In the fall semester, Dean Langley and I convened a committee to assess the future of journal subscriptions at UConn. As journal costs continue to rise, library budgets at institutions of higher education often remain flat or shrink. This has put pressure on libraries to make increasingly difficult choices to limit and /or eliminate staffing, programming, and support services to maintain journal subscriptions.
Without swift intervention, this will begin to have even greater detrimental effects on library services. UConn is among institutions considering how best to adapt our model of journal content access in ways that have less impact to the Library’s overall budget and acknowledge the paramount importance of journal access in the University’s mission of fostering excellence in research and instruction at all levels.
Based on our discussions as a committee, we are rolling out a pilot to test an alternate model of delivery that would be phased in over several years where journal subscriptions would not be renewed, and instead we would be able to provide articles on an a la carte basis at the same speed and convenience currently available. The change occurs primarily behind the scenes in how the Library pays for and delivers journal materials. Any decisions about journal subscriptions will in no way negatively impact other resources/services you have come to rely on including access to databases and other search tools to help you find the articles and other materials needed for your work.
Moreover, the approach is aimed at providing the same journal support at a cost that is viable long-term, which will allow us to address impending budgetary shortfalls in the Library and to re-invest any additional savings back into the Library to reverse damaging reductions in staffing and services over the past several years.
As we explore the necessary systems to support a potential widespread shift to an article-on-demand system, we will pilot the approach over the next six months with a small number of select journals (about 1% of current subscription and database titles held by the end of FY 2020-2021). During this interim period, the Library will share updates and progress on this website to keep our communities apprised. Work will continue over the spring and summer for an integrated approach to be piloted more broadly throughout the fall 2021 semester.
If this approach is not deemed acceptable, the committee will go back and work through other options. Regardless of the approach we decide upon, a commitment to the quality of journal service to the academic community will be foremost in our decisions.
Support of the mission of the Library to provide access to and stewardship of the world of information is of utmost importance. I know many of you understand the truly difficult situation the scholarly communications crisis has brought to universities across the U.S. Institutions are seeking ways to take aim at the pricing and publishing models that have led to this juncture, and we are carefully tracking the successes of other institutions as we seek solutions tailored best for UConn’s diverse users and needs.
Our success will provide an opportunity to manage our Library budget without the burden of being dominated by the unsustainable increasing costs of journal subscriptions. Instead, the Library will be positioned to be nimble in support of the critical endeavors of the Library and of the University as a whole. In close collaboration with the members of the Future of Journals Subscription Committee, Dean Langley and I will monitor and assess the transition throughout the pilot project. We encourage you to reach out to any of us with feedback and/or questions. You can also email the Library at journalsfeedback@uconn.edu.
Sincerely,
Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Future of Journal Subscriptions Committee
Robert Astur, Professor, Department of Psychology
Brian Boecherer, Executive Director, Early College Programs
Thomas Briggs, PhD student, Department of Political Science
Jessica de Perio Wittman, Director/Associate Professor, UConn Law Library
Pamela Diggle, Department Head/Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Stuart Duncan, Director of Fellowship, Outreach, and Programming, The Graduate School
Kevin Fitzgerald, MPA student, Department of Public Policy
Anne Langley, Dean, UConn Library
Carl Lejuez, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Senjie Lin, Professor, Marine Sciences
Ruth Lucas, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Kevin McEvoy, Assistant Professor in Residence, Marketing
Grace Morris, Research Development Specialist, InCHIP
Roxanne Peck, AUL for Collections & Discovery, UConn Library
Sylvia Schafer, Professor, Department of History
Leslie Shor, Associate Dean, School of Engineering
Fiona Somerset, Professor, English/Literatures Cultures and Languages
Katherine Spinnato, Director of Academic Affairs, USG Academic Affairs
Olga Vinogradova, Professor, School of Pharmacy
Sandra Weller, Board of Trustee Professor, Molecular Biology and Biophysics
Lisa Williamson, DMA student, Music Department
Sarah Woulfin, Associate Professor, Educational Leadership
Steven Zinn, Department Head/Professor, Department of Animal Science
So, how is this working?
