Format Overlap of theNew York Times:A Collection Management Case Study

Abstract

The issue in academic libraries of format duplication for the same title in print, microfilm, and electronic formats continues to strain library budgets, facilities, and staff. This article reviews the criteria used by a medium-sized academic library for deciding what formats of the New York Times to continue to collect and maintain. A research study was conducted to ascertain the completeness of coverage in both the online and microfilm formats of this title, with the results used as additional decision criteria. INTRODUCTIONElectronic resources are the primary research tools of the twenty-first-century academic library, used in preference over traditional print indexes, abstracts, newspapers, and journals, as well as microfilm. But it is not always clear whether there is a need to continue to collect a specific title in all available formats or whether to continue to hold on to multiple formats already in a collection. Budgetary and space constraints have made it crucial to reflect more closely on how necessary it is to maintain and retain access to print and microfilm holdings when a title is available online. Many issues must be addressed by an academic library when making collection development and management decisions for a title that is available in multiple formats: The research needs of their faculty and students; what format is generally preferred by users; the currency, completeness, and search capabilities of the online coverage when compared to the traditional format; vendor reliability; and any collection development policies already in place. The decision criteria 94 Downloaded by [Stony Brook University] at 12:02 04 December 2014 Format Overlap of the New York Times 95for deselecting print and microfilm holdings would thus have to be evaluated in the context of assessing the value of an electronic title for a collection.One of the greatest areas of collection overlap is with newspapers. A library can have a current print subscription, online current and retrospective access, microfilm holdings, and print indexes for any one title. In the case of the New York Times, a large amount of library funds and shelf space is taken up by this one title at Adelphi University, a medium-sized academic institution in Garden City, New York. The Libraries' Collection Development and Management Committee decided to analyze what formats to continue to obtain and what to retain in the collection. LITERATURE REVIEWA literature review was undertaken for articles that could guide our deliberations. First, we searched for articles in the library literature that would cover criteria for making decisions about format retention. Next, we looked for any research that analyzed the completeness of the content in the New York Times database. We did not find such a study in the literature, so we then looked for any research that analyzed the completeness of a single title within a specific database. Our goal was to find a research methodology that we could replicate to systematically analyze the content of the New York Times dat...

Literature of Acquisitions in Review, 2008–9

“…Smith conducted a second study of the format overlap of the New York Times to determine whether deselection of print and microform formats in favor of online access would yield benefits for Adelphi University Libraries. 60 She determined that the three formats met separate needs and should be retained, but noted that this decision would vary from institution to institution. This study supports the need to make case-bycase decisions related to format overlap.…”