Library periodicals expenses: Comparison of non-subscription costs of print and electronic formats on a life-cycle basis

D-Lib Magazine

Volumn 10, Issue 1, 2004, Pages

  Schonfeld, Roger C ^a   King, Donald W ^b   Okerson, Ann ^c   Fenton, Eileen Gifford ^a  

^a Ithaka ^*  (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH   (United States)

^c YALE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 3042648041     PISSN: 10829873     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1045/january2004-schonfeld     Document Type: Article

References (33)

1. This study was funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. We have benefited from the helpful comments of William G. Bowen, Rebecca Griffiths, Kevin Guthrie, Jennifer Horner, Richard E. Quandt, Susan Lane Perry, Emily Ray, Abby Smith, Dan Terpening, and Donald J. Waters. Thanks to Lisa Bonifacic, Matt Herbison, and Susanne Pichler for research assistance.
2. For a number of papers that touch on this matter, on all sides of the issue, see Richard Ekman and Richard E. Quandt, Technology and Scholarly Communication (Berkeley: University of California Press, in association with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 1999).
3. See, for example, The Consortium Site Licence: Is It a Sustainable Model? (Oxford: Ingenta Insitute, 2002); Kenneth Frazier, "The Librarians' Dilemma: Contemplating the Costs of the 'Big Deal'," D-Lib Magazine 7, no. 3 (2001), available at 〈doi:10.1045/march2001-frazier〉 International Coalition of Library Consortia, "Statement of Current Perspective and Preferred Practices for the Selection and Purchase of Electronic Information," (2001), available at 〈http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia/2001currentpractices.htm〉. For additional references, a good source is Richard E. Quandt, "Scholarly Materials: Paper or Digital?," Library Trends 51, no. 3 (2003).
4. See, for example, The Consortium Site Licence: Is It a Sustainable Model? (Oxford: Ingenta Insitute, 2002); Kenneth Frazier, "The Librarians' Dilemma: Contemplating the Costs of the 'Big Deal'," D-Lib Magazine 7, no. 3 (2001), available at 〈doi:10.1045/march2001-frazier〉 International Coalition of Library Consortia, "Statement of Current Perspective and Preferred Practices for the Selection and Purchase of Electronic Information," (2001), available at 〈http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia/2001currentpractices.htm〉. For additional references, a good source is Richard E. Quandt, "Scholarly Materials: Paper or Digital?," Library Trends 51, no. 3 (2003).
5. See, for example, The Consortium Site Licence: Is It a Sustainable Model? (Oxford: Ingenta Insitute, 2002); Kenneth Frazier, "The Librarians' Dilemma: Contemplating the Costs of the 'Big Deal'," D-Lib Magazine 7, no. 3 (2001), available at 〈doi:10.1045/march2001-frazier〈 International Coalition of Library Consortia, "Statement of Current Perspective and Preferred Practices for the Selection and Purchase of Electronic Information," (2001), available at 〈http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia/2001currentpractices.htm〉. For additional references, a good source is Richard E. Quandt, "Scholarly Materials: Paper or Digital?," Library Trends 51, no. 3 (2003).
6. See, for example, The Consortium Site Licence: Is It a Sustainable Model? (Oxford: Ingenta Insitute, 2002); Kenneth Frazier, "The Librarians' Dilemma: Contemplating the Costs of the 'Big Deal'," D-Lib Magazine 7, no. 3 (2001), available at 〈doi:10.1045/march2001-frazier〉 International Coalition of Library Consortia, "Statement of Current Perspective and Preferred Practices for the Selection and Purchase of Electronic Information," (2001), available at 〈http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia/2001currentpractices.htmrlang;. For additional references, a good source is Richard E. Quandt, "Scholarly Materials: Paper or Digital?," Library Trends 51, no. 3 (2003).
7. Wherever the term "periodical" is used in this report, we use it to refer to the widely accepted definition: "A serial publication that contains separate articles, stories, other writings, etc., and is published or distributed generally more frequently than annual." This is the 006 code for Type of Continuing Resource that appears in OCLC's Bibliographic Formats and Standards, Third Edition, available online at 〈http://www.oclc.org/bibformats/pdf/ffe.pdf〉, at page 73.
8. Forthcoming from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
9. Carol Hansen Montgomery and Donald W. King, "Comparing Library and User Related Costs of Print and Electronic Journal Collections: A First Step Towards a Comprehensive Analysis," D-Lib Magazine 8, no. 10 (2002), available at 〈doi:10.1045/october2002-montgomery〉 Carol Hansen Montgomery, "Measuring the Impact of an Electronic Journal Collection on Library Costs: A Framework and Preliminary Observations," D-Lib Magazine 6, no. 10 (2000), available at 〈doi:10.1045/october2002-montgomery〉. Carol Hansen Montgomery and JoAnne L. Sparks, "The Transition to an Electronic Journal Collection: Managing the Organizational Changes at Drexel University," Serials Review 26, no. 3 (2000), available at 〈http://www.library.drexel.edu/facts/staff/dean/Serialsreview.pdf〉. Donald W. King et al., "Library Economic Metrics: Examples of the Comparison of Electronic and Print Journal Collections and Collection Services," Library Trends 51, no. 3 (2003). Another recent article has used a different approach to project the cost differentials: Lynn Silipigni Connaway and Stephen R. Lawrence, "Comparing Library Resource Allocations for the Paper and the Digital Library: An Exploratory Study," D-Lib Magazine 9, no. 12 (2003), available at 〈doi:10.1045/december2003-connaway〉.
