Document Type

Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1080/01462679.2021.1958723

Journal Title

Collection Management

Publication Date

2021

Abstract

When evaluating subscription-based databases, academic librarians primarily rely on cost-per-use statistics to guide their decision-making. Although this metric is useful, it does not provide a complete picture of a resource’s value to the institution. To adopt a more holistic approach, the University of Mary Washington implemented an evaluation grid, which was used to assess 61 products the library subscribed to during the 2019–2020 academic year. In addition to product cancelations, results were used to identify areas for improvement. Using an evaluation grid enabled UMW Libraries to make high-quality renewal and cancelation decisions in an objective and transparent manner and effectively communicate these decisions to various stakeholders. Libraries wishing to holistically assess their databases can adapt the evaluation grid to meet their local needs.

Comments

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Collection Development in 2021. The published version of the article is available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/01462679.2021.1958723.

Publisher Statement

This is an Accepted Manuscript version of an article, accepted for publication in Collection Development. It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The definitive, published version of this article can be found at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/01462679.2021.1958723.

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