Serials Review

Little Magazine Interview Index 2012

Publication date: June 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 2
Author(s): Susan Barribeau, Barbara Richards

Serials Review

Assessing Value Through Cross-Institutional Comparisons: A Discussion of the 2012 University of North Carolina System-Wide E-Journal Survey

Publication date: June 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 2
Author(s): Virginia Bacon, Patrick L. Carr
In 2012, the University of North Carolina (UNC) system implemented an initiative to examine return-on-investment for the system libraries' e-journal collections. To help carry out the initiative, UNC libraries participated in a survey to gather, collate, and analyze data regarding e-journal expenditures and usage. This article discusses the processes and tools through which the survey was conducted and analyzes the survey's results. Within its analysis, the article reviews and critiques relevant recommendations presented in a resultant report issued by the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management. Throughout the discussion, the article provides insight into the broader opportunities and challenges of collaborating to make cross-institutional assessments of e-journal collections.

Serials Review

Serials from the Other Side: An Editorial Perspective on Current Trends in Scholarly Communication

Publication date: September 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 3
Author(s): Patricia Hudson, David Goldfield, Robert Lee Bailey, Elaine Cohen Hubal, Priscilla Wald, Doug Stewart
The panel session for the 22nd North Carolina Serials Conference brought together perspectives from current and former journal editors about their careers and changes in the publishing industry. Moderated by Patricia Hudson, David Goldfield discussed his experience with the Journal of Urban History; Elaine Hubal talked about her experience with the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology; and Priscilla Wald discussed her experience as editor of American Literature. A question and answer session followed the presentation.

Serials Review

ERM & U: Workflows in the Electronic Age: Presentation to the 88th Annual Meeting of Potomac Technical and Processing Librarians (October 12, 2012, Washington, D.C.)

Publication date: June 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 2
Author(s): Fanuel Chirombo

Serials Review

Exploring Users' Perceptions of Conventional and Unconventional Electronic Resources

Publication date: June 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 2
Author(s): Yalan Yan, Xianjin Zha, Zhiliang Xiao
This study explores and compares Chinese university library users' perceptions of conventional electronic resources inside the library and unconventional electronic resources outside the library in terms of ease of use, usefulness, and usage. Data collected from 278 library users were used for data analysis. The independent samples t test and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) present the exact nature of library users' perceptions of conventional electronic resources and unconventional electronic resources. The paired samples t test suggests that unconventional electronic resources outside the library are playing a role as a complement rather than a substitute to the conventional electronic resources inside the library. Hierarchical regression analysis indicates that both ease of use and usefulness can predict usage in the case of both conventional and unconventional electronic resources. These findings and their implications are discussed.

Serials Review

Fundamentals of Managing Reference Collections, by Carol A. Singer. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions, 2012, xii +167 p. $60.00. ISBN 9780838911532

Publication date: December 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 4
Author(s): Elizabeth Parang

Serials Review

Serials Review Publisher Change to Taylor & Francis

Publication date: December 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 4
Author(s): Maria Collins

Serials Review

Building the Global Open Knowledgebase (GOKb)

Publication date: December 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 4
Author(s): Kristen Wilson
The Global Open Knowledgebase project (GOKb) aims to facilitate the development of shared e-resources management data by developing a freely available, community-managed repository of key publication information about electronic resources as they are represented in the supply chain from content publishers to suppliers to libraries. This column will provide an overview of GOKb based on the author's experiences as a lead subject matter expert with the project, along with in-depth discussion of the GOKb data model, tools for data ingest and display, and plans for community management and sustainability.

Serials Review

Providing Alumni Access to Electronic Resources

Publication date: September 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 3
Author(s): Dianne E. Ford, Nancy J. Gibbs
University alumni are frequently surprised and dismayed to find that access to online library resources is terminated at graduation. Alumni have been vocal for years about their need for library resources as they move into the working world, and campus alumni offices are frequently eager to provide this service in order to maintain ongoing relationships with alums. Publishers are beginning to include alumni as authorized users in electronic resources contracts with models for free or paid access. Most academic libraries have not begun or are in the early stages of working with alumni offices to provide this service. This article discusses opportunities and challenges of designing and implementing successful alumni access to electronic resources.

