Creighton Libraries Connections

Managing our Legacy Print Collections

In January, our libraries completed the removal of over 100,000 print journal volumes from the Reinert-Alumni Memorial Library and the Health Sciences Library combined. This was a herculean task which involved all units of our department, from liaison librarians, who collaborated with faculty on decision making, to our Access Services team, which implemented the removal of print content. So, how much content is this? Each one is a bound volume containing multiple issues of the journal, often representing a calendar year of publication. Nearly all of these titles are now available electronically in our collection, others were incomplete runs of discontinued titles, or an older segment of a journal run receiving little to no use.

This project is an example of the kind of legacy print management that many academic libraries are grappling with. As our library collections become increasingly electronic and campus space continues to be a premium, decisions must be made about older print content receiving little or no use. What do we retain? What is our responsibility in preserving the scholarly record in print? In an acknowledgement that no one institution can shoulder this responsibility alone, academic research libraries are pursuing a collective approach to legacy print management. Individual libraries are examining what content they own that is unique, rare, or scarce among their network and prioritizing that content for retention.

Print journal retention, in particular, is one area in which academic libraries have collaborated to preserve the scholarly record. One example of this is WEST, the Western Regional Storage Trust, which retains print journal backfiles in a distributed manner among consortia members. Another example is the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) shared print repository, which retains print journal backfiles centrally in a high density storage facility in Indiana. Resource sharing agreements allow our libraries to access scanned content from print journal backfiles, if needed, while our electronic access continues to meet nearly all of our faculty and student needs.

This spring, our libraries will begin a collaboration with faculty to decide what legacy print books to retain in our collections. The titles presented initially are those which have not been used in 15 years or more, all which are held widely by our network of academic library partners. Why are we undertaking these projects now? Most of our campus community is aware that the BioInformation Center, where our Health Sciences Library is currently housed, must be vacated in approximately two years. While that consolidation is driving the timeline for these projects, the activity of managing legacy print collections is an important part of stewardship of our resources.

Our team appreciates the input of our faculty and staff who have already contributed to these projects! Stay tuned as we share updates about the upcoming legacy print book deselection project and seek faculty engagement.