SPEC Kit 337: Print Retention Decision Making · 15
SURVEY QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
The SPEC Survey on Print Retention Decision Making was designed by Scott Britton, Associate University
Librarian for Instruction, Access &User Engagement, Boston College, and John Renaud, Assistant
University Librarian for Research Resources, University of California, Irvine. These results are based on
data submitted by 65 of the 125 ARL member libraries (52%) by the deadline of July 15, 2013. The survey’s
introductory text and questions are reproduced below, followed by the response data and selected comments
from the respondents.
In FY 2007–2008 ARL academic libraries reported for the first time that expenditures for electronic resources exceeded 50% of the
library materials budget, on average. That average now exceeds 65% and ranges from a low of just under 30% to a high of nearly
99%. While the percentage of library materials budgets dedicated to electronic resources has increased, data indicates a decline in
the use of legacy print materials (See: Anderson 2011, http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/890835-64/print_on_the_margins_
circulation.html.csp)
Along with the shift in material formats has come a transformation in library services that is leading libraries to seriously reconsider
how existing space is used. Whether in response to pressing space constraints or to long range planning for repurposing space, for
many years research libraries have been relocating materials to non-browsable, staff-only shelving facilities both on and off-campus,
systematically deaccessioning print materials from their collections, and developing collaborative retention agreements with consortia
and other partners.
ARL has conducted a number of SPEC surveys about remote shelving that focused on physical facilities, selection of materials, user
access, services, and cost, but those represent print collection management decisions in the pre-electronic back-file, pre-Portico,
and pre-HathiTrust era. This survey investigates whether print collection management strategies have changed since the last
survey in 2006 and focuses on the range of stakeholders, the print retention decision-making process, and successful strategies for
communicating decisions to users. Questions cover four print collection management strategies: moving items to staff-only, on-site
shelving moving items to a remote shelving facility participation in a collaborative retention agreement (i.e., a commitment by one
partner to retain a specific volume so that another partner may deaccession or store their duplicate copy) and deaccessioning.
Information on how libraries are currently responding to their new reality will help libraries make appropriate decisions regarding
the retention of print materials. As counterintuitive as it may seem, strategies to address print collection issues remain paramount as
libraries work to make their spaces and collections dynamic for 21st century users.
SURVEY QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
The SPEC Survey on Print Retention Decision Making was designed by Scott Britton, Associate University
Librarian for Instruction, Access &User Engagement, Boston College, and John Renaud, Assistant
University Librarian for Research Resources, University of California, Irvine. These results are based on
data submitted by 65 of the 125 ARL member libraries (52%) by the deadline of July 15, 2013. The survey’s
introductory text and questions are reproduced below, followed by the response data and selected comments
from the respondents.
In FY 2007–2008 ARL academic libraries reported for the first time that expenditures for electronic resources exceeded 50% of the
library materials budget, on average. That average now exceeds 65% and ranges from a low of just under 30% to a high of nearly
99%. While the percentage of library materials budgets dedicated to electronic resources has increased, data indicates a decline in
the use of legacy print materials (See: Anderson 2011, http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/890835-64/print_on_the_margins_
circulation.html.csp)
Along with the shift in material formats has come a transformation in library services that is leading libraries to seriously reconsider
how existing space is used. Whether in response to pressing space constraints or to long range planning for repurposing space, for
many years research libraries have been relocating materials to non-browsable, staff-only shelving facilities both on and off-campus,
systematically deaccessioning print materials from their collections, and developing collaborative retention agreements with consortia
and other partners.
ARL has conducted a number of SPEC surveys about remote shelving that focused on physical facilities, selection of materials, user
access, services, and cost, but those represent print collection management decisions in the pre-electronic back-file, pre-Portico,
and pre-HathiTrust era. This survey investigates whether print collection management strategies have changed since the last
survey in 2006 and focuses on the range of stakeholders, the print retention decision-making process, and successful strategies for
communicating decisions to users. Questions cover four print collection management strategies: moving items to staff-only, on-site
shelving moving items to a remote shelving facility participation in a collaborative retention agreement (i.e., a commitment by one
partner to retain a specific volume so that another partner may deaccession or store their duplicate copy) and deaccessioning.
Information on how libraries are currently responding to their new reality will help libraries make appropriate decisions regarding
the retention of print materials. As counterintuitive as it may seem, strategies to address print collection issues remain paramount as
libraries work to make their spaces and collections dynamic for 21st century users.
