UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 9, Page 6
October 26, 1995
Library to counter inflation effects with technology

     With double-digit inflation increasing the cost of print
journals, libraries are relying more and more on technology to bridge
the gap between access and ownership.
     Using technology, access to journal articles at locations other
than the University library is becoming easier and quicker. Acquiring
any article for a member of the campus community as soon as possible
is a library goal, and its success in meeting that goal may well
result in improved overall access to journal articles and more
effective use of the library's budget, according to Susan Brynteson,
director of libraries.
     The University of Delaware Library and other libraries across the
country are facing the renewal of journal subscriptions at price
increases of 14-15 percent overall for the 1996 subscription year, far
exceeding the rate of inflation.
     "The library," Brynteson, explained, "has been able to absorb the
smaller, through still substantial, price increases since the last
journal cancellation project was undertaken three years ago, but
despite budget increases, we have reached the limit of being able to
continue to absorb price increases, especially ones of 14-15 percent."
     As a result, the library will work with faculty during the
current academic year to identify journal titles to be canceled in the
1997 and 1998 subscription years. Since journal support is critical to
study, teaching and research, the faculty will be heavily involved in
the project.
     "The goal," Brynteson said, "will be to identify during the
current academic year enough journals that can be canceled for both
1997 and 1998. The reason for identifying this year a list of
cancellations that can be implemented over two years, is to avoid
involving faculty and library staff in a time-consuming project two
years in a row.
     "Although it is much too early to tell, we have our fingers
crossed that price increases for 1997 will be lower than current
industry projections. In that case, some of the titles that are
identified this year for cancellation in January 1998 will not need to
be canceled," she said.
     According to Brynteson, reasons for the higher rate of journal
costs include the weakness of the dollar in respect to certain foreign
currencies, the increase in the cost of paper, postal increases, the
expansion of the number of pages per issue by publishers of many
journals (with a corresponding increase in prices) and the general
raising of prices by publishers.
     The vitality of the scholarly enterprise and the production of a
proliferation of new journals have resulted in an ever increasing
supply of scholarly literature, she said.
     With regard to the exchange rate, she explained, the library
subscribes to many journals published in Europe, especially the
science/ technical/medical (STM) titles published by such commercial
publishers as Elsevier, Springer and Pergamon, for whose journals
substantial annual price increases have become a fact of life.
     The need for access to journal literature will be met by the
library in a variety of ways, Brynteson said. Faculty who need an
article from a journal to which the library does not subscribe may
request the article electronically (via EZ Forms or the World Wide
Web) and the library will obtain the article desired at no cost to the
faculty member.
     "I believe our document delivery system for the journal
literature is now superb," Brynteson said. During 1994-95, more than
42 percent of the 6,870 requests submitted by University faculty and
staff were obtained within three days.
     The library has set up trading agreements with other research
libraries in the area, including Johns Hopkins University and the
universities of Pittsburgh and Maryland, among others. Through these
arrangements, University requests for articles are given priority
treatment. Some articles are faxed, some are transmitted
electronically and some, including books, are delivered via a delivery
service or priority mail.
     "The important thing," University Provost Mel Schiavelli said,
"is that a faculty member can obtain information when it is needed,
and technology will help us do that."
     "The Faculty Senate Library Committee has considered the
question," committee chairperson Raymond Wolters, history, said. "We
are confident that the library is making a thoughtful response to a
complex problem."
     Craig Wilson, library collections, said, "Technological change in
the UD library is making substantial impact on the delivery of library
resources and services. The availability of abstracting and indexing
databases on the library gopher and World Wide Web has greatly
expanded bibliographic access to information. The library has made
major strides in obtaining items not owned."
     Brynteson will send a letter to department chairpersons in early
November to initiate faculty participation.
     "The cooperation of the faculty is critical," she said, "since
the problem of rising prices and their effect on our work is one both
library and faculty must deal with in as constructive a way as
possible. Technology offers us alternatives now that didn't exist in
the past."
     Susan Davi, library collection development, said, "We are
committed to working closely with as many faculty as possible to
ensure that we make the best-informed judgments about what to cancel
and what to purchase. We are in a transitional time for research
libraries as we change from a climate of ownership to access."