A Shift Story:
Print to Online @LAU Libraries
by
Houeida Kammourié-Charara
Electronic Resources Librarian
& Roula Sfeir Hage
Serials Librarian
8th Annual AMICAL Meeting and Conference
Friday April 29, 2011
Outline
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Introduction
Why change
Guidelines
How we started
Individual titles challenge
LAU Libraries Serials shift by date
Byblos & RNL Libraries Print Figures
Before & After the Centralization of Serials Dept.
Ownership, Licensing and Preservation issues
Advantages and Disadvantages of online
The Future as Seen by The Serials Dept.
Conclusion
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Introduction
• Mission:
– The first LAU library was established in 1934.
– In 2011 LAU has two libraries: Riyad Nassar Library (RNL) in Beirut & Byblos Library (BL).
– Their mission “is to acquire, organize and disseminate information resources that
support the academic curriculum and research needs”.
• Collection:
– Print collection of more than 384,000 volumes and 820 periodicals.
– Subscriptions to about 136 online databases (e-books and e-journals included)
• Shifting Decision:
– To cope with the substantial changes caused by Information Technology (IT), LAU
Libraries decided to favor the online format, and to shift its current subscriptions to
online when appropriate.
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Introduction (cont’d)
• Phases:
The shift from print to online was carried out gradually by media type.
– e-books: Several library depts. worked jointly on shifting books to online,
mainly those that are standing orders, and that can be part of an online
package.
– e-reference: Selection of items to be shifted was carried out by librarians.
Encyclopedias were the first items to go online followed by other reference
materials.
This presentation will focus on e-journals shift and the other formats will be
discussed in conferences to come.
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Why Change?
• To deliver better quality service with e-content.
• To fulfill our user preferences and needs.
• To follow the shift of the publishing business towards online:
“Approximately 60% of the universe of some 20,000 active peerreviewed journals is available in electronic form”.
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Guidelines
• Some “informal guidelines” were used by Serials & ERL; they are
also adjusted “on the fly” by trials and errors:
– e-only format to be selected for journal titles from “big” publishers (packages
with reliable platforms).
– Access provided through “journal aggregators should not be considered a
substitute for either print or online subscription”.
– Access provided electronically should have equivalent content of the print.
– Online journals that are 'Free with print' are not to be considered for the time
being since their setup is time consuming.
Refer to “Individual Titles Challenge” slide
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Guidelines (cont’d)
• The Libraries are committed to avoid any duplication of titles (print &
online). However there are some exceptions:
– Strong faculty demand* to keep the print.
– Print is heavily used and is needed to support research.
– Print offers better features specially in Art journals, i.e., images or
graphics have better resolution than the e-journal.
– General “popular” magazines: Few titles are kept for quick reading,
e.g. Paris Match, Time, Newsweek, etc.
*Any request to retain a print subscription that is included in a publisher's online package
will be assessed against faculty needs and LAU Libraries budgetary constraints.
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How We Started
• Serials and ERL Depts. worked on:
– Selecting few publishers‘ packages to be switched
– Consulting with Library Directors
– Checking the availability of journal titles online equivalent.
• *One excel spreadsheet (namely BIG FILE) was used to list all titles
(clustered by publisher).
– It also included correspondences, e-mails, etc. with publishers/vendors, price
comparisons among different providers, directors decisions, etc.
•
Faculty members were not involved directly with big publishers shift, however
their input was taken into consideration re cancellation of unused titles or shift of
individual titles.
This method was used after 2008 to avoid any leak or “fuite” of duplicate titles.
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How We Started (cont’d)
• We contacted vendors and publishers for quotations:
• Choice between direct subscription or via vendor:
– Direct deals with publishers are preferred (when applicable). The choice will go to the
vendor only if better pricing is provided.
• Provost and library Directors approval was given prior to starting the shift.
• Daily phone calls; e-mails; follow-up, evaluation and assessment meetings
to identify print titles from publishers subscribed to by LAU Libraries;
• Library Directors were informed regularly via e-mail and direct
conversations about the progress of the shift process.
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Individual Titles Challenge
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Individual titles are divided into three categories:
– Print switched to online: Medical titles were the first titles to be shifted.
JAMA, Genetics, NEJM, and more. The site license was an issue.
– e-only: The libraries purposely limited individual e-journal subscriptions to
content unavailable in a collection due to the difficulty in maintaining them.
– Free with print: The majority of LAU Libraries subscriptions are done through
two major agents, but the agents did not include online access registration as
part of their services . This model was not considered by the libraries due to
the following:
– Each publisher has its own registration requirements therefore
setting up the online access is time consuming; in addition each title
may have a license agreement, which needs to abide by the ERL
Dept. criteria.
Feedback from other universities is welcomed regarding the handling of print
titles with free e-access.
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Print vs. Online Cost
•
Shifting to online has implications on library operational budget:
– Reduction of some costs, such as receipt and processing, shelving, binding,
circulation, stacks maintenance.
