Full-Text Databases and the Journal Cancellation Process

An Examination of the Failure Rate and Content Equivalency of Electronic Surrogates and the Implications for Print Equivalent Preservation

“…A variety of papers have examined either directly or peripherally the differences that exist between electronic surrogates and their print equivalents (Bracke & Martin, 2005;Campbell, 2003;Chen, 2005;Chrzastowski 2003;Erdman, 2006;Henebry, Safley, & George, 2002;Joseph, 2006;Kalyan, 2002;Keller, 2005;Martellini, 2000;Shadle, 2004;Sprague & Chambers, 2000). These studies were often performed to determine if libraries were able to cancel or withdraw print equivalents from their collections.…”

“…Studies that have been more multidisciplinary in nature include Sprague and Chambers (2000), Kalyan (2002), andChen (2005). These studies compared electronic surrogates from multidisciplinary full-text databases with their print equivalents.…”

“…Studies by Keller (2005) and Henerby, Safely and George (2002) examined electronic journals from a variety of publishers and disciplines. Many of the studies, however, have focused on the sciences: Campbell (2003) Studies have found that there are often quality issues associated with digitized images and figures (Bracke & Martin, 2005;Chen, 2005;Erdman, 2006;Henebry, Safely, & George, 2002;Joseph, 2006;Keller, 2005;Sprague & Chambers 2000), while others have not (Campbell 2003;Chrzastowski 2003). Few studies have indicated a quality issue with text in electronic surrogates.…”

“…Few studies have indicated a quality issue with text in electronic surrogates. Sprague and Chambers (2000) noted that formulas and other mathematical expressions were often unclear. Keller (2005) noted that some pages of electronic surrogates were not readable.…”

“…There have been several studies that have focused either on full text journal databases and aggregators (Chen, 2005;Kalyan, 2002;Sprague & Chambers 2000) or on a specific vendor -Elsevier (Bracke & Martin, 2005;Erdman, 2006;Joseph, 2006).…”