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This is a preprint of an article whose final and definitive form has been published in The Serials
Review 2015. Serials Review is available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/
DOI:
10.1080/00987913.2015.1035579
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Abstract
This paper discusses workflows involved with contributing print journal back runs to scanning
and storage efforts. The purpose of these efforts was to alleviate space problems in a library by
consolidating stacks which were formerly used to house runs of bound journals. This article
contributes to the literature on serials withdrawal projects by demonstrating database designs
for tracking contributions made to cooperative storage facilities as well as highlighting an
innovative solution for tracking the required linear feet for housing bound print collections.
Keywords: Print journals withdrawals, Cooperative Storage in Libraries,
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Introduction & Background
Many academic libraries face shortages of space to house their large print collections and
one common solution to this problem is to withdraw print journal collections where online
equivalents exist. However, while these withdrawal projects have become fairly common,
methods and tools used for determining the space needs for bound journal collections as well as
efficiently contributing to cooperative print preservation efforts are still under development. The
purpose of this paper is to describe workflows involved in contributing journal volumes to
cooperative storage efforts during major print withdrawal projects and demonstrate a novel
method used for determining the space needs of large bound journal collection.
As print journal withdrawal projects were undertaken by the author, two issues became
apparent. First, throughout these withdrawal projects the collection comparison tools provided
by the regional storage trust were crucial to efficiently providing missing issues to designated
holders of complete journal runs. Second, the in-house measuring of bound journal runs was
useful in determining current space needs for journals. By providing simple tools that libraries
can use to determine whether journal volumes might be needed to fill in gaps in cooperative
preservation projects, this paper can guide libraries to take part in those projects in an efficient
manner. Further, since the sizes of runs may vary between libraries, the measurements database
tool described here can also provide libraries with a sample method for gauging their space needs
for their journal collections.
Literature Review
Many authors have discussed projects to withdraw print collections in favor of stable
online availability. Kaplan & Steinberg (2006) noted the drop off in medical journal citations
after 15 years of publication and surmised that removing older journals from the collection could
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be undertaken without a significant loss of service to medical library patrons. Schonfeld (2009)
described the criteria that could be used to withdraw print journals in academic library
collections, noting that journals where online surrogates included all of the images, tables and
figures of their print counterparts could be withdrawn without a decline in service to patrons.
Courant and Nielsen (2010) provided a cost analysis for storing print books in perpetuity,
arguing that off-site storage for many materials would prove more cost-effective than housing
volumes at university campuses.
Following on these analyses, librarians began to implement withdrawal efforts as well as
cooperative storage efforts to alleviate space issues (Bracke and Martin, 2005; Gallagher and
Rathemacher, 2009; Sorenson, 2009; Cooper & Norris, 2007). By 2014, the Center For
Research Libraries (CRL) had developed a web portal listing 31 cooperative archiving programs
for traditional print media (Center for Research Libraries, 2014).
A number of articles have also been written concerning in-house techniques for managing
major withdrawal projects. When it became apparent that the library did not have room for study
space and future growth, Gallagher and Rathemacher (2009) discussed their work in running an
overlap analyses between Millennium (print holdings) and Serials Solutions (online journal
access) to generate lists of print holdings to be withdrawn. Ruschoff (2012) discussed the
importance of quickly determining what to do with journals and attempting to be “green”
whenever possible (by recycling and reusing materials whenever possible). Sorenson (2009)
discussed an in-house toolkit for managing withdrawal projects with the goal of withdrawing
5km of space to move a print collection to an off-site facility. All of these articles point to a
trend wherein print holdings are seen as representing valuable space that needs to be accounted
for.
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Serials withdrawal projects have their own special considerations. Stambaugh (2013)
noted the variation in space savings yielded when withdrawing monographs versus withdrawing
serials. Withdrawing one serial title could clear 100 feet of shelves while most monographs
would clear out only about 2 inches each. Further, Sorenson (2009) noted that single journal
titles could be split up between various locations, with different volumes housed in different
buildings. This kind of shelving situation may have been a needed arrangement for the short
term but is definitely not conducive to efficient access in the long run.
The trends in the literature indicate that libraries are increasingly seeking to simplify
library stacks while preserving print in a cooperative manner.
Case Study: Withdrawal Projects and Cooperative Preservation
San Diego State University (SDSU) is the oldest and largest university in the San Diego
region. Since its inception in 1898, the university has grown to include high research activity
and a student body consisting of 28,000 Full Time Equivalents (FTE) in the spring of 2015. The
journals collection contains roughly 150,000 bound volumes. As the library’s print journals
collection grew in size over the course of the 20th century, the stacks were divided up by date.
