Prepared for the UKSG Student Roadshow at University College London in 2009. The roadshow was aimed at librarianship and information science students and featured a librarian, a subscription agent, a publisher, and the British Library.

1. The serials librarian
Louise Cole
Senior Information Advisor
Kingston University

2. Summary
The role of serials in the library
Print journals
E-journals
Collection management
Selection and deselection
Acquisition and administration
Budgeting and finance

3. The role of serials in the library
Serials = journals = periodicals = magazines =
newspapers = CD-ROMs …
Continuing resources purchased on subscription
to provide key or background reading to support
teaching and/or research
… and increasingly means databases too
Provide a benchmark of quality – peer reviewed
and high impact content
Essential collection for a university library

4. Print journals
Average number of print subscriptions for a
university library is between 2,500 and 7,500,
depending on size
Print journals declining in importance in STM
(science, technology, medicine) and e-journals
gaining ground
130,000 journal titles available for purchase from
major subscription agent
Need to be checked in, processed, and sent to
binders

5. E-journals
Often purchased as part of ‘big deals’
JISC / NESLi2 (National Electronic Site Licensing
Initiative)
Convenience; any time / any place
More complex than print journal management as
licensing, activation, authentication etc required
Usually need special systems to organize
(ERMs)
Gaining in value as expectations of students rise

6. Collection development and management:
selection and deselection
Process of selection usually in the hands of
subject librarians and the departments they
represent
Annual renewal and cancellation cycle (between
May and October)
Increasing trends in research libraries to
archive/store back issues; in non-research
libraries to discard material for space issues
Collection teams usually co-ordinate purchase,
renewal, or cancellation

7. Collection development and management:
acquisition and administration
Acquisition of journals is generally through a
subscription agent – gain discount and ease of
service (claims, customer service, etc)
Checking in print journals, processing, and
shelving done by team assistants, with regular
claim cycles
For e-journals activating and chasing done on
regular basis
Open access e-journals also made available
where appropriate

8. A typical day (at KU)
Print Electronic
Open post Work from list
Check in journal on Check journal is
LMS (Talis) available
Stick on labels and Identify provider
date stamp them Identify form of
Add security tags authentication
Take to shelf Check it works on and
Make new box if off-campus
needed Track in ERM system

9. Budgeting and finance
Library budgets for collection development
generally run between 2 million and 8 million
pounds
Average cost of a print journal is £600, many are
much more
Average cost of an e-journal package = £14,000
Budgets usually split between departments
depending on number of students, then split
again by type of resource (books, standing
orders, journals, e-books)

10. Budgeting and finance
For e-journals, multi-year deals sought to protect
budget commitments
‘Essential’ journals and those where cancellation
is restricted
Top-slicing for multidisciplinary resources – often
10% or more of total budget
Collection development management plans look
toward future plans for expansion
Many university libraries facing budget cuts

11. Conclusion
Serials are an essential part of any library
collection
Print journals declining in many areas, replaced
by complex e-deals
Budgets not always keeping pace with demand,
especially when items cannot be cancelled
Selection usually joint effort between subject
teams, departments, and collections staff

12. Contact info
Email louise.cole@kingston.ac.uk