University of California libraries feeling the heat of the
budget crisis will cut collections in an effort not to burn holes
in their pockets. No information will be lost to UC students
though, as long as they have access to the Internet.
“The library is carrying out the first cancellation
project as part of a multi-year plan to eliminate subscriptions to
print when we license access to the electronic equivalent,”
said Cynthia Shelton, associate university librarian for collection
management and scholarly communication, in a statement on the UCLA
Library Web site.
According to the list of proposed serials cancellations linked
to the online statement, 540 publications will be eliminated in
print-form, 274 of them coming from the Biomedical Library on
campus.
Other libraries affected include the Management Library, Charles
E. Young Research Library and Science & Engineering
Library.
Many students on campus are unaware of these cancellations, but
believe they are not life-altering.
Matt Potterton, a third-year computer science student, works for
a company where most documents and media are on computers.
“It’s not too bad, but on the flip side, people like
to hold what they’re reading. I think they’ll be
OK,” Potterton said.
These cancellations are one way the libraries are working to
preserve the collections budget in order to maintain their ability
to purchase new materials.
In connection with the cancellations, the libraries will also
save money on binding costs and labor used to process the print
publications.
Shelton’s statement explains that the library’s
efforts have been geared toward three large publishers: Academic,
Blackwell and Wiley.
The cancelled print publications will not be completely lost,
though.
Shelton explains, “the UC system has negotiated a single
print copy to serve as a shared print archive for the campuses,
which will be located at the Southern Regional Library
Facility,” where UC archives and manuscripts are
preserved.
This will create an opportunity for students and faculty to
obtain the sole copy in print, but it is an extremely limited
resource.
Consolidation of media is creating mixed feelings.
Some find it harmless due to the extensive Internet access
available on campus, but others find it “disturbing, because
some people do not have access to online sources,” said
Patrick Masihi, a UCLA alumnus and adjunct faculty member at
Woodbury University in Burbank, who was doing research in YRL.
Masihi said UCLA has an extensive collection of journals that
students and faculty from other areas access. The problem is that
those without Internet access might find themselves waiting in line
at Internet kiosks, without an alternative.
“People drive all the way out here,” Masihi
said.
The university is at a crossroads, and a transition from print
to online media appears to be imminent, due to implications of
finance and accessibility.
Print media is fading out, and online databases are taking the
spotlight.
Soon enough, students searching for information might be staring
at their screens, asking themselves why they ever had to learn that
Dewey decimal system in the first place.