2007 Collection Review
Campus Opinions
Sent May 10, 2007, , William S Ward wrote:
In my mind this all boils down to how strong a research university we are committed to becoming. Instead of paring down our journal list, we need to deterimine what kind of library we want. Ever since I have been here (seven years now) I have had to ask friends at other universities for articles that I needed. When you are putting together a grant, or writing a paper, or puting together a lecture, waiting days or weeks for an article slows down the process to the point that it stops. Then, all of a sudden we started having access to more and more journals, and our lab is much more competitive. Now, it may be reduced again - this is so frustrating!
Measuring a journal's worth by how many times it is accessed does not give any value to each individual access - maybe one visit by a one scientist made the difference between a grant or not getting it. The "a la carte" menu option for a library simply won't work. I think we need a more rationale approach. This loss of journal subscriptions came as a big surprise to all of us. Why was this not anticipated? How will we prevent it in the future? How can we keep the titles we now have?
My post-doctoral mentor often says that published articles are the currency of science. This works both ways, individual labs need to publish to gain funding, but we also need access to published works to maintain competitiveness and productivity. The library is the source of nourishment of a university. We are all about learning and research, and the library is the key. A university is as healthy as its libraries. A noted Nobel Laureate who was attending a FASEB conference on improving graduate schools years ago was frustrated with the back and forth of all the speeches. When his turn came to address the audience, he walked up to the stage, grabbed the microphone and said, "A graduate student needs a laboratory and a library and the key to both." The library feeds the research, and the quality of the research is directly related to the quality of the nourishment.
I beleive this discussion is going the wrong way. Rather than arguing about a list of individual journal titles, we as a university need to assess our goals for the library - just how strong do we really want it to be? How strong do we want ourselves to be? Then, we need to come up with a rational, long term plan for obtaining that goal. If every year we have to barter back and forth about which journals to keep and which to lose, we will never find a meaningful basis for growth.
Our library is too important to leave decisions that effect our ability to do the research and teaching that we were brought here to do, to e-mail discussions taking place without all the facts and with no clear goals.
W. Steven Ward, Ph.D. Institute for Biogenesis Research
Elaine Heiby, Professor, Psychology, sent May 8, 2007
Aloha Kris
I appreciate your reception to feedback about canceling journals.
I am writing to beg that the journals listed below remain available electronically because immediate access to them is critical to maintain scholarship in psychology and related disciplines. Of all things, access to the world literature is the last resource that should be cut at a research intensive university. I would rather have my office in a tent than lose access to this information.
I am certain the list below is incomplete. I listed journals that I know for a fact are often used by psychology students and faculty. Mahalo for anything you can do to save the integrity of UHM. cheers, elaine
Behaviour Research and Therapy, Clinical Psychology Review, Cognitive Psychology, Experimental Child Psychiatry, Intelligence, Journal of Anxiety Disorders, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Journal of Functional Analysis, Journal of Psychiatric Research, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Journal of Research in Personality, Learning and Individual Differences, Learning and Instruction, Learning and Motivation, Mathematical Social Sciences, Neuroscience, New Ideas in Psychology, Physiology & Behavior, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Social Science Research
Shane Kaiminaauao Kahanu Cobb-Adams, sent May 9, 2007
the following list of potentially dropped journals is very important to hawaiians in the social sciences and me personally, please keep them as we should hui together to make bachman hall understand the importance of OUR library. mahalo, Shane Kaiminaauao Kahanu Cobb-adams
Clinical Psychology Review, Cognitive Psychology, Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, Experimental Child Psychiatry, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Journal of Neuroscience Methods, Journal of Psychiatric Research, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Journal of Research in Personality , Learning and Individual Differences, Learning and Motivation, Mathematical Social Sciences, Neuroscience, New Ideas in Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes , Physiology & Behavior, Social Science Research
Nancy Stockert, Ph.D., Chair, Health Promotion Program, University Health Services
I would like to express my dismay at the woefully inadequate funding that has resulted in the library's impending cancellation of electronic journal subscriptions. Although I am not a research scientist, I use many of the journals on the list to be dropped, for grant proposals, research into effective practices in health promotion (including addictions research, theories of behavior change, etc), teaching, and on and on. My advanced undergraduate students, not to mention students on the psychology thesis committees on which I sit, rely on a wide range of journals, many of which are on the list of those to be abandoned.
