No abstract

The increasing costs of science, technology, and medical journals, combined with decreasing or stagnant budgets, have forced libraries to take a hard look at current journal subscriptions. Even when budgets remain stable or increase, they may not keep pace with the escalating costs of subscriptions from various publishers. In the face of potential journal cancellations, some libraries are turning to pay-per-view (PPV) as an alternative method of providing access to material demanded by patrons. This paper discusses PPV options in general and, in particular, a feasibility study carried out at Florida Institute of Technology, in which the library purchased Wiley tokens and used them in both a mediated and unmediated fashion over the course of a year.

The authors examine, based on a survey of users, the electronic document delivery methods currently in place as well as changes in the recent past and future developments. Interlibrary loan and document delivery staff were surveyed from institutions across the United States in order to ascertain what document delivery mechanisms are currently in place, how they are being used, and why. Findings from this study should lead to an increased awareness of electronic delivery options in libraries across the country and elucidate the dynamics involved at individual sites. This, in turn, will assist librarians in making decisions, based not only on their individual circumstances, but on the experience and trends found across a broad sampling of institutions.

Background: Over the last couple decades, the field of bioinformatics has helped spur medical discoveries that offer a better understanding of the genetic basis of disease, which in turn improve public health and save lives. Concomitantly, support requirements for molecular biology researchers have grown in scope and complexity, incorporating specialized resources, technologies, and techniques.

While librarians, researchers, and the general public have embraced the concept of Open Access (OA), librarians still have a difficult time managing OA resources. To find out why, Bulock and Hosburgh surveyed librarians about their experiences managing OA resources and the strengths and weaknesses of management systems. At this session, they shared survey results, reflected on OA workflows at their own libraries, and updated audience members on relevant standards and initiatives. Survey respondents reported challenges related to hybrid OA, inaccurate metadata, and inconsistent communication along the serials supply chain. Recommended solutions included the creation of consistent, centralized article-level metadata and the development of OA collection development principles for libraries.KEYWORDS Open Access, metadata, knowledgebases, link resolvers, discovery services, electronic resources Managing Open Access (OA) resources remains challenging for libraries, even though librarians, researchers, and the general public have embraced the concept of OA. To find out why, Chris Bulock of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Nathan Hosburgh of Rollins College surveyed librarians about the systems and procedures they used to manage OA resources and how they could be improved. At their session, Bulock and Hosburgh reviewed key standards and initiatives related to OA management, reflected on the OA management practices used by survey respondents and at their own libraries, and considered how information professionals could collaborate to solve persistent problems identified in their survey. Hosburgh opened the session with a review of the Open Access environment, listing the types of OA resources and systems covered in the study. He also covered several initiatives undertaken by publishers, researchers, vendors, and librarians, demonstrating that OA drives much innovation in scholarly communication. Next he reviewed the various systems Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Rollins College use to manage electronic resources, including OA content. Discovery services, catalogs, knowledgebases, library web pages, and research guides each come with their