Computer Science Mathematics Statistics and Operations Research Physics Chemistry

Period covered Conference papers – not covered. Books not covered. COVERAGE

Results of citation analysis Total number of articles analyzed = 609 Total Number of journals cited=723

Analysis of Data Based on cited frequency, four tiers were identified: Tier 1 - Cited more than 100 times- 26 titles Tier 2- Cited more than 50 Times -26 titles Tier 3 – Cited More than 10 times -157 titles Tier 4 – Cited less than 10 times -514 titles

Tier 1 – over 100 Times - 26 titles Tier 2-Over 50 Times -26 titles Tier 3 – Over 10 Times- 157 titles Tier 4 – Less than 10 Times -514 titles

Tier 1 Journals

80% of the Tier 1 Journals Owned

Tier 2 Journals

76% of Tier 2 Journals owned

Tier 3 – Journals cited more than 10 but less than 50 times

61.15 % of Tier 3 journals owned

Tier 4 – Journals cited less than 10 times

44.04% of Tier 4 journals owned

VARIABLES The Engineering School is young Even though this study covered ten years worth of citation activity, not all faculty were employed at VCU for that length of time Use of Journals bound by circumstances at previous employments Use of Journals bound by previous or current research activities Collaboration with colleagues outside VCU

Collections Management Decisions Subscribe to Tier 1 journals that are not owned Do not cancel any title from Tier 1 Do not cancel Society Packages Do not cancel Consortium Purchases Cancel first from Tier 4, then if necessary from Tier 3. Since over 70% of the journals are in tier 4, we can begin to wean ourselves from signing on to the ‘big deal’.

Other Points to consider in making cancellation decisions. Cross Disciplinary Journals should be protected Undergraduate coverage

Conclusions In lieu of user statistics, citation analysis is an effective tool for the management of serials collections. The data produced from the study can assist in many collection management decisions, some of which are: Identifying titles for cancellation projects Identifying titles for possible future acquisitions In addition, it gives detailed information on current research activities of faculty in the various departments.