- Over several years, journal subscriptions will not be renewed, and instead we will provide articles on an a la carte basis at the same speed and convenience currently available.
- The change occurs primarily behind the scenes in how the Library pays for and delivers journal materials. Any decisions about journal subscriptions will in no way negatively impact other resources/services you have come to rely on including access to databases and other search tools to help you find the articles and other materials needed for your work.
- During the first six months, will be piloting the approach with a small number of select journals (about 1% of current subscription and database titles held by the end of FY 2020-2021).
Will I be able to get access to the full text of articles?
Yes! How the library provides access to articles is changing but your ability to access them will not. We will supply them to you on demand.
For faculty, staff, and graduate students, interlibrary loan requests for 2021 articles from non-renewed journals will be fulfilled within minutes. Maximum time from request to arrival of the PDF is 2 hours—24/7. Undergraduate students will receive PDFs generally within 1-2 business days.
Will I still be able to access databases such as EBSCO, ProQuest, and Scopus?
Yes! You will continue to have the same access to all the databases the library subscribes to.
Is there a list of journal subscriptions and when they will not be renewed?
There is not a list of journal subscription titles. The pilot is an investigation in what it will look like to provide access to individual articles from a small subset of publishers. If access is burdensome or not a reasonable equivalent to what we have now during the testing phase of the pilot, the committee will explore other solutions to funding the library collection budget.
Will books be affected by these changes?
The availability of scholarly monographs will not be impacted.
Will it change how I search for an article?
No! The discovery tools remain the same.
How do I request an article?
- Search for the article you need in the Library catalog, Google Scholar, PubMed, or Library-provided subject databases.
- If you search the Library catalog, check the box “Expand My Results to include e-resources not owned by UConn.”
- If you search Google Scholar, configure your profile first.
- Look for a button that says, “UConn Full Text” or “Request a PDF.”
- Follow the prompts to submit your request.
- The PDF will be sent to you within minutes. Check your UConn email for a notification and a link to access the PDF.
What is the timeline of the pilot?
Beginning in early 2021, the pilot begins with select publishers.
When will the new 'get it now' one button option be available?
Our goal is to pilot test during the fall 2021 semester. We hope you will take part in the testing.
How can I give you my feedback or ask questions?
You can contact us at journalsfeedback@uconn.edu.
How will this transition impact the UConn Health and Law communities?
We continue to work closely with our campus partners to provide convenient, cost-effective access to articles. The Health Sciences and Law Libraries maintain their own collections and budgets. We ask that the Health and Law communities continue to rely on the robust interlibrary loan services at their own libraries.
Library Statement on the Future of Journal Subscriptions - November 2020
UConn is facing unprecedented budget challenges and based on current projections, the Library is planning for a budget reduction of more than $2 million over the next three years. In order to address this, and given our deep cuts to staffing in the past decade, we must look at our collections spending and in particular journals collections. Journal subscription costs have outpaced available funding and currently account for over 66% of our total collections budget. As a result, we find ourselves confronting the scholarly communication crisis — maintaining a sustainable budget while providing the necessary resources to our academic community. This crisis is not one that UConn faces alone. Libraries nationwide are struggling to keep pace with rising journal subscription costs.
To address this issue, Provost Carl Lejuez and Dean Anne Langley are working with a committee of faculty, students, administrators, and staff to develop a strategic approach to how we can most effectively continue to maintain access to the full range of scholarly research our academic community depends upon. This will include creating sustainable models of providing access to academic research and subscription reductions.
Throughout this process, the Library is committed to upholding its values of providing access to and stewardship of the world of information and will be thoughtful about how our evolving models of access impact the mission of the University. We are looking forward to working with the committee on a response to these challenges that will keep us moving ahead, even in uncertain times.
As more detailed information is known, we will share it with you here. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please reach out to Dean Langley or Associate University Librarian for Collections & Discovery Roxanne Peck.