The rising cost of serials occupies much discussion bandwidth. However, the cost of managing serials, including the A&I discovery apparatus, is also considerable. A growing number of libraries are investing in some or all of the metasearch/resolver/electronic resource management/knowledge-base suite of tools and associated data management services. They continue to invest significantly in A&I databases. This all consumes considerable financial and technical resource, as well as much human attention. We should remember that not only are journals rising in price, but that the fragmentation of the serials base and ways in which we currently manage it impose a considerable burden on libraries.
Share
More from LorcanDempsey.net
The informational disciplines
This is a further excerpt from my response to the LIS Forward paper. It considers some of the history and contours of the informational disciplines - information science, LIS, library studies. It notes the ongoing blurriness of identity, nomenclature and boundaries.
20 min read
Introduction and summary: Library Studies, the Informational Disciplines, and the iSchool: Some Remarks Prompted by LIS Forward
A discussion of libraries and library studies in the context of library education. It is the introduction to, and summary of, my response to the LIS Forward position paper.
16 min read
On the dissemination of ideas and innovation
A short discussion of sources of ideas in the library community, with special reference to the general framework laid out by Daniel Drezner.
7 min read
