The UC Berkeley Library has determined that it needs to reduce its annual expenditure on subscription databases, journal subscriptions, and e-book and journal packages by $850,000. The Library invites your input by Friday, May 12, on its list of proposed journal and database cancellations.
We want to hear from you
Please submit your comments on the Library’s list of proposed journal and database cancellationsby email (scholarly-resources@lists.berkeley.edu), directly to your subject librarian, or via this comment form.
The comment period is open through Friday, May 12.
This is the second phase of an overall $1.7 million reduction of our acquisitions and licensing budget. In the first phase, there was an $850,000 reduction in selectors’ discretionary allocations for acquiring print and digital books, media, datasets, and other one-time purchases.
The proposed list of cancellations was developed to minimize the impact on the community by focusing on duplicative subscriptions; journals and databases that are available open access or in other ways; and the most seldomly accessed journals and databases. The proposed cancellations were identified after a careful evidence-based balancing of needs and costs by Library liaisons across all disciplines.
The near-term budgetary pressures facing the campus and the Library are, unfortunately, intense. Costs are increasing by far more than revenues: The increase in faculty and staff salaries and benefits is, for example, over four times greater than our anticipated increase in state funding.
The Library encourages all interested students, staff, and faculty to review carefully the list of proposed serial cancellations and provide feedback.
For more information, see the Library’s guide, which includes the list of proposed journal and database cancellations.