Journals published prior to 1986 were housed on the fifth floor and a compact shelving storage
room, and journals published after 1986 were housed on the first floor of the library, separate
from the monographs. Since the journal collection predated computer systems, the individual
journal volumes were not given item records until 2001. Newly-bound journal volumes were
only given item records systematically after 2002, which meant that there was a large backlog of
journals on the shelf with no corresponding item record in the system. Hence, the library only
has an estimate of the number of journal volumes based on historical data and additions and
subtractions over time.
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In 2009, the library began contributing journal volumes to JSTOR’s digital archives. By
2010 the library had joined the Western Regional Storage Trust (WEST), and by 2012 the library
had begun the process of withdrawing physical journal duplicated in selected online formats.
Throughout the major withdrawal projects, collection analysis tools provided by WEST were
used to allow the library to contribute to the preservation of the scholarly record while freeing up
much-needed space. At the same time, shelf measurements for bound journals were tracked to
assist with possible reorganizations in the future.
Part 1: Withdrawal Projects
In 2012, the SDSU library initiated its first major print journals weeding project to
remove journals duplicated in the JSTOR Arts & Sciences Archive Collections I-VI. As of
2015, withdrawal projects have been undertaken to remove journals duplicated in Elsevier
backfiles, JSTOR Arts & Sciences VII-XIII, ACS Legacy Collection, Springer backfiles, and
PubMed Central. These withdrawal projects have consisted of 44,970 volumes residing on 7,283
feet of shelf space.
All of these projects took place with a defined sequence of events. First, SDSU library
staff ran an overlap analysis between print holdings and online journal packages. Then, subject
specialists reviewed the lists to make a determination on whether to withdraw each journal.
Finally, journal holdings were removed from the systems used at SDSU to provide access
(Serials Solutions, Sierra, OCLC) and the journal volumes not needed by either JSTOR or WEST
were removed from the shelves. To complete these withdrawal projects while also honoring the
library’s commitment to preserving the scholarly record, a total of 1,891 volumes were
transferred from SDSU to both WEST Archive Builders and JSTOR.
Sending Journals to JSTOR
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Prior to all of these withdrawal projects, in April of 2009 the library began sending
journals to JSTOR for inclusion in their digital archives. At that time, JSTOR kept a list of
journal issues missing from their archives and libraries were free to send any missing volumes
that were needed. The author reviewed the volume lists and sent journal volumes to JSTOR to
be scanned wherever possible. Over the course of five years this project grew to over 700
journal volumes. Some of the volumes were returned to the library while others we kept by
JSTOR as donations, depending on the preference of the respective subject librarians.
Because this relationship had been established with JSTOR, when it came time to
withdraw journals, JSTOR had the opportunity to request the issues to be withdrawn as
donations. The author sent a list of the titles to be withdrawn and worked with staff at JSTOR to
determine which issues should be sent to their print archives. Issues were either sent to JSTOR’s
“West Coast Archive” (near UCLA) or “East Coast Archive” (in the Harvard Depository).
Sending Journals to WEST
It is the mission of the Western Regional Storage Trust (WEST) to create a shared
archive of print journals (California Digital Library 2014). The central WEST offices have
tasked certain libraries (deemed “Archive Builders” and “Archive Holders”) to build and retain
full runs journals of certain journals for a period of time, and WEST staff have developed
workflows to build the cooperative collections.. Archive Builders have the task of completing
print runs and keeping them for a period designated by WEST. Archive Builders send out calls
for holdings to WEST members to request missing journal issues that might be available from
those members’ journal collections. So, for example, in October of 2012, the SDSU Library
responded to a call for holdings from Stanford University by sending Language in Society,
volumes 11 and 27. Those volumes were needed by the Stanford library to complete its run of
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that journal and SDSU was withdrawing that title because it was available in JSTOR’s Arts &
Sciences VII collection.
Between 2012 and 2014, WEST staff developed systems to help libraries determine if
overlap in their collections exists with WEST archives. These are essentially holdings
comparisons between WEST member libraries and WEST archive holders. These kinds of lists
can help libraries be sure that at least one copy of the journals they are weeding will be retained
in print securely for future access if needed. In 2012, the author sent lists of journals he was
about to withdraw to WEST staff, who then passed the information along to pertinent archive
builders. As of 2014, WEST maintains a shared wiki site where members can access holdings
reports from WEST members as well as other documents pertaining to this project.
