Rationalizing Low-Use Print Collections

Every six months (January and June) at the American Library Association conferences, the Chief Collections Officers, representing some 40 major libraries, gather in sessions casually called "Big Heads," to discuss issues of the moment. We prepare for the meeting with detailed institutional reports that we share among ourselves. Several items from those written reports will be highlighted in this blog.

For example, at last month's meeting, I was forcefully struck by the innovation coming, once again, from Ohio's libraries. Our colleague Jim Bracken, who has the amazingly wonderful title of Associate Librarian in Charge of Actually Figuring Out What the Heck To Do Next – well, actually he's called Assistant Director, Collections, Instruction, and Public Services – reported about an OSUL proposal to OhioLINK for building a multi-institution repository for journals, a "Journal Service Center," where the total number of copies of commonly held print journals will be winnowed down, services and access will be provided as needed, and where the security and preservation of the "last copy" in a common repository will offer an important resource while allowing real cost savings.

This is very much in line with at least two other initiatives: CRL's print repository programs (Distributed Print as well as Other Journal Archives) and ) and the RLG/OCLC Shared Print Collections Program . More and more of our attention will now go to numerous details to be sorted out in thinking through how libraries will consolidate, de-duplicate, and winnow print collections. How can we be effective stewards of what we inherit and preserve, while at the same time avoiding the buildup of large offsite collections of unread and unaccessed and inadequately preserved materials.

So here's Jim's posting describing the journal project. What do you think about it?

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“Journal Service Center: New Model for Access in OhioLINK”

OSUL has proposed that OhioLINK create a Journal Service Center to serve OhioLINK patrons and libraries. Our vision is development of a shared journal collection where a permanent archival run of journals would enable us to provide one-day on-demand document delivery service to all our patrons. In addition to the archival copy, a second copy of each title would be maintained for the purpose of allowing patron-initiated circulation directly from the Center. This would provide new, improved access to journal literature throughout OhioLINK while creating a cost-effective archive specifically for journals in our state. A Journal Service Center would allow libraries and depositories throughout Ohio to withdraw their holdings of duplicated and infrequently-used titles. All OhioLINK member libraries could contribute their holdings on a voluntary basis to the Journal Service Center which would enable them to re-purpose space in their local libraries and regional depositories. The Center would determine whether the copies are needed and dispose of unneeded volumes. OhioLINK members could weed their collections with the assurance that volumes held at the Center will be retained as a permanent archival copy and rapid access to this material will be available. Lack of space is a perpetual issue for all libraries and widely held journal titles consume thousands of feet of shelf space. For example, Nature is held by 59 OhioLINK institutions. At OSU, one complete copy of this title takes up 78 linear feet of shelving; retaining only two complete runs of Nature at the Center would theoretically free a total of 4,212 linear feet of shelving across the state. By consolidating all of the duplicate titles across the state in a Journal Service Center, newly freed space could be made available without the need for additional local capital expenditures. We see the Center as an open-shelf browsable collection intended to provide a high level of access and enhance preservation of shared journal resources in Ohio. OhioLINK members would share in the cost, ownership and use of the Center.

Jim Bracken, Ohio State University Library