The largest portion of the Library's information budget is expended for journal access. This is almost exclusively access to online digital content. Most of that content is contained in large for-profit publisher packages known as Big Deals. Publisher movement away from paper and to online is almost complete.

Publisher Journal Packages

These are one-price-for-all-content packages. The package journals show low use for two-thirds or more of the content. Cost per use for both packages below is approximately $13, compared to $0.19 per use for JSTOR, the most cost effective package. The two packages planned for cancellation cost Appalachian more than $300,000 per year:

Publisher Package
Springer Journal Package	View title list [10]
Wiley/Blackwell Package	View title list [11]

Access to Content Lost Due to Budget Reductions

Articles contained in the canceled publisher packages (Big Deals) are available through the Library's ILLiad interlibrary loan service [12]. Average turnaround time for articles is 4 days, with most articles arriving electronically. An interlibrary loan costs the Library approximately $8 in non-staff expenses.

Comments and feedback

We encourage comments from faculty, staff, and students on these planned reductions. Please contact your University Librarian Mary Reichel, (reichelml@appstate.edu) [13], your Collection Management liaison [14] or John Abbott, Coordinator of Collection Management (abbottJP@appstate.edu [15]).