At Geneva we use Ebsco, and we usually just work with the Annual Renewal List.  Ebsco gives us the Excel file, we customize by deleting columns and arranging everything how we want it via various formulas.

After that is all done, we have our students use macros we have created to automatically add data to a column we create on the spreadsheet called “access.”  The macros pull information from Serials Solutions about what we have online and insert it into the spreadsheet.  When that is done, we look at all of the items up for renewal and make suggestions for cancellations based on what is available online, expense, access to back issues, etc.

One of the best tools to use, I think, are usage statistics.  We usually take into account how many times the print journal was used in the library, online counter reports, etc. 

Abbigail Gregg

Library Technician

Geneva College - McCartney Library

acgregg@geneva.edu 

724-847-6693

For many years I have been ordering the Online Availability Report (OAR) through EBSCO to help our collection development librarians make renewal decisions for the following year.  They use this report to decide what journal titles to renew, cancel, and switch from print to online.  This report is supposed to tell us what we currently have on order through EBSCO and is divided into 3 sections:  1) our print titles, 2) our print + online titles, 3) our online only titles.

Year after year I have seen “bad data” in this report.  For example, many titles that we have already cancelled appear on this report.  Also, titles that we switched to online sometimes appear in the “print” section.  In addition, I cannot customize this report when I order it.  As a result, dozens of columns that are not needed get downloaded into the spreadsheet.  I have reported these issues to EBSCO.

Cleaning up this report for our selectors is very laborious and time consuming.  I would like to ask the serials community the following:

·         If EBSCO is your vendor, do your selectors use the OAR or a different report/tool for their annual renewal decisions?

·         If EBSCO is not your vendor, who is, and how does that vendor help with this process?

·         Does the method you use indicate whether or not a print journal has an online alternative?

·         Are you aware of any good tools or methods that aid selectors in deciding what journal subscriptions to renew, cancel, or switch to online?

Thank you,

Davette Zinik

Auraria Library

Acquisitions & Serials Manager

1100 Lawrence Street

Denver, Colorado 80204

303-556-2625 (tel)

303-556-2623 (fax)

davette.zinik@ucdenver.edu

Serving the University of Colorado Denver; Metropolitan State College of Denver; Community College of Denver. 

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