– Changing of cataloging, and catalog maintenance costs.
– Addition of other costs to support tools and software used to negotiate and
maintain the e-collections, namely cost of licensing, SerialsSolutions AtoZ,
Libguides, and ERMS if available.
•
It is worth noting that journals pricing models changed dramatically from printbased with free access or a small extra amount to access the online; to online
access-based, with extra charges for maintaining print. Thus the formula changed
from:
“print plus electronic (p+e) to electronic plus print (e+p)”
LAU Libraries are increasing its e-resources budget while maintaining that of the
core print collection.
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LAU Libraries Serials Shift By Date
• Shift of Serials titles went through four phases:
– Phase I: Between 2000 & 2004
– Phase II : Between 2005 & 2007
– Phase III : The Big Shift Decision as of 2008
– Phase IV : Strategic Plan 2008-2013
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Phase I : 2000-2004
• e-only subscription model:
– It all started informally. The first attempt was carried out in 2000
with the subscription to the ASM e-journals package (no
previous print).
• Print/Online subscription model:
– This model started in 2003. The ASCE started as print only
subscription between 1998-2001.
– Later on it was decided to add the electronic format with
keeping the print (too early to cancel the print…this was the
first transition zone for LAU Serials shift)
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Phase II: 2005-2007
• Print to Online subscription model:
– IEEE was the first package switched from print to online in
2005 (1995-2004 print only); followed by ASME package in
2006;
– And finally in 2007 the ACM package was shifted gradually:
– 1999 print only;
– 2000-2006 print+online;
– 2007 package switched from print to online
• CD to online subscription model:
• 2006 IFS CD was switched to online
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Phase III: The Big Shift
• “As part of its strategic directions and in response to major
changes in IT in recent years”, the library directors in both RNL
and BL decided in 2008 to shift 30% of the Serials collection to
online.
• The shift which was carried out informally is now scheduled
on a 5 years strategic plan.
• 30% should be e-only by 2013.
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Phase IV : Strategic Plan 2008-2013
Print to Online
• 2009: Switch of Sage and Springer packages.
• 2010: Switch of Elsevier, Taylor &Francis, Wiley-Blackwell,
Nature and IMF packages.
– Also some individual titles: Science, BMJ, New England Journal of
Medicine and Genetics.
• 2011: CUP, OUP, and Emerald packages were switched from
print to online
– in addition to individual titles: Annals of Pharmacotherapy, JAMA,
Scientific American, etc.
– Exceptions: Choice Reviews Online, both formats are kept. (Transition
period).
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BL & RNL Libraries Print
Figures
The percentage of decrease from year
2008 to year 2011 is 42.7%.
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The percentage of decrease from year
2009 to year 2011 is 35%.
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Before & After the Centralization
of Serials Dept.
The Centralization of the Serials Dept. in 2008 allowed us to identify
duplication between print and online
Annual Reviews online package (2007)
Two print titles were missed during the
switch process, they were cancelled
later on:
– Annual Review of Sociology
– Annual Review of Psychology
INFORMS online package (2011)
Two print titles were identified during
the switch process, they were cancelled
before starting the subscription:
– Management Science
– Operations Research
The collaboration among LAU Librarians should be mentioned here.
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Issues We Faced
• How to handle titles removed from a package? Do we
subscribe to these individually? Or we cancel them? What
about faculty reaction?
• How to handle a non-subscribed title added to a package?
• How to handle duplicate issues in both campuses?
– Example: Wiley-Blackwell Model
• How to handle a subscribed title shifted from print to online
from one publisher and added to another publisher
subscribed package?
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Ownership Issues
• When shifting from print to online, the ownership of material
also changes. Unlike print, libraries has no local possession of
an e-copy as they did with print, and do not practically own
the publications.
• Libraries relationship with publishers are governed through
license agreements for e-resources. However “The license is
not something for ownership; it is only an agreement for use.
Users access content stored on remote systems controlled by
publishers”.
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Licensing Issues
• Any LAU signed agreement should have the approval of the University
Legal Dept. prior to signature.
• Licenses concerning journals added to LAU ‘s subscribed databases were
easier to handle. No need to renegotiate the license major clauses (unless
a tremendous change has been noticed).
– Elsevier, Sage, Springer and Wiley-Blackwell fall within this category.
• Journals shifted and upgraded to packages with no previous agreements,
should be negotiated according to LAU Libraries criteria, namely:
Governing Law (NY), off-campus access, interlibrary loan permission level,
walk-in users access, archival or perpetual access rights and IP
authentication.
– CUP and OUP fall within this category.
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Preservation Issues
• “With the growing number of scholarly journals in electronic format, longterm preservation of these journals has become one of the most
important issues in libraries” in general and LAU Libraries in particular.
• LAU Libraries rely on provisions of their signed license agreements with
publishers as a “preservation insurance”. However, the Libraries are
considering seriously to establish a digital preservation arrangements with
Portico/LOCKSS /CLOKSS to assure preservation and long-term access to
content.