A Research I university should not be in this position. This speaks to the misguided priorities of the administration and the legislature. I was on the Manoa Faculty Senate this year, when they supported the library's request for assistance, but I do not know what came of that support---was it ignored?
This situation is simply not acceptable. If the library were to circulate a petition, via email, to demand that the university provide the funds to insure the continuing accessibility of these electronic publications, I would gladly sign it. At the end of an academic year when faculty are very busy, perhaps you should circulate such a petition, including the list of journals to be dropped, rather than rely on emails such as mine.
UHM has come up with funds for all kinds of endeavors which are low priority in regard to the academic mission. Funds for the library could be made available by eliminating a bureaucrat or two, or paying less for a high level athletic position, or simply turning down the air conditioning in a few buildings. Except for the last, I realize these are longer-term solutions; however, the Board of Regents should be willing to do whatever it takes to continue this extremely valuable resource for the academic community without a hiatus.
Although I am but a meager student affairs faculty member, even I realize the implications of this lack of support for the libraries of UHM. This all too sadly reminds me of the small school where I was a teaching faculty member for many years, a school that built an indoor soccer field while the library languished. Eventually the accreditation body caught up with them. Why do we have to wait for that fate? Surely the University of Hawai'i at Manoa academic community ---students and faculty---deserve more. What is all the hype about "year of the student" and such, if we can't even provide support to maintain basic academic research services?
How can we say we are trying to provide high quality education as the only comprehensive university in this state, when we cannot even support a library, the very heart of academia?
Please feel free to use this email in any way that might be helpful.
Allen Onizuka, Research Assistant, Chemistry
Hello Kris, I am emailing you in regards to the recent cuts to the University's journalsubscription service. While I understand that a reduction in service is necessary due to budget constraints I am saddened that numerous journalswhich I have referenced in the past will be cancelled. I feel that the two journals "Chemical Physics Letters" and "The Journal of Magnetic Resonance" are absolute necessities for my work as a biological spectroscopist.
With regards to finding additional funds, one thing I think the library could do is to reduce the number of late reminders. While I admit I am guilty of occasionally forgetting to return my library books I am shocked at the number of reminder letters that the library sends out. In one case I remember receiving a reminder letter before my book was due. Perhaps *email * is a more cost efficient way to contact delinquent borrowers.
Thank you for your time. I know that you will have many difficult decisionsahead of you but please understand that the Journal Service is the lifeline of our work.
Sincerely, Allen Onizuka Research Assistant Department of Chemistry
Janos Molnar, Post Doctoral Researcher, Laboratory of Cell Biology and Immunology, Queens Center for Biomedical Research
Dear Kris Anderson,
I am a UH graduate and UH staff, and am relying heavily on the online accessible UH Library journals. I understand the financial difficulties, and that these need to be addressed. Access to journals and articles is the key of scientific research, and online access is paramount. I need around 10 to a 100 articles per week, and it gives me the edge in research to be able to access the journals on the fly. I could access virtually every journal I needed, and it gave me the edge to publish in prestigious journals, elevating the good standing of UH.
If I won't have smooth access to journals in the future, that will translate into missing oppotrunities, publishing into lower impact factor journals, that leads to lower chances of getting funding for research for UH. I beleive the UH library is paramount to UHs success.
I am happy that we'll have the token system to compensate for the cut journals. However, we can expect to have the same interest in these journals as during the last two years, so I propose that those journals shall be cut, which have greater than 35$ average use per article. Otherwise the tokens will be gone very rapidly, the articles costing more than the subscriptions, and ILL, which is already overloaded, will become completely clogged with requests, with wait times over months. In most fields of research, waiting times over a week for an article translate into severe reduction in performance on the long term, damaging the entire UH system.
