Collection Management Initiative

[Laura Fosbender]

University of California
Collection Management Initiative
----------------------------------------- --- --- -- -- -- - - -

As access to information in digital form has become widely accepted among 
scholars and ever more promoted by publishers, research libraries are 
facing new challenges in managing and preserving mixed print and electronic 
collections. These new challenges include:

    * Understanding the behavior and attitudes of users that affect 
acceptance of digital as a substitute for print journal publications.

    * Developing institutional strategies, policies and methods for 
acquiring, storing, and archiving journals in a mixed print/digital 
environment.

    * Documenting and planning for changes in demand and usage of digital 
and print journals when print is located in storage.


The University of California, with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon 
Foundation, is addressing these challenges through the Collection 
Management Initiative, a two year University systemwide research project.

 From October 2001 through September 2002, about 300 print journals, for 
which electronic access and publisher data are available, have been 
temporarily removed from the shelves of the nine campuses of the UC system. 
These titles represent a variety of subject areas from  fifteen leading 
publishers. During the course of the experiment, faculty and students will 
rely on the digital versions of these titles to meet their information 
needs. Persistent access to these materials will be ensured by depositing a 
print version in the University's regional library storage facilities.

During the project, usage data will be gathered, and researcher experiences 
and preferences will be assessed. Each of the libraries withdrawing 
journals from the shelves has been paired with another library which is 
leaving journals on shelves and also recording use statistics. This 
strategy will provide comparative data to increase understanding of the 
experimental findings.

The University will use what is learned to develop strategies, policies and 
programs for the future management of library collections consisting of 
both digital and print formats.

If you are interested in learning more about the project, want a list of 
the publishers and titles being studied or want to follow our progress 
please visit out web site http://www.ucop.edu/cmi. We hope that you find 
the project of interest and welcome your comments.


----------------------------------------- --- --- -- -- -- - - -
Laura Fosbender
Administrative Specialist
Collection Management Initiative
Systemwide Library Planning
University of California, Office of the President
1111 Franklin Street, 11th Floor
Oakland, CA 94607-5200
Voice: 510-587-6140
Fax: 510-587-6401
Email: laura.fosbender at ucop.edu
Web: http://www.ucop.edu/cmi