10. Carol Hansen Montgomery and Donald W. King, "Comparing Library and User Related Costs of Print and Electronic Journal Collections: A First Step Towards a Comprehensive Analysis," D-Lib Magazine 8, no. 10 (2002), available at 〈doi:10.1045/october2002-montgomery〉 Carol Hansen Montgomery, "Measuring the Impact of an Electronic Journal Collection on Library Costs: A Framework and Preliminary Observations," D-Lib Magazine 6, no. 10 (2000), available at 〈doi:10.1045/october2002-montgomery〉. Carol Hansen Montgomery and JoAnne L. Sparks, "The Transition to an Electronic Journal Collection: Managing the Organizational Changes at Drexel University," Serials Review 26, no. 3 (2000), available at 〈http://www.library.drexel.edu/facts/staff/dean/Serialsreview.pdf〉. Donald W. King et al., "Library Economic Metrics: Examples of the Comparison of Electronic and Print Journal Collections and Collection Services," Library Trends 51, no. 3 (2003). Another recent article has used a different approach to project the cost differentials: Lynn Silipigni Connaway and Stephen R. Lawrence, "Comparing Library Resource Allocations for the Paper and the Digital Library: An Exploratory Study," D-Lib Magazine 9, no. 12 (2003), available at 〈doi:10.1045/december2003-connaway〉.
11. Carol Hansen Montgomery and Donald W. King, "Comparing Library and User Related Costs of Print and Electronic Journal Collections: A First Step Towards a Comprehensive Analysis," D-Lib Magazine 8, no. 10 (2002), available at 〈doi:10.1045/october2002-montgomery〉 Carol Hansen Montgomery, "Measuring the Impact of an Electronic Journal Collection on Library Costs: A Framework and Preliminary Observations," D-Lib Magazine 6, no. 10 (2000), available at 〈doi:10.1045/october2002-montgomery〉. Carol Hansen Montgomery and JoAnne L. Sparks, "The Transition to an Electronic Journal Collection: Managing the Organizational Changes at Drexel University," Serials Review 26, no. 3 (2000), available at 〈http://www.library.drexel.edu/facts/staff/dean/Serialsreview.pdf〉. Donald W. King et al., "Library Economic Metrics: Examples of the Comparison of Electronic and Print Journal Collections and Collection Services," Library Trends 51, no. 3 (2003). Another recent article has used a different approach to project the cost differentials: Lynn Silipigni Connaway and Stephen R. Lawrence, "Comparing Library Resource Allocations for the Paper and the Digital Library: An Exploratory Study," D-Lib Magazine 9, no. 12 (2003), available at 〈doi:10.1045/december2003-connaway〉.
12. Carol Hansen Montgomery and Donald W. King, "Comparing Library and User Related Costs of Print and Electronic Journal Collections: A First Step Towards a Comprehensive Analysis," D-Lib Magazine 8, no. 10 (2002), available at 〈doi:10.1045/october2002-montgomery〉 Carol Hansen Montgomery, "Measuring the Impact of an Electronic Journal Collection on Library Costs: A Framework and Preliminary Observations," D-Lib Magazine 6, no. 10 (2000), available at 〈doi:10.1045/october2002-montgomery〉. Carol Hansen Montgomery and JoAnne L. Sparks, "The Transition to an Electronic Journal Collection: Managing the Organizational Changes at Drexel University," Serials Review 26, no. 3 (2000), available at 〈http://www.library.drexel.edu/facts/staff/dean/Serialsreview.pdf〉. Donald W. King et al., "Library Economic Metrics: Examples of the Comparison of Electronic and Print Journal Collections and Collection Services," Library Trends 51, no. 3 (2003). Another recent article has used a different approach to project the cost differentials: Lynn Silipigni Connaway and Stephen R. Lawrence, "Comparing Library Resource Allocations for the Paper and the Digital Library: An Exploratory Study," D-Lib Magazine 9, no. 12 (2003), available at 〈doi:10.1045/december2003-connaway〉.
13. Carol Hansen Montgomery and Donald W. King, "Comparing Library and User Related Costs of Print and Electronic Journal Collections: A First Step Towards a Comprehensive Analysis," D-Lib Magazine 8, no. 10 (2002), available at 〈doi:10.1045/october2002-montgomery〉 Carol Hansen Montgomery, "Measuring the Impact of an Electronic Journal Collection on Library Costs: A Framework and Preliminary Observations," D-Lib Magazine 6, no. 10 (2000), available at 〈doi:10.1045/october2002-montgomery〉. Carol Hansen Montgomery and JoAnne L. Sparks, "The Transition to an Electronic Journal Collection: Managing the Organizational Changes at Drexel University," Serials Review 26, no. 3 (2000), available at 〈http://www.library.drexel.edu/facts/staff/dean/Serialsreview.pdf〉. Donald W. King et al., "Library Economic Metrics: Examples of the Comparison of Electronic and Print Journal Collections and Collection Services," Library Trends 51, no. 3 (2003). Another recent article has used a different approach to project the cost differentials: Lynn Silipigni Connaway and Stephen R. Lawrence, "Comparing Library Resource Allocations for the Paper and the Digital Library: An Exploratory Study," D-Lib Magazine 9, no. 12 (2003), available at 〈doi:10.1045/december2003-connaway〉.
