LSU Libraries Collection Services


THE LSU LIBRARIES' FACT SHEET ON JOURNAL SUBSCRIPTION COSTS
AND THE SERIALS REDESIGN PROJECT

SpacerUniversity libraries throughout the world have been wrestling with a decade of budget crises due to out-of- control price increases for journal subscriptions. Library budgets have not been able to keep pace with these substantial increases. At the same time, book prices have risen. The following facts reflect the LSU Libraries' book/subscription expenditures and efforts to contain costs during the past ten years.

Fiscal Year Materials Expenditures 1987-1988

Cost No. Titles
Books: $712,000 25,800
Subscriptions: $975,000 12,400 paid subscriptions
3,900 gift subscriptions

Fiscal Year Materials Expenditures 1997-1998

Cost No. Titles
Books: $617,400 14,300
Subscriptions: $2.2 million 10,500 paid subscriptions
3,900 gift subscriptions

Samples of Subscription Price Increases of Selected LSU Titles*
*These titles represent less than 1% of the 7,700 science journal titles subscribed to by the Libraries.

Journal titles
1995
1996
Change
95-96
1997
Change
96-97
1998
Change
97-98
Change
95-98
Added Cost
95-98
Brain Research $10,181 $12,234 20.2% $14,919 21.9% $15,428 3.4% 51.5% $5,247.00
Biochim.
Biophys. Acta		 $7,555 $8,837 17.0% $10,528 19.1% $10,839 3.0% 43.5% $3,284.00
Chem. phys. letters $5,279 $6,569 24.4% $7,818 19.0% $8,060 3.1% 52.7% $2,781.00
Gene $3,924 $5,069 29.2% $6,144 21.2% $6,433 4.7% 63.9% $2,509.00
Theor. Comp.
Science		 $2,774 $3,425 23.5% $3,835 12.0% $4,059 5.8% 46.3% $1,285.00
J. Exp. Mar.
Bio. & Eco.		 $1,947 $2,445 25.6% $2,811 15.0% $2,931 4.3% 50.5% $984.00
Solid State Commun. $1,945 $2,327 19.6% $2,602 11.8% $2,871 10.3% 47.6% $926
TOTALS $33,605 $40,906 $48,657 $50,621 $17,016.00

History and Results of LSU's Serials Redesign Activities 1993 - 1998

January 1993 - December 1998

1st Pilot Chemistry April 1993
2nd Pilot Geography &
Anthropology		 November 1993
3rd Pilot Science/Technology Depts. Fall 1994
4th Pilot LSU UnCover gateway Fall 1995
5th Pilot Social Science Depts. Fall 1995
6th Pilot Humanities Depts. Spring 1998

Serials Redesign Cancellations and New Titles Added

Departments Titles Canceled Cancellation Total Titles Added New Titles Total
Sciences 332 $120,943 181 $34,560
Social Sciences 44 $20,962 50 $8,047
Humanities 205 $17,065 62 $4,133

A Decade of Cancellations

Year
Titles
Amount
Serials Budget
1988 114 $52,136 $1,518,288
1989 420 $92,166 $1,610,125
1990* 0 0 $1,774,393
1991* 0 0 $1,565,705
1992 1027 $283,242 $1,653,058
1993 471 $129,747 $1,515,024
1994 45 $16,133 $1,439,493
1995 332 $120,943 $1,911,746
1996 0 0 $1,885,364
1997 44 $20,962 $1,950,684
1998 241 $96,290+ $2,105,376

TOTALS
 2694 $811,619

*One-time bond money received
+Includes reference titles

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