USF Libraries E-Resources

It is essential that each resource selected for the Virtual Library shall:

·        support networking to all USF users on- or off-site.*

·        provide high quality content according to the criteria for various formats specified

below.

·        permit on-site use by non-USF clientele.*

·        provide a user interface that will be easy to use for general users and provide appropriate searching strategies for specialists.

·        be based on a sound technological infrastructure that provides rapid and consistent delivery of information and effective downloading and printing capabilities.*

·        bring significant cost/value benefits to the USF community when product and hardware costs (both initial and continuing), labor costs, and enhanced services to students and researchers are all considered.

·        provide guaranteed delivery of information within contractually accepted

performance standards.*

It is highly desirable that electronic resources include:

·        provision of patron authentication beyond IP mapping.*

·        Z39.50 compatibility.*

·        Connectivity with existing resources and interfaces, such as OCLC ECO and FirstSearch or PubMed and IDEAL.*

·        availability of vendor training and/or user instruction and marketing materials. *

·        availability of vendor produced usage statistics.*

·        permission of vendor to provide ILL according to CONTU guidelines. *

·        provision of updated information (if appropriate) more frequently than paper or other formats.

·        agreement that subscription costs will be assessed at a single institution rate.*

·        appropriate provision of archived data.*

·        availability of "hook to holdings" features as appropriate. *

* Items marked with asterisks should be specified in license agreements.

Full-text, cover to cover, electronic journals:

• All graphics and images (except advertising) in the print edition should be included and of superior quality.
• The electronic journal should be at least as current as its print counterpart, with tables of contents for forthcoming issues desirable.
• The vendor or other agency (e.g. FCLA or OCLC) must provide or allow permanent archiving and continuous access to all electronic issues covered by subscription.
• The journal must incorporate the technology needed to make it accessible to all USF Libraries and do so with ease, reliability, and system stability.
• Metadata cataloging through USF Libraries Online Catalog and the Virtual Library should be available.

Full-text, cover to cover, electronic journals:

Selection: The Electronic Collections Team and collection development librarians should systematically examine USF subscriptions to determine whether electronic versions are available. Additional requests for electronic editions of print journals or for "virtual" journals to be purchased as part of the Virtual Library will be forwarded to the Electronic Collections Team and appropriate collection development librarians for review.

Priority for selection will be given to journals currently on subscription where electronic access provides the most economical distribution to the USF community or to "packages" of journals that significantly enhance USF resources in a cost effective manner. New titles should meet appropriate criteria for research journals, including scholarly significance, discipline impact as measured by citation studies, coverage in standard indexing services, and/or recognized reputation of publisher and editorial boards. Useful enhancements to electronic journals include the capacity to search within a particular journal or journal publisher, increased currency, and tables of contents of forthcoming issues. Existing or potential usage across campuses (ideally supported by ILL requests) and the balance of the overall USF collection should be carefully evaluated before a title is approved for cooperative purchase. Departments or libraries may purchase other titles with designated funds, although, in many cases, document delivery may provide the most cost-effective access to specialized, low-use journals.

Cancellation: USF libraries should undertake to minimize duplication of journals in all formats whenever possible. Cancellations should be implemented in accordance with existing Collection Management Committee policy. Cancellation of a last remaining USF copy of a journal should be undertaken only when programmatic needs across campuses and desirability of permanent archiving files arc carefully considered. An electronic journal will be considered an acceptable permanent substitute for its print equivalent and an appropriate "last copy" if the following standards are met:

• All graphics and images (except advertising) in the print edition should be included and of superior quality.
• The electronic journal should be at least as current as its print counterpart, with tables of contents for forthcoming issues desirable.
• The vendor or other agency (e.g. FCLA or OCLC) must provide or allow permanent archiving and continuous access to all electronic issues covered by subscription.
• The journal must incorporate the technology needed to make it accessible to all USF Libraries and do so with ease, reliability, and system stability.
• Metadata cataloging through USF Libraries Online Catalog and the Virtual Library should be available.

Newspapers:

 Selection:  Priority for cooperative purchase will be given to titles where

electronic availability offers significant economies of scale or provides unique access.

Major national, international, or locally significant newspapers should be evaluated for Virtual Library inclusion as funds allow.

Cancellation: Cancellation should be made according to Collection Management

Committee policy. Since electronic newspaper files currently available typically lack

graphics, advertising, and classified material, they are inappropriate as "last copies"

where the totality of the newspaper is important.

