6. Serials
The Library maintains a collection of both general interest and discipline-specific serials that are acquired for the collection in print or electronic form or both. Adding a serial title results in a long-standing budgetary commitment.
6.1 Periodicals
Periodicals are acquired for the collection with a preference given to electronic format over print when possible.
Electronic journals (E-journals) are defined as serial journal publications available only in electronic formats that require access through a digital network-connected device. The Library facilitates access to E-journals available on the Internet and via Open Access through the Library’s website. Selection of individual E-journals follows the criteria established in section 6.2, Guidelines for selecting serials.
6.2 Guidelines for selecting serials
Criteria for evaluating serial titles for either addition or deletion include:
Projected use and any need by a department for accreditation or the program
Present use of serials in the subject area
Critical opinions of the serial by experts in the field
The serial’s inclusion in a prominent abstracting or indexing source available to the University of Tennessee at Martin
Holdings in other University of Tennessee system libraries (i.e., can interlibrary loan serve the need)
Inflation rate for subscription prices
Whether access to paid digital content is retained after a subscription cancellation
Required shelving space needed for physical serials material
Potential binding costs if purchased in print format
The format in which the Library finally acquires the serial (digital, paper, fiche, film, etc.) depends on availability, cost, system compatibility and access, ease of use, and completeness of information in that format. Strong preference is given to digital formats over physical material. Duplication of a serial title in two formats is avoided unless a strong justification exists.
The Library provides online on-site and remote-user access to electronic databases offering indexing and full-text service. Internet connections provide the campus, off-site, and distance-education students with far-reaching coverage in learning resources that may otherwise be difficult or cost-prohibitive to obtain.
6.3 Standing Orders
These are materials such as monographic series, yearbooks, and proceedings of conferences which are published in serial form, and each subsequent edition/volume is needed by the Library for updated or additional information. They remain on order with the publisher or vendor for automatic shipment since in many cases exact publication dates are unknown. As courses, faculty, and department programs change, standing orders need to be reviewed from time to time for need. Library’s departmental faculty liaisons are notified annually of any standing orders that are paid from Library departmental allocated funds.
6.4 Newspapers
The Library maintains subscriptions to representative newspapers of leading U.S. cities, key international newspapers, and selective local papers of Northwestern Tennessee.
Additional Criteria for newspapers (not all are applicable to each title) include:
Relevance of the newspaper to specific courses
Current coverage of major geographic areas
Representation of diverse political and social viewpoints
Indexes owned or accessible by the Library
6.5 Microform
Acquisition in microform edition is recommended only in the following circumstances:
For titles containing information that does not reproduce well on microform such as colored illustrations or certain types of graphs, charts, or statistics, hard copy purchase is recommended only if digital is not available or appropriate. When both microfilm and microfiche editions of a title are available, the Library prefers microfilm. When both positive and negative microforms are available, the Library prefers positive.