Serials Review

Introducing SR's new Associate Editor: Jill Grogg

Publication date: June 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 2
Author(s): Maria Collins

Serials Review

“Who, What, Where, and Why”

Publication date: September 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 3
Author(s): Rachel Frick, Tessa L.H. Minchew
The North Carolina Serials Conference was very fortunate to have secured Rachel Frick for its keynote speaker for 2013. The conference was a homecoming for Frick, who is a graduate of the University of North Carolina MSLS program and is currently the Director of the Digital Library Federation Program for the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), a think tank and research organization located in Washington, D.C. The Digital Library Federation (DLF) has been in existence since 1995, its target audiences being digital library practitioners and other interested parties who are on the front-lines of teaching and learning in this specialty. In her address entitled “Who, What, Where, Why, and How,” Frick discussed some of the major initiatives and issues currently occurring within and around librarianship, exploring the effect that these large scale initiatives can, and should, have at the local level. She can be reached at her Twitter feed, @rlfrick.

Serials Review

132nd American Library Association Annual Conference: “Transforming Our Libraries, Ourselves”

Publication date: December 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 4
Author(s): Vickie Toranzo

Serials Review

Reviews

Publication date: September 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 3
Author(s): Stephanie Rosenblatt

Serials Review

Management of Electronic Serials in Academic Libraries: The Results of an Online Survey

Publication date: December 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 4
Author(s): Beth A. Branscome
This article presents the results of an online survey of academic librarians conducted in 2011 on the topic of electronic serials management. Since online journals had by 2011 become a major part of academic library serials collections, a central objective of this survey was to explore whether this had led to any degree of standardization in online serials management procedures across academic libraries. The focus of the survey was generally on issues affecting technical services, specifically exploring the impact of electronic serials on collection development, library staffing, and serials management tools. The responses to the survey did not reflect any significant level of uniformity among these libraries in any of these areas, suggesting that libraries primarily take into account the needs of their own institutions when formulating procedures for managing online serials.

Serials Review

RDA Training and Implementation at the University of Chicago: An Interview with Christopher Cronin

Publication date: June 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 2
Author(s): Eric Hanson, Bonnie Parks
In December 2012, Eric Hanson interviewed Christopher Cronin, director of technical services at the University of Chicago, about their participation as an RDA test partner and issues surrounding RDA training and implementation.

Serials Review

Communities of Knowledge: Creating and Connecting Resource Metadata

Publication date: September 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 3
Author(s): Yvette B. Diven
A growing number of academic libraries and consortia are developing their own e-resource knowledge bases. The structure, format, and ultimate goals of their projects vary. If they are successful, these community-driven knowledge bases have the potential to make a positive impact on e-resource management and discovery. A situation analysis of the current state of affairs considers the problems these new communities of knowledge are attempting to solve, compares the scope and approaches of selected projects, suggests opportunities for connectivity across communities, and outlines challenges to their success. This article is the outgrowth of a 2013 North Carolina Serials Conference discussion.

Serials Review

An economic analysis of the “Korean Electronic Site Licensing Initiative” (KESLI) consortium

Publication date: December 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 4
Author(s): Young Man Ko, Wonsik Shim, Soon-Hee Pyo, Ji Sang Chang, Hye Kyung Chung, Jeong Hwan Kim
Libraries have a long history of cooperative purchasing. In many countries libraries have turned to national consortia in order to create efficiencies and strengthen academic libraries' buying power, resulting in enhanced service for their end users. At the same time, there is increasing need to quantify the value these consortia provide. This article measures the economic value of aggregating and integrating electronic scholarly materials through the Korean Electronic Site Licensing Initiative (KESLI). To address the benefits, the sum of the benefits recognized by its end users and participating institutions of KESLI were assessed. The economic benefit of end users was measured through the time saved by using KESLI over its alternatives. The economic value of the participating institutions was measured in two ways, namely, the amount of time end users saved by using KESLI provided content and the amount of subscription costs saved by participating institutions switching to KESLI. Data was collected in two ways including 1202 valid responses from a sampling frame consisting of 27,607 KESLI end users by email survey and 50 responses by institutional members from 358 participating institutions by telephone survey. The amount of time saved was converted to a monetary value relative to the job status of end users and institutional staffs. To arrive at the overall cost of KESLI, KESLI personnel costs, subscription subsidies, and system development and maintenance costs were applied. The benefit to cost ratio (B/C ratio) was measured at 68.99.

