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Scholarly communication in the U.S. has been closely examined in the past two decades by librarians because of the acceleration in costs of serial, scholarly communication. Specific disciplines of research have increased at unprecedented rates, namely the areas of scientific, technical, and medical (STM) publishing.

The purpose of the paper is to present the influence open access initiatives (OAIs) have on journal cancellations in university libraries in South Africa.

The paper is based on part of a doctoral research project which examined the crisis in scholarly communication and its effect on university libraries in South Africa that was carried out at the University of KwaZulu-Natal from 2005 to 2009. Part of the investigation focused on open access (OA) and how it influenced journal cancellations. The survey methodology was adopted and the study used a quantitative approach to collect data on the influence of OA.

The findings revealed that OAIs had a very limited influence on journal cancellations in South African university libraries.

The study presents data that can be used by university libraries to develop, support and facilitate access to local research.

The study provides data on which future developments in OA as a solution to university library journal cancellations could be based.

Bibliographic citation analysis of student research papers is one method of evaluating the use of a journal collection. Journal selection and cancellation may be done on the basis of use and cost‐effectiveness to maximize the usefulness of materials purchased with the library budget. An analysis of the bibliographic citations of research papers by undergraduate and graduate students in the psychology department of St Mary’s University was used as one basis for psychology journal selection and deselection in the academic library. Findings confirmed that the most cost‐effective and the most used materials were usually held by the library. Titles that met these criteria and were not held are good candidates for new subscriptions. Likewise, the least cost‐effective and least‐used titles are candidates for cancellation. Convergence of data from other sources should be used to confirm citation analysis findings due to the inherent limitations of the method.

Introduces and analyzes basic library collection management issues regarding electronic journals, including selection, budgeting, policy making, collection evaluation, and preservation/archiving. Argues that staffing and budgeting for electronic journals can be organized on subject‐based or format‐based approaches, or some combination of both. Electronic journals are selected through the same three‐stage process used for print journals: identification, evaluation, and selection. Most of the traditional criteria for print journals are also applicable to electronic journals, but additional criteria are superimposed on them. The cancellation and weeding of electronic journals have not been addressed by the profession, but will assume more significance in the future. There is a need for new client‐centered evaluation methodologies that focus on availability and accessibility rather than ownership.

Describes the current situation affecting academic publishing today by looking at the economic, sociological and technological changes that have affected the academic journal over the last 20 years. Examines the strategies that academic libraries have devised to cope with the current cancellation crisis such as electronic document delivery, resource sharing and electronic journals. Looks at alternative models of scholarly communication. Details current research and future trends and outlines areas in need of further research.

The scope of American academic libraries during 1969–1990. Reviews the literature on price increases in library materials. Describes price increases in terms of material types, size and reasons for increases as well as possible solutions. Commercial (especially European) publishers raise prices freely because researchers must publish articles and read journals to succeed. Paper costs, foreign exchange rates, increased numbers of titles and pages, and falling subscription rates are also factors. Possible solutions are to cancel journals, use document delivery and electronic journals. Librarians and researchers should use their influence to control costs.

I would like to comment on the article by Mr M. B. Line and Mr D. N. Wood on ‘The Effect of a Large‐Scale Photocopying Service on Journal Sales’, which was published in the December 1975 issue of the Journal of Documentation, as I feel that the authors have achieved the enviable feat of obscuring the real problems facing the dissemination of scientific information through a haze of generalities.

The purpose of this study is to identify and examine the factors that affected the scale of ILL photocopy requests between Japanese university libraries from 1994 to 2008.

Based on the newly developed conceptual framework to interpret the rise and fall in ILL, more than 10 million requests, sent through a nation‐wide system called NACSIS‐ILL from 1994 to 2008 were quantitatively analyzed.

The number of photocopy requests for articles in foreign journals started to decrease in 2000, due to the dramatic increase of e‐journal titles made accessible through “Big Deal” contracts that came into effect in 2002 as well as other similar trials prior to it. On the other hand, requests for articles in domestic journals, mostly written in Japanese, continued to increase until 2006. The main factor for this increase was the expansion of journal title coverage in bibliographic databases, which enabled users to retrieve more references. However, requests decreased in 2007, because of advances in digitization in the Japanese academic environment.

This research proposes a conceptual model to understand document demand and service patterns observed in nation‐wide ILL services. It also successfully draws a comprehensive picture of ILL in Japanese higher education institutions, based on more than 10 million request records over 15 years, and it shows how the number of ILL requests correlates with the availability of requested journals in electronic form.

This research proposes a conceptual model to understand document demand and service patterns observed in nation‐wide ILL services. It also successfully draws a comprehensive picture of ILL in Japanese higher education institutions, based on more than 10 million request records over 15 years, and it shows how the number of ILL requests correlates with the availability of requested journals in electronic form.

In this article recent developments in the management of electronic journals at the Technical Knowledge Center & Library of Denmark (DTV) are outlined. Special emphasis is put on the reengineering of library services to take advantage of changes in electronic publishing, and on the development in house of a common user interface to electronic journals and databases. The human resource development activities including a domestic PC programme and distance learning as a primary means of educating staff are highlighted.

The purpose of this paper is to present how the results of research on electronic resources use and selection policies in research libraries can be used.

The paper presents the sources for the establishment of the decision grid. The entire process and criteria for collection evaluation are presented from the funding perspective. The quantitative decision grid evaluation process used by the national body funding research, the Slovenian Research Agency, is presented and its use demonstrated.

For the fourth year in a row, the new decision grid was used to evaluate proposals for financing the library collections of almost one hundred research libraries in Slovenia. Each year, lists of quantitative evaluation elements are prepared and these are the basis for funding decisions. The results so far have been positive. The new criteria have encouraged involvement and participation in consortia, selection and deselection on the basis of the quality of journals, and movement to electronic journal collections.

The new research library environment that has evolved as technology has developed not only requires new models of functioning and providing service but also new financial resources. It is important to use library and information science research results and findings in the decision‐making process of the various involved parties regarding budget and financial inputs.

The paper offers new data on the old dilemma of how to best determine the value of a journal in the context of a library collection relative to the type of library and the needs of its users.