148 · Representative Documents: Collaborative Shelving Facility Strategies
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
WEST: Collections Model
WEST Planning Meeting June 7-‐8, 2010 Page 3
WEST Goals and Principles
Libraries in the Western Region of the United States have joined together to consolidate journal back
files historically published in print form. The resulting archives are intended to ensure access, when
needed, to the scholarly print record while allowing the libraries to optimize space. The journal archives,
once consolidated, become part of the Western Regional Storage Trust and are subject to specific terms
and conditions to ensure their persistence over time.
The libraries and their storage facilities face significant space pressures which affect their ability to
continue to build the collections and provide services. The libraries must deselect holdings and the Trust
is intended to provide a framework for doing that responsibly and in an informed way. The size of the
collective journal collections and extent of collective duplication require the libraries to focus efforts on
specific types of journals and their backfiles. The Collections Model for WEST identifies the types of
journals that will be retained and consolidated by WEST member libraries and their storage facilities and
the level of effort that will be placed on each type of journal to ensure completeness and condition.
As of 2010, WEST member libraries and their storage facilities house more than 60,000 distinct print
journal families (current and previous titles) and approximately 70% are held in duplicate, potentially
representing thousands of duplicate volumes. These figures are based on initial collection analysis which
focused on journals that have enough bibliographic information to facilitate comparisons1.
The goals for WEST are to
• Preserve the scholarly print record
• Provide access, when needed, to the scholarly print record
• Facilitate space reclamation in WEST library and storage facilities
Each print title will present different opportunities for preservation and space savings, depending on
overlap and other factors. The Collection Model is calibrated to focus on titles that will provide
substantial opportunity for space reclamation and on preservation of the scholarly record through
collaborative archive creation services.
1 Of more than 1 million records submitted by WEST libraries and storage facilities for analysis, about 218,000 contained ISSNs necessary to
facilitate network-‐level comparisons. Of those about 60,000 journal families were identified. Those journal families are the subject of the
collection analysis for the planning phase. Future, ongoing collection analysis may seek to improve the bases for comparisons (e.g. data match
points.)
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
WEST: Collections Model
WEST Planning Meeting June 7-‐8, 2010 Page 3
WEST Goals and Principles
Libraries in the Western Region of the United States have joined together to consolidate journal back
files historically published in print form. The resulting archives are intended to ensure access, when
needed, to the scholarly print record while allowing the libraries to optimize space. The journal archives,
once consolidated, become part of the Western Regional Storage Trust and are subject to specific terms
and conditions to ensure their persistence over time.
The libraries and their storage facilities face significant space pressures which affect their ability to
continue to build the collections and provide services. The libraries must deselect holdings and the Trust
is intended to provide a framework for doing that responsibly and in an informed way. The size of the
collective journal collections and extent of collective duplication require the libraries to focus efforts on
specific types of journals and their backfiles. The Collections Model for WEST identifies the types of
journals that will be retained and consolidated by WEST member libraries and their storage facilities and
the level of effort that will be placed on each type of journal to ensure completeness and condition.
As of 2010, WEST member libraries and their storage facilities house more than 60,000 distinct print
journal families (current and previous titles) and approximately 70% are held in duplicate, potentially
representing thousands of duplicate volumes. These figures are based on initial collection analysis which
focused on journals that have enough bibliographic information to facilitate comparisons1.
The goals for WEST are to
• Preserve the scholarly print record
• Provide access, when needed, to the scholarly print record
• Facilitate space reclamation in WEST library and storage facilities
Each print title will present different opportunities for preservation and space savings, depending on
overlap and other factors. The Collection Model is calibrated to focus on titles that will provide
substantial opportunity for space reclamation and on preservation of the scholarly record through
collaborative archive creation services.
1 Of more than 1 million records submitted by WEST libraries and storage facilities for analysis, about 218,000 contained ISSNs necessary to
facilitate network-‐level comparisons. Of those about 60,000 journal families were identified. Those journal families are the subject of the
collection analysis for the planning phase. Future, ongoing collection analysis may seek to improve the bases for comparisons (e.g. data match
points.)
