ABSTRACT

“The quality of the science and technology collections in America’s university research libraries is deteriorating under the onslaught of stable or diminishing acquisitions budgets coupled with double-digit inflation. Over the past several years, almost all research libraries have been forced to reduce their book purchases and subscription lists to journals and other serial publications.” 1 So begins an editorial in Science in August of 1981. “Much is made of the specter of journals consuming the entire materials budget of a library,” 2 says Sandra Moline nearly ten years later. Chuck Hamaker equated the purchase of each issue of a journal published by the major science publisher Elsevier with the non-purchase of a book. 3