The UCLA Library will cancel over 1,400 academic journals and
database subscriptions this coming year as it faces budget cuts and
serial price inflation.
Associate University Librarian Cynthia Shelton said the
cancellations ““ the first of their kind in over five years
““ are expected to save $450,000 at a time when the budget
outlook for coming years is unpromising.
Barbara Schader, head of collection development at the
biomedical library, said faculty members were consulted about which
journals to cancel, giving them a chance to save materials vital to
courses and research.
“Every single person had an opportunity to respond. I
don’t feel any department was hurt more than any
other,” she said.
Schader said in addition to the budget crisis, heavy inflation
in the price of subscriptions contributed to the library’s
decision to carry out cancellations.
Inflation in journal prices varies from year to year, Schader
said, but it generally surpasses the rate of overall inflation,
sometimes reaching 12 percent.
Schader said in 1985, the biomedical library subscribed to just
under 7,000 journals, spending a total of $540,584 on those
subscriptions. The same library now spends about $1.1 million on
4,500 subscriptions, she added.
Though some material will be cancelled in all formats,
librarians said many of the journals slated for cancellation will
remain available through online databases to which the libraries
will continue to subscribe.
“The impact will hopefully be more in terms of how
researchers think about accessing material, rather than an issue of
“˜is the content there or not,'” said Ellen
Broidy, head of collection management at the Young Research
Library. “It’s thinking about doing research in a
different way.”
Cindy Mediavilla, a lecturer in the department of information
studies, said the cancellations will impact some more than
others.
“If there’s remote access from the office or home,
this might actually be a boon to the researcher,” she
said.
“But if the user is uncomfortable using e-resources … or
someone in the community who does not have computer equipment or
online access, then that’s a real problem,” she
added.
A list of cancelled materials was not available at press time,
but the majority of materials proposed for cancellation at some
libraries will not be available online.
At the East Asian Library, for example, none of the 102 titles
proposed for cancellation will be available in electronic
format.
Frank Lee, a biology student studying at UCLA extension, said
cancellations are inconvenient for students and faculty members who
need access to materials.
“It’s unfair for people who want to do
research,” he said. “They have to buy their own
articles. They have to go somewhere else.”
Some, like fourth-year sociology student Sung Min, said they are
unfamiliar with researching online databases, which he believed
could pose a problem when print formats are cancelled.
Shelton said the library offers tutorials about accessing online
resources. In addition, users working from home can access a
troubleshooting page that is linked to the library’s Web
site.
Schader said the library currently subscribes to 79,552 serials,
and some libraries, like the biomedical library, cancel a small
number of serials each year.
Many researchers are unaware of the high cost of academic
journals, Schader said, adding that the average cost of one annual
subscription is over $2,000. The most expensive journal the
biomedical library subscribes to costs $19,000 annually, she
said.
Natalie Transu, a second-year undeclared student, said though
reduced spending may be essential in light of funding cuts, it
seems that students are paying more for less.
“Why are we paying more when our services are getting
cut?” she said.