In order to quickly determine whether a library needs a journal the author imported gap
analysis lists (which show gaps in WEST holdings) from the shared WEST wiki along with
withdrawal lists into a Microsoft Access database. Then, the author ran a join query to find
matches. Titles were joined on ISSN and matches were reviewed to see if the library could fill in
gaps in any WEST holdings. If complete runs were found to be archived in WEST, then the
entire print run could be withdrawn. If an archive builder was found to be missing an issue, then
that issue would be sent to that location. The library wound up sending journal volumes to
archive builders at Arizona State University, Stanford, Northern Regional Library Facility and
the University of Washington (San Diego State University Library Serials Unit 2014). Figure 1
shows the query design from the Access database. This query links the withdrawal list with the
WEST holdings. The table labelled “ACM_DL_Contents” lists the titles included in the ACM
Digital Library with ISSNs, the table labelled “CDS_deselection_201408052145” contains the
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print holdings at SDSU with their WEST availability. When this query is run it is possible to
compare SDSU’s holdings with those of the WEST archive builders.
Figure 1: Query in Access Database Between Print Holdings and Online Journal Package
As part of the withdrawals project, library staff members also maintain tables in this
Access database to record the volumes withdrawn along with linear feet cleared out from each
floor. Here, the lists of titles contributed to various archives were also recorded. Figure 2 shows
a view of the Access database where the storage contributions were recorded.
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Figure 2: View of Access Database
Combined Dispersal
During all of the library’s bound journals withdrawals projects from fiscal year 12/13
through fiscal year 14/15, the library contributed a total of 643 volumes to WEST archives and
1,049 volumes to the JSTOR dark archives in both California and Massachusetts. All of these
contributions were listed at the title level on the serials website:
http://serials.sdsu.edu/cataloging/regional-storage-contributions/.
Part 2: Shelf Measuring
As mentioned above, the journal runs at the SDSU library are split up by year. Once
withdrawal projects were completed, consideration was given to merging at least two bound
journals stacks. Housing one title at multiple locations runs the risk of causing confusion for the
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users as well as student workers in stack maintenance who must consider dates when reshelving
bound journals.
Since the library had undertaken two large weeding projects, approximately 7,000 linear
feet of shelf space (or about 2,300 shelves) had been emptied. However, since many titles were
split it was not possible to perform a simple shifting project without detailed knowledge of the
linear feet taken up by all of the journals. Therefore, the author began to create an inventory of
the amount of space taken up by each title. Indeed, the largest title at San Diego State University
took up over 100 linear feet, while there were thousands of titles with only one volume taking up
only an inch or less. For this reason, there is no meaningful correlation between the number of
titles withdrawn to the amount of space saved when considering journal volumes.
Measuring the Remaining Journals
In order to quickly ascertain the space needs for the remaining journals, the author
exported the lists of journals remaining in the collection into a MySQL database. This database
was separate from the Microsoft Access database mentioned above and included all of the
library’s print journal holdings, not just those considered for withdrawal. Titles, call numbers,
and locations were exported from the library’s ILS (Sierra) into a csv file which was then loaded
to MySQL using HeidiSQL, freely available MySQL software. Additional Fields were added for
volume counts and measurements in the three locations where the library stores bound journals.
A data entry system was developed so that student assistants and the author could enter volume
counts and shelf measurements near the shelves (using a laptop or tablet computer) without
having to enter the data twice (once on a piece of paper, and then again into a desktop computer).
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Table 1 shows the data elements in the database along with their sources. Titles and
other bibliographic elements were taken from the ILS while the measurements were entered from
a tablet computer in the stacks or another computer via a web-based interface.
Table 1:
Database Fields in Shelf Measurement Database
Data Element
Source
Database ID
Autogenerated MySQL
Title
Title from bibliographic record
Call Number
Call Number from bibliographic record
Locations
Location code from Sierra checkin record
Library Holdings
86X field from Sierra checkin Record
First Floor Volume Count
Counted from Item Records/Counted in Stacks
First Floor Measurements
Entered from web interface
Fifth Floor Volume Count
Counted from Item Records/Counted in Stacks
Fifth Floor Measurements
Entered from web interface
Compact Shelving Volume
Counted from Item Records/Counted in Stacks
Counts
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Compact Shelving
Entered from web interface
Measurements
Notes
Notes. Usually this would be filled if a title were not
available on the shelf.