Serials Review

E-books in Academic Libraries: Challenges for Discovery and Access

Publication date: June 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 2
Author(s): William H. Walters
This paper examines the recent literature on the presentation of e-books in college and university libraries, focusing on three mechanisms for discovery and access: e-book vendors' interfaces, library catalogs (OPACs), and resource discovery tools (RDTs). If libraries rely on vendors' interfaces, patrons must search on multiple platforms, many of which have limited and idiosyncratic search mechanisms. The most common strategy for discovery and access—including e-books in the library catalog—brings its own set of challenges, including limited availability of records, lack of standardization, difficulties managing the addition and removal of titles, and the generally low quality of vendor-supplied records. Likewise, libraries that use resource discovery tools face another set of difficulties: incomplete coverage, reliance on metadata from external sources, problems with subject headings and authority control, difficulties with guest-user access, and continuing dependence on vendors' platforms for access to full text.

Serials Review

Reviews

Publication date: September 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 3
Author(s): Adolfo G. Prieto

Serials Review

OVGTSL 2013 Conference, “Meeting Challenges, Leading Change”

Publication date: December 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 4
Author(s): Kate Seago

Serials Review

Reports of Conferences, Institutes, and Seminars

Publication date: June 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 2
Author(s): Fanuel Chirombo, Chris Bulock, Selina Lin, Kurt Blythe
This quarter's column features a report from the 88th Annual Meeting of the Potomac Technical and Processing Librarians, held October 12, 2012 in Washington, D.C.; the XXXII Annual Charleston Conference, held November 7–10, 2012 in Charleston, SC; and, the ALCTS Continuing Resources Section Holdings Information Committee/Continuing Resource Section Cataloging Committee Joint Forum, held January 26 in Seattle, WA at the 2013 ALA Midwinter Meeting.

Serials Review

Rethinking Information Literacy: A Practical Framework for Supporting Learning, edited by Jane Secker and Emma Coonan. London: Facet Publishing, 2013. 169 p. $95.00. ISBN: 978-1-85604-822-4

Publication date: December 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 4
Author(s): Trina Nolen

Serials Review

Impact of Journal Cancellations on Interlibrary Loan Demand

Publication date: September 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 3
Author(s): Kristin Calvert, Rachel Fleming, Katherine Hill
Rachel Fleming and Kristin Calvert of Western Carolina University discuss their study of interlibrary loan borrowing requests in the three years surrounding a journal cancellation project. Noting that the impact of such a cancellation on interlibrary loan has not been studied since the 1990s, they examine numerous facets of requests for cancelled and non-cancelled journals, including request per journal, year of article requested, and request history for newly cancelled journals. Though journal cancellations resulted in a 2 percent increase in interlibrary loan requests, this number proved so small that Calvert and Fleming judged that their cancellations caused no undue effects.

Serials Review

MOOCs and Serials

Publication date: December 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 4
Author(s): Paul Bond, Faye Leibowitz
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are becoming increasingly common (and controversial) as platforms for course delivery. Paul Bond shares his insights on MOOCs from the perspectives of class participant and librarian.

Serials Review

Theses Submitted by Doctoral Students of Physical Research Laboratory, India: A Citation Analysis

Publication date: June 2013
Source:Serials Review, Volume 39, Issue 2
Author(s): Nishtha Anilkumar, Shyama Rajaram
The most reliable way to know the contribution of research to the world knowledgebase is through publication and citation data. The research papers and doctoral theses are the instruments through which results of the research are communicated to the outside world. Both these scholarly publications conclude with the list of references. The study of these references (citations) gives an idea about the development of any research topic or a researcher and also indicates the kind of literature referred by the researchers. In today's world of ever escalating cost of serials, citation analysis is also being used to determine which titles to purchase and which ones to discontinue.The present study aims to better understand and manage the library resources by examining the resources used (cited) by the doctoral students of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) during 1997–2006.It was found that electronic format was preferred to the printed format from 2001 through 2006. Journal articles are used (cited) the most, followed by books and other documents like proceedings and reports. With more and more availability of online resources, use of non-subscribed content was also on the rise from 1997 through 2006. This study also confirms the Bradford's law that a set of core journals in a subject field satisfy more than 50% of the total number of journal citations.