Managing Resources to Maximize Serials Access: The Case of the Small Liberal Arts College Library

Abstract

Given the current economic recession, small liberal arts college libraries can maximize serials access by better managing physical, human, and fiscal resources. A key component of serials access in today's economy is managing the transition from print to online resources. Libraries can eliminate some physical resources such as bound and older volumes and the GPO depository, and stop binding periodicals, thus permitting a reallocation of both physical and human resources to other tasks and services. They can ensure optimal management of fiscal resources by participating in consortia; tracking the price inflation of serials, monitoring its impact on the materials budget and library collections; determining the cost effectiveness of serials with the ongoing analysis of usage statistics; and reducing serials expenditures by making prudent choices to contend with the challenges of the current recession.

Keywords:

• cost effectiveness
• periodicals use studies
• serials management