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A total of 11,940 records were included in this database (representing each checkin
record), split between the three floors that were measured. Users tasked with inventory work
could go to a website to enter data and then choose the area where they would work. Figure 2
shows the log-in screen for this data entry interface.
Figure 3: Shelf Inventory Log-In Screen
Once in the designated area, a user would review a list and then enter volume counts and
shelf measurements for each journal title. Students and staff used a tablet computer and a laptop
and used WiFi access from the stacks to log in to the web-based interface. Figure 3 shows a
sample list for each floor. When a user clicks on or touches the blank field for volume count or
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measurements, a form would appear where a number could be entered. One challenge with this
arrangement is that computers generally do not sort Library of Congress Call Numbers correctly.
This incorrect ordering arises because the computer will read the first number as a decimal since
it comes after a letter, meaning that, for example, K3 would come after K15 since 0.3 is larger
than 0.15. However, since all of the programming fixes for this were not very straightforward,
the author just left these call numbers in computer-sorted order.
Figure 4 Shelf Inventory Data Entry Screen
From this database, a public view showing each title with its corresponding shelf
measurements was generated. Figure 4 shows this public interface allows that users to search by
title and sort by all of the available fields. The searching and sorting functions were made
possible by including Datatables for jQuery in the HTML for this page. The DataTables code is
freely available online (Jardine, 2014). This interface is available at the following URL:
http://serials.sdsu.edu/Measuring/ShelfMeasurements.php
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Figure 5: Web Display of Shelf Measurements for Bound Journals
Duscussion: Preliminary Results and Lessons Learned
As of this writing, 141,991 bound volumes residing on 22,746 feet of shelf space have
been inventoried. This is still an ongoing project that is about 80% complete. Since there is an
about 30,000 feet of available shelf space on the fifth floor, it is likely that moving all of the
journals to that location would be possible. If that merger were to take place, individual linear
feet values for each title would be useful in order to make room in the appropriate places in that
area. It is expected that there may be many titles we will not be able to find and as titles get
withdrawn they will be removed from this database so these figures will change over time. One
major issue with this database is that it will be difficult to integrate this information with the
library’s ILS because there is no good linking mechanism. If the author were to create this
database again he would have included checkin record numbers from the Sierra ILS so that a
load table could be created to add this data to the more widely used ILS system.
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Conclusions and Future Directions
For collaborative, sustainable storage efforts, much work has already been completed.
The University of California system has already created complete runs of most journals
duplicated in the JSTOR digital archives (University of California, 2014). As a WEST member,
the SDSU library receives a collection comparison report each year which shows journal
holdings held at SDSU which are also held by WEST Archive Holders. The collection
comparison report for SDSU notes that 3,428 titles (about one third) have been designated
“Bronze” titles. These titles received this “Bronze” designation because they are available
through publisher packages, included in a digital preservation service (Portico, LOCKSS or
CLOCKSS), and have a high duplication among WEST libraries (Western Regional Storage
Trust, 2015). This means that the SDSU Library could one day safely withdraw those titles
without irresponsibly hindering access to the scholarly record.
For future cooperative journal collection development efforts, efficient and effective
comparison tools for determining whether journal volumes can be contributed to cooperative
storage efforts are necessary. To assist in these projects, WEST has already developed tools for
determining appropriate titles for withdrawal, but staff members at the cooperating libraries will
need to contribute to these efforts by utilizing these tools to their full potential. This author used
a join query in an access database (using ISSNs) to compare archive lists to the lists of journals
the library had decided to remove from the local collection. A vertical lookup (VLOOKUP)
function could be used in any spreadsheet program to compare holdings lists by ISSN. Where
the spreadsheet program finds matches on ISSNs, fields from separate sheets can be displayed.
The author had access to a web server to store necessary files for this project, but this
system shows an effective method for this work using freely-available code. Additionally, as
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libraries continue to look toward cooperative storage agreements in lieu of housing
comprehensive collections on site, best practices with regards to record keeping may be in order.
Contributing libraries may wish to keep track of what volumes were sent to which locations as a
historical note of their contributions to these shared programs. Finally, as libraries seek to better
understand how much space their print journal runs take up, utilizing a web interface for
measurement projects could allow them to take on these projects in an efficient manner and
display the linear feet requirements for current collections on a publicly-available web page.
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