Selection:  Indexes and abstracts providing access to standard reference sources

that will be useful across campuses should be considered for purchase for Virtual Library inclusion. Conversion of CD-ROM to web-based sources should be undertaken whenever the value of enhanced access warrants any price increases entailed. Specialized scholarly indexes will be considered for cooperative purchase only if sustained use across several campuses is forecast, although, as with journals, other resources more suitably purchased with departmental or library funds may be mounted on the Virtual Library.

Cancellation:  Cancellation of print copies or CD-ROM products should be

undertaken according to CMC policy when currency of information and reliability of its delivery system are demonstrated. Cancellation of the last print or CD-ROM version of key indexes should be implemented only when archiving of the electronic version is assured.

Aggregator services such as Lexis-Nexis and General Academic Index provide

indexing for a wide range of information sources and also deliver full-text articles from electronic journals or other full-text reference products.

Selection:  Because of the high costs of these products and the necessity for providing continuity with the heavily used services already available, addition of new aggregator packages to the Virtual Library should be made cautiously. Only products that offer cost-effective full text access to a significant number of journals or sources not covered by existing electronic resources should be considered. Although every title need not be evaluated, the journals included in the service should substantially meet the standards for scholarly or research titles outlined above. Products that offer a wide range of titles in fields or formats not covered by traditional scholarly literature or internet sites (e.g. Ethnic Newswatch or Business Dateline) may be selectively considered if the quality and scope of the information delivered warrants selection.

Cancellation:  Because vendor and publisher policies concerning the

completeness of coverage and the continuity of inclusion are unpredictable, decisions to

cancel journals on the basis of coverage by these services should be made cautiously.

Journals covered cannot be considered appropriate "last copy" when archiving of

information is important to the research mission of USF. Cancellation of duplicate print

copies, however, can be considered if the aggregator services have been proven to meet

the instructional needs of a particular campus library.

Selection:  Inclusion of a variety of standard reference sources is essential for the

Virtual Library. As with print sources, scope and currency of information, reputation of

publisher and editor(s), comparison to existing sources, cost, and estimated usage should

be evaluated. Resources that duplicate existing print or microform resources should be

purchased only when heavy, increased use or significantly augmented content is demonstrated. Specialized sources should be selected only when sustained use across campuses is anticipated unless an electronic version is the only or most cost effective

means of delivery, although campuses or departments may purchase such sources with

their designated funds.

Cancellation:  Cancellation of print equivalents is encouraged when reliability,

full content, and ease of access is ensured. Final copies in other formats should be canceled or withdrawn only when archiving issues have been carefully considered.

Selection:  Collections of monographic texts (e.g. the LION database) should be

widely useful across campuses and should add significantly to the quantity and accessibility of existing library titles. Selections should consider that such collections are

frequently compiled from out of print editions that may lack the textual and editorial

material that many scholars require. Cost/benefit judgments should be persuasive.

Cancellation:  Print versions of monographs that are included in such collections

should be retained. New print editions should continue to be obtained if important new

material is included.

While there are many quality, open-access web sites available, maintenance issues involved with every site means that no site is truly "free." Before a site is added to the Virtual Library, a collection development subject specialist will evaluate it for quality, stability, currency, and relevancy to the USF community. Sites that are to be recommended by the collection development specialist will be forwarded to the ECT for

inclusion on the Virtual Library interface. Cataloging will not normally be provided for

these sites.

There are an increasing number of journals that are only available in an electronic

format. Collection development subject specialists may forward recommendations for

these titles to the Electronic Collections Team. Titles that meet the specifications listed

previously concerning licensing restrictions, scholarly significance, discipline impact,

coverage in standard indexing services, and reputation of the publisher and editorial

boards will be included on the Virtual Library. Cataloging will be provided for these titles.

Some journal publishers provide electronic counterparts to their print publications

at no additional cost to the user. In many cases, the electronic version of the journal does

not include the full content of the publication and does not archive back issues. Tables

of contents, the most recent issue, or selected articles may appear on the publisher's web

site as a "teaser" to purchase the complete print or electronic publication. Normally these

sites will not be included on the Virtual Library; however, collection development

librarians may forward recommendations for these sites to the Electronic Collections

Team for evaluation. These sites will be considered for inclusion on the Virtual Library if the free site provides enhanced features that are not available elsewhere. Typically, cataloging will not normally be provided for these sites.

Other types of materials, including evolving new products such as electronic books or those that provide electronic delivery of sound or video, will be considered on case-by-case basis according to the general principles outlined above.

Submitted by Tina Neville, Monica Metz-Wiseman, Larry Heilos, and Kathy Arsenault, December 10, 1998.