Journal Cancellations

Every year the Library reviews its journal subscriptions as part of the annual renewal process. We evaluate use and relevance to the organization's areas of research and education, with a goal of identifying savings to keep pace with flat or reduced budgets and rising costs for journals and databases. In 2013, a deeper reduction in the Library's budget has required cancellation of a significant number of journal subscriptions. This page explains the process for determining which journals will be canceled and provides lists of canceled journals and those retained.

In keeping with our Open Access commitment, we recommend the Directory of Open Access Journals as an additional resource for your research needs. This directory provides free access to OA peer-reviewed journals. We also have compiled a listing of open access journals that are specific to UCAR areas of research and education.

Focus of the evaluation:

• Relevance to UCAR's mission in current areas of research and education
• Opportunities to streamline operations in journals management
• Vendor performance and pricing
• Impact on labs and divisions

Criteria used:

• Usage data - article downloads over the past 12 months
• Cost per download (subscription cost divided by number of article downloads) where known
• Journal scope (content and audience)
• Journal impact factor
• Number of UCAR authored papers within a journal

What did we do?

• Eliminated paper subscriptions in favor of electronic only
• Reviewed all journal titles for continuing relevance and use using criteria above
• Canceled journals with high cost per use in favor of Request-It - Interlibrary Loan access
• Canceled newspapers and publications of general interest
• Investigated sources of relevant peer-reviewed open access journals
• Consulted with the UCAR President's Council, the Library Advisory Board, the NCAR Executive Committee, and the executive committee of the NCAR Scientists' Assembly, all of which agreed that the cancelations were regrettable but necessary given the current budget situation

Which journals will continue to be purchased?

• Please see the list of retained journals

Which journals are canceled?

• Please see the list of canceled journals
• A few print journals that were canceled have become freely available online as open access journals. See the list of open access journals for more information

What happens to content from previous years?

• Journal content subscribed to in previous years will continue to be available and accessible. Articles in journals canceled in 2013 and later can be requested via Request-It - Interlibrary Loan

How can I get what I need?

• Journal articles, book chapters, reports, books not purchased or subscribed to by the Library may be requested through Request-It - Interlibrary Loan

Will a canceled journal be renewed in future years?

• We continually monitor journal use and requests. When budgets permit, we will consider purchase of new subscriptions or repurchase of those previously canceled that are in high demand.

What is Open Access (OA)?

• Free availability of scholarship on the Internet
• Allows for anyone to access and use peer-reviewed journal articles

What Open Access journals are available?

• Open access journals in UCAR's specific areas of research and education
• Open access journals in other fields
• We encourage authors to consider publishing in OA journals and can provide advice on OA publishing.

Who should I contact with further questions?

• Please contact the NCAR Library Director, Mary Marlino or 303-497-8350