Serials Review
Spring 2006

In December of 2005, the Libraries learned that the 2005/06 F & A (Facilities & Administration or overhead) allocation that it receives from the Office of Research and Graduate Studies had been reduced by $285,000. This F&A allocation, generated from research grants obtained by the faculty, enables the Libraries to provide journals and electronic resources that support the research enterprises of the university. This reduction constitutes an almost 29% decrease to F & A and forces us to review research materials made possible by such funding. This means that we will have to make substantive cuts to the collections budget in addition to the 800 journal titles canceled this fall to cover the impact of inflation.

In order to absorb such a substantial reduction, we must begin identifying research materials to cancel now and focus those cancellations on the areas, primarily science and engineering at this university, supported by this funding. Using citation analysis, we have been able to obtain data on the number of times a journal is cited by an NC State author and the number of articles by NC State researchers published in a particular journal. These data points, along with input from faculty gathered over the past 6 years, have allowed us to compile a list of titles. This list of titles adds up to approximately $792,000 of which we need to identify at least 35% to cut. (Note that the list is larger than the amount we will have to cancel to allow you some flexibility in making your decisions.) Please review these titles and get back to us with those you find essential for your research.

The journal titles are listed both alphabetically and by subject in call number order. We have also made the entire list available to you in an Excel spreadsheet.

The NCSU Libraries is committed to maintaining a collection of excellence that meets your research and learning needs. While we have made every effort to retain those titles deemed critical to research and teaching, this cancellation will be a big loss for the collection and we will work with you to address any impact.

Serials Reviews were also conducted in 2005 and 2002.

Please contact Suzanne Weiner via email or at 515-7110 with your comments and feedback.