• One major problem with “archiving e-journals is the mergers of publishers.
Several significant mergers have occurred” recently; As far as we are
concerned the Libraries didn’t face this kind of problems yet.
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Advantages of Online
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Easy access to more content in a format preferred by users
Fast online searching vs. slow print browsing
Speed of access to articles under the same topic
“Simultaneous multi-user access”
Capability of accessing e-journals from anywhere, anytime (24/7)
Linking ability to other resources beyond user current location
Greater flexibility in terms of space utilization and planning
Decrease in the costs of maintaining print subscriptions, such as
processing, claiming, shelving and binding.
• Ease of management by library staff specially in generating usage statistics
• Saving of the library staff time.
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Disadvantages of Online
• Access must be verified regularly because it can be modified or stopped
without notice.
• Libraries do not monitor access outages and they “rely on students and
patrons to report problems”.
• Resentment of users who are not comfortable with online format or
otherwise preferred print versions
• Workload increases
– Updating catalog records to include the URL with checking dead links regularly,
– Handling of print materials that continued to arrive after cancellation
– Updating SerialsSolutions regularly. Coverage does not reflect real subscription access
• A total dependency on online will leave users with no access to library
resources in case of internet interruption.
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What We Have Learned
• After the completion of several packages shifts we learned to:
– Check shifted serials titles one by one in every single vendor/publisher
correspondence.
– Be very careful when negotiating a license agreement: sometimes you may
have discrepancies between version approved by LAU legal dept and the final
version provided by publisher.
– Check online access regularly to track any interruption.
– Listen to our users and adapt to the change in their expectations .
• The key factor in the success of this project is the high level of cooperation
and collaboration among concerned depts.
NO ”TERRITOIRE” anymore.. ALL are involved…
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The Future As Seen By The Serials Dept.
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We need to become more critical, more selective and less collection
oriented than in the past.
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Print will not die. There will be an increase of reading for pleasure.
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The role of the Serials Librarian will be more service-oriented.
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To have smaller but dynamic print collection while increasing the ecollection gradually.
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250 print titles in each campus by 2013.
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Conclusion
• Shifting the library collections from print to online is a trend that no
library can ignore anymore.
• Evaluating journal collections is an on-going process, as well as
communicating with library users to receive feedback about e-only
plans.
• Finally sharing the library success shift story is very important in order
to allow other libraries to benefit from case studies and exchange
experiences.
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References
Draft policy: Canterbury Medical Library proposal to shift journals from paper to online. (2008?). Retrieved April 4,
2011 from http://www.otago.ac.nz/christchurch/otago011712.pdf
Fortini, T. (2007). Going online: Academic libraries and the move from print to electronic journals. Library
Student Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2011, from
http://www.librarystudentjournal.org/index.php/lsj/article/viewFile/53/85
Ho, A. K., & Toth, J. (2008). Making the switch from print to online: Why, when and how? Librarian & Archivist
Publications, paper 2. Retrieved April 4, 2011, from http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/wlpub/2
Johnson, R. K., & Luther, J. (© 2007). The E-only tipping point for journals: What’s ahead in the print-toelectronic transition zone. Washington, D.C.: Association of Research Libraries. Retrieved April 4, 2011,
from http://eprints.rclis.org/bitstream/10760/11127/1/Electronic_Transition_final.pdf
Leonard, K. (2008). From predictability to managed chaos: Managing the change from print serials to electronic
resource management – Indiana University, Kokomo Campus Library. In J. Hurlbert (Ed.), Defining Relevancy:
Managing the New Academic Library (pp. 200-212). Retrieved April 3, 2011, from
https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/6467/FromPredictabilitytoManagedChaosWeb.
pdf?sequence=1
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References (cont’d)
Making the switch from print to online. [Presentation]. The University of Texas Libraries at Austin. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 4, 2011 from http://www.slideshare.net/jillemery/making-the-switch-from-print-to-online
Moghaddam, G. G. (2007). Archiving challenges of scholarly electronic journals: How do publishers
manage them? Serials Review, 33(2), 81-90. Retrieved April 13, 2011, from Science Direct database.
Policy on the transition from print to online journals: University of Uttawa Library. (200?). Retrieved April
4, 2011, from http://www.biblio.uottawa.ca/content-page.php?g=en&s=biblio&c=abt-ptq-trans
Prabha, C. (2007). Shifting from print to electronic journals in ARL university libraries. Serials Review,
33(1), 4-13. Retrieved April 13, 2011, from Science Direct database.
University Libraries, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Guidelines for Switching from Print to
Electronic Journals. Retrieved April 4, 2011, from
http://www.library.illinois.edu/administration/collections/policies/Guidelines_for_Switching_from Print_to_Electronic_Journals.pdf
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Thank You
Together We Can Do Better…
Et Beaucoup Mieux
‫شكرا‬
Roula S. Hage
April 29, 2011
Houeida K. Charara
Nelly Aswad
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What about this?
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