14. Andy Stephens, "The Application of Life Cycle Costing in Libraries: A Case Study Based on Acquisition and Retention of Library Materials in the British Library," IFLA Journal 20, no. 2 (1994). Andy Stephens, "The application of life cycle costing in libraries," British Journal of Academic Librarianship 3, no. 2 (1988). Helen Shenton, "Life Cycle Collection Management," LIBER Quarterly 13, no. 3/4 (2003). Our thanks to Ms. Shenton, and her colleague Stephen Morgan, for a series of valuable conversations while both our studies were underway. For another recent application of the life-cycle approach, see Stephen R. Lawrence, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, and Keith H. Brigham, "Life Cycle Costs of Library Collections: Creation of Effective Performance and Cost Metrics for Library Resources," College & Research Libraries 62, no. 6 (November 2001).
15. Andy Stephens, "The Application of Life Cycle Costing in Libraries: A Case Study Based on Acquisition and Retention of Library Materials in the British Library," IFLA Journal 20, no. 2 (1994). Andy Stephens, "The application of life cycle costing in libraries," British Journal of Academic Librarianship 3, no. 2 (1988). Helen Shenton, "Life Cycle Collection Management," LIBER Quarterly 13, no. 3/4 (2003). Our thanks to Ms. Shenton, and her colleague Stephen Morgan, for a series of valuable conversations while both our studies were underway. For another recent application of the life-cycle approach, see Stephen R. Lawrence, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, and Keith H. Brigham, "Life Cycle Costs of Library Collections: Creation of Effective Performance and Cost Metrics for Library Resources," College & Research Libraries 62, no. 6 (November 2001).
16. Andy Stephens, "The Application of Life Cycle Costing in Libraries: A Case Study Based on Acquisition and Retention of Library Materials in the British Library," IFLA Journal 20, no. 2 (1994). Andy Stephens, "The application of life cycle costing in libraries," British Journal of Academic Librarianship 3, no. 2 (1988). Helen Shenton, "Life Cycle Collection Management," LIBER Quarterly 13, no. 3/4 (2003). Our thanks to Ms. Shenton, and her colleague Stephen Morgan, for a series of valuable conversations while both our studies were underway. For another recent application of the life-cycle approach, see Stephen R. Lawrence, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, and Keith H. Brigham, "Life Cycle Costs of Library Collections: Creation of Effective Performance and Cost Metrics for Library Resources," College & Research Libraries 62, no. 6 (November 2001).
17. Andy Stephens, "The Application of Life Cycle Costing in Libraries: A Case Study Based on Acquisition and Retention of Library Materials in the British Library," IFLA Journal 20, no. 2 (1994). Andy Stephens, "The application of life cycle costing in libraries," British Journal of Academic Librarianship 3, no. 2 (1988). Helen Shenton, "Life Cycle Collection Management," LIBER Quarterly 13, no. 3/4 (2003). Our thanks to Ms. Shenton, and her colleague Stephen Morgan, for a series of valuable conversations while both our studies were underway. For another recent application of the life-cycle approach, see Stephen R. Lawrence, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, and Keith H. Brigham, "Life Cycle Costs of Library Collections: Creation of Effective Performance and Cost Metrics for Library Resources," College & Research Libraries 62, no. 6 (November 2001).
18. For a more detailed view of the methodology, including the data collection instruments themselves, please see the extended version of this study that is forthcoming from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
19. Another implication is that we may have excluded copies of print subscriptions that are duplicated at collection not included. This may also have the effect of biasing down the cost of print at any libraries that have significant duplication across print collections that are and are not included in our data.
20. A library such as the Humanities and Social Science Library of the New York Public Library that is closed-stack would presumably have higher print-related costs. Similarly, any special collections that were closed-stack, even at a library whose main collection is open-stack, might be expected to experience higher costs.
21. Our thanks to Berry Chamness at Bryn Mawr; Ross Atkinson, Jim LeBlanc, and Karen Calhoun at Cornell; Carol Hansen Montgomery at Drexel; Marty Gordon at Franklin & Marshall; Aaron Hartman and John Walsh at George Mason; Arno Kastner at New York University; Sarah Aerni, Fern Brody, Matt Herbison, and Amy Knapp at Pitt; Robert Dugan and Becky Fulweiler at Suffolk; Clarissa Fisher at Western Carolina; Sandy Brooke and Dave Pilachowski at Williams; and Ann Okerson and Marcia Romanansky at Yale. Space limitations prevent us from recognizing the many other contributors from each participating library without whom this study would not have been possible.
