Does your state and/or accreditation organization require any percentage of
your collection to be periodicals?
Sue Fox
Media Specialist
Jackson Elementary School
Jackson, GA
foxs@butts.k12.ga.us
----- Original Message -----
From: "sbrisco" <sbrisco021@CHARTER.NET>
To: <LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
Sent: Friday, April 30, 2004 12:26 AM
Subject: Eliminating Print Periodicals
> I've taken a drastic step toward an area that is somewhat unchartered for
a
> private school.
>
> Although I have the budget to purchase print periodicals, I have chosen
NOT
> to purchase them for the upcoming year. I struggled with this decision
> because periodicals have always been a part of my libraries; however, I am
> doing this to basically experiment with several issues in our library.
They
> are:
>
> * our students do not read the scholarly magazines
> * our students do not read many of the popular magazines
> * many of our teachers ask for their favorite magazines to be
ordered,
> then never use them or if they do use them, they keep them in their rooms
> without sharing the resource with others or returning them to the library.
> * of the magazines that are being read, many are stolen and
> never returned after the first check-out, thus 600+ students
> have never seen the magazine in our library
> * many of the more popular magazines (Seventeen, Teen People, etc.)
> have had such controversial cover stories OR suggestive advertisements,
that
> my middle school teachers and parents are complaining of them being
> available in our 5-12 library
> * I spend several hours throughout the year cataloging, shelving,
> weeding, and shifting print magazines that take up more than one entire
> section of shelving (front and back)--the space could be used for other
> resources while the time can be used for instruction
> * We subscribe to over 26 online databases with every title we now
> subscribe to in print available in the full-text format
>
>
> My ultimate goal is to determine how instrumental print magazines /
journals
> are to our students and faculty in instructional areas. A recent survey
> showed little to no interest in our magazine section from either group;
> therefore, the duplication of expenses seems ridiculous based upon
> traditional factors only.
>
> In addition, I am concerned about the number of faculty members who do
not
> / will not / cannot use the online databases. I am hoping that for some,
> the elimination of the print source will encourage them to begin to learn
> how to utilize the databases for their online journals. (I have a
workshop
> scheduled at the beginning of the year that will focus on which databases
> are effective for specific subjects.)
>
> Finally, I am also considering eliminating the print newspaper (local) for
> the online version. This comes primarily because of theft of the
newspapers
> purchased for library usage only and the waste of money due to the lack of
> use. However, because we cannot archive these papers at our site, but
> because we sometimes do have a need for back-issues, I feel that this may
be
> the best way to handle our duplication of product formats while
eliminating
> the waste of resources / money.
>
> I know that many schools have eliminated their periodicals because of
budget
> cuts, however, for me the experiment with my faculty and students is one
> that I feel that I must take in order to determine how effective they are
in
> adapting to new modes of research and information seeking strategies.
>
> I certainly feel that I've given up part of my "sacred duties" as a
> librarian by eliminating a once vital part of my library. Perhaps this
is
> confession, but ultimately I believe it may be an experiment to learn how
my
> users access information and how I can better prepare both my teachers and
> students to locate their favorite resources without physically holding on
to
> something.
>
> Are there others doing this successfully? If so, I'd love to know.
>
> Thanks!
>
> ~Shonda Brisco
> Trinity Valley MS / US Librarian
> Fort Worth, TX
> sbrisco021@charter.net
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-
> All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
> To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
> In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
> 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
> LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
> Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
> EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/el-announce/
> LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-
>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-
All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/el-announce/
LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-
LM_NET
Mailing List Home