As a result of the 25% surcharge that Oxford University Press is now applying to print journal subscriptions, the Penn Libraries have decided to conduct a one-year pilot, in which we will maintain electronic access to OUP's entire, 180-title journal collection, while cancelling our current print subscriptions. We will retain, as part of our permanent retrospective collection, all print issues and volumes of OUP journals previously purchased. Our new license, negotiated by the Northeast Research Libraries (NERL) consortia, will cap annual inflationary increases to the collection of online journals at 4% per year for the next four years.

By launching this pilot, Penn Libraries are taking an incremental approach to online journal access. Some of our national peers, including Cornell University and Duke University, have formally adopted policies that strongly encourage electronic-only journal subscriptions. To help ensure the longevity of electronic journals, Penn Libraries have joined two national collaborative efforts that aim to ensure permanent archival access to electronic versions of scholarly online journals - including all OUP titles covered by our new license. At the end of 2008, we will evaluate the success of the pilot and decide whether or not to revise this course of action.

If you would like to receive table of contents notification for any OUP journals, please use Penn Libraries online Penn A!erts service, or contact the library subject specialist for your discipline for assistance. Martha Brogan, Director of Collection Development & Management, would be happy to answer questions about this pilot program: brogan@pobox.upenn.edu; 215-746-3418.

For more information:
Martha Brogan, Director of Collection Development & Management