22. When initiating a borrowing request, a patron does not understand an item to be missing from the local print materials or from the locally-provided electronic materials, but simply from the periodicals collection as a whole. Consequently, it is not possible to allocate ILL by format or holdings category. Its costs do not affect the relative costs of the formats and are therefore excluded from the study.
23. For a consideration of the costs for libraries that store all their backfiles on campus, please see the extended version of this study that is forthcoming from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
24. Because several of the libraries have in recent years opened (or begun to participate in) off-campus high-density shelving facilities, it seemed that for them - and eventually for many of the others - a new backfile volume accessioned would be shelved off campus or would displace an existing item to the off-campus facility. The cost of space in such a shelving facility would therefore be a reasonable proxy for the cost of space for all backfiles. In reality, backfiles today are usually shelved on campus, so, in using the off-campus space for these calculations, we derive figures that are far more conservative than the actual costs of the space generally occupied by backfiles.
25. We used the reported construction costs of several of the libraries to create this cost estimate, although in the past several years estimates nationally for construction costs of new library space have tended to average about $250 per square foot.
26. While the allocation of 75% of these costs here is an approximation, we believe strongly that most of the costs of these two activities on the electronic format are one-time in character. Even though re-negotiations and processing take place on a recurring basis for electronic periodicals, it is important to distinguish new years of a given periodical from previous years. These two categories of "recurring costs" are properly attributed in large measure to the new years of the title, not to the previously accessible years.
27. For explanation, see Footnote 16.
28. Surveys were conducted with University of Tennessee, Drexel University, and University of Pittsburgh. Donald W. King, Carol Tenopir, Carol Hansen Montgomery, and Sarah E. Aerni, "Patterns of Journal Use by Faculty at Three Diverse Universities," D-Lib Magazine 9, no. 10 (October, 2003), available at 〈doi:10.1045/october2003-king〉.
29. These economies of scale characterize large centralized operations, and a library like Yale, whose data in this study include only the large central collections at Sterling Memorial Library, therefore exhibits such economies dramatically. However, the data for other large institutions, such as the University of Pittsburgh, include, in addition to an extremely efficient central library, a significant number of small libraries (24), spread across multiple campuses, thus exhibiting higher average costs per title. For more detail about the economies of scale that we observe, please see the extended version of this study that is forthcoming from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
30. For more analysis of several plausible scenarios, please see the extended version of this study that is forthcoming from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
31. Re-allocating the cost of unbuilt space is, economically, a sound concept. It is, however, a complex argument to make, except for those cases when shelves are bursting at their seams and expansion is imminent. See Roger C. Schonfeld, JSTOR: A History (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003), 367-72.
32. Libraries have only recently begun to request licensing terms that provide for long-term access to electronic resources after the subscription period ends. Often long-term access will be guaranteed by the terms of the license, but via an indeterminate mechanism and for an unknown price. Most frequently, this licensing term is expressed as the opportunity to receive tapes, CDs, or other media on which data has been copied. However, budgetary provision is rarely if ever made by the subscribing library for the installation and servicing of these data or more generally for the preservation practices and safeguards for this new medium. Certainly, the location, not to mention the custody, of electronic periodicals today almost always remains with the publisher and rarely with libraries or independent organizations with a mission dedicated primarily to ensuring long-term access. There are a number of important projects underway. The LOCKSS project at Stanford University, the National Library of the Netherlands in partnership with Elsevier, and the initiatives at the Library of Congress are noteworthy developments in the search for acceptable archiving solutions.
33. We are assuming here that costs of archiving will be borne at least in part on the library side, because that appears to be the emerging model (witness, for example, LOCKSS and the Elsevier/KB arrangement). We would note, however, that all the same principles discussed in this section would hold true in a publisher-pays model, since publishers would presumably pay the costs by increasing their prices (at least) commensurately, and libraries would have to be prepared to allocate monies in that direction under such a model.