Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library 2005 Subscriptions Renewals

Through surveys, verbal feedback and library statistics, it has become apparent that a large number of faculty and students prefer journals in electronic format over print. Due to this fact and other considerations, Himmelfarb Library has begun to convert print titles to electronic access only for the subscription year beginning January 2005. Implementing the switch to electronic, however, requires numerous decisions. Maintaining both a print and online subscription is costly, both in terms of subscription cost and staff time. For electronic subscriptions, licensing contracts and pricing agreements vary greatly from publisher to publisher and must be carefully negotiated to preserve archival access, interlibrary loan rights and offsite access.

On the 2005 renewal list of 911 print journal titles, the following actions were taken:

• 187 titles were switched to online access only* (21%)
• 624 titles with print and online availability (68%)
• Online access to these titles varies by publisher and can range from archival back to the mid-90’s to only the last twelve months
• 75 titles print only (8%)
• Still not available online or available with restrictions that make accessibility impossible
• 25 titles were completely cancelled due to low use* (3%)
• 117 new online subscriptions* were added for 2005

This year’s step is the first in a number that need to be taken as we transition from print to increased electronic only access. The Library is currently developing a webpage that will focus on subscription changes. (This webpage is to be added to the Himmelfarb web site; exact URL will be announced later.) We are looking forward to a year of increased communication as we re-assess our collection.