Goals of the collection team:

The goal of the collection team is to support the curriculum and research of the WesternU community. Due to the ever-increasing cost of books, journals and databases, the library needs to ensure it is purchasing the most essential materials for our users.

Why does the library need to cancel any subscriptions?

The inflation rate of our journals and other subscriptions usually ranges from 5-6% each year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 and 2022 the inflation rates were lower, at 2-3% and 3-5% (2021 Serials Price Project Report, 2022 Serials Price Project Report). The 2024 inflation rate is projected to be in the range of 3-4% (2024 Serials Price Projection Report). In order to be able to purchase new journals or databases, the library needs to periodically review its subscriptions and make cancelations, as necessary. 

What is the library doing to combat increasing costs?

• Working with consortiums to get better pricing. The Library is part of SCELC (Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium).
• Reviewing our journal subscriptions annually to see if we are spending our money on the resources the university needs.
• Working with publishers to get better deals via packages or multi-year agreements.

The library reviews current serial subscriptions based on:

• Cost per use (CPU)- >/= $50 for the last 3 years
• Full-text availability- Is the title available via open access, or within another collection?

Review Process

1. Each spring the librarians asses the collection and use the criteria above to create the list for review
2. The information is then shared with the University community for their comments
3. The cancelation list is developed based on university feedback.

For more questions on this process, please contact the Collection Development Team at libsupport@westernu.edu.