Sincerely, Janos Molnar
Halina Zaleski, Extension Specialist, Human Nutrition and Animal Sciences
Hi Folks I did a quick run through of the journals the library is planning to cancel and the ones that have over 100 hits per year that are related to our dept are:
Applied Animal Behaviour Science
Developmental Biology
Food Microbiology
J Food Composition and Analysis
J Nutritional Biochemistry
Of course I may have missed some. If these journals are important to us we need to let the library know. Let me know by May 16th if you need any of the journals up for cancellation and I will submit a dept response. Of course individual responses would also be useful.
Daniel K. Hartline, Researcher, Bekesy Lab
Dear UH Library,
Pursuant to your request for feedback on the proposed cancellations, the followiing journals on your cut list are critical to my ability to function as a research scientist (numbers are from your posted PDF listing):
28 Arthropod Structure and Development 68 Comp Biochem. Physiol. A: Molecular and Integrative Physiol. 79 Continental Shelf Res. 196 J. Insect Physiol. 208 J. Neurosci. Methods 217 J. Physiol. Paris 237 J. Theoret. Biol. 271 Neuroscience 272 Neurosci. Lett. 304 Progr. Neurobiol.
Following are journals that I consider to be potentially important, albeit I have had little personal need for them in the last 5 years: 11, 24, 29, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 69, 86, 93, 104, 116, 137, 142, 249, 264, 288, 296, 349, 357
I would also mention that while eliminating the print versions of journals MIGHT be an acceptable solution (if it would save a substantial amount of money), the electronic journals MUST have PERPETUAL archival access!! One of my big frustrations with the current electronic journals is the number that only give access back to 1995 or 1997. I often need much earlier volumes if I am to do acceptably scholarly reviews of past research results in my various activities (basic research, research publication, review publication, manuscript review for journals, proposal review for granting agencies).
Finally, I wanted to say how much I appreciate the UHM Library and the dedicated staff there. These fiscal problems are not your fault. You give excellent service with inadequate resources! Your transition to electronic journal access has revolutionized my ability to do science and to stay current and competitive with researchers at mainland institutions. I am sorry that the University has not been able to face up to the paramount importance to the UH community of maintining state-of-the-art completely up to date library services. Aloha, Dan Hartline Researcher
Stephanie Dodge, 4th year graduate student, Clinical Studies Program, Department of Psychology
Dear Library Staff, I cannot stop by the library at the scheduled times as I live on a neighbor island although I am enrolled in graduate school at UHM. The vast majority of my research is done using electronic resources, primarily journals, and I am extremely upset by this announcement. Please pass my concerns onto the UHM Administrative staff who have not found fit to increase the library's budget to keep up with journal subscription rate increases. In particular the following journals will affect my research: Alcohol, Behavior Research and Therapy, Behavioral Processes, Brain & Cognition, Clinical Psychology Review, Cognitive Development, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Review, Infant Development and Behavior, Intelligence, Journal of Anxiety Disorders, Journal of Applied Development, Journal of Behavior Therapy & Experimental Psychiatry, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Journal of Psychiatric Research, Learning and Individual Differences, Learning and Motivation, Mechanisms of Development, Social Science Research, Social Science Journal
To a lesser extent - the following jounals affect my research or investigation into areas of interest for future research Applied Animal Behavior Science, Clinical Neurophysiology, Continuing Education Psychology, Early Human Development, Evlolution and Human Behavior, Experimental Neurology, International Journal of Law & Psychiatry, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Journal of Criminal Justice, Journal of Neuroscience Methods, Joural of School Psychiatry, Neuropharmacology, Neruopsychologia, Neuroscience, Pediatric Neurology, Process in Neurobiology, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, Women's Studies International Forum
PLEASE ask the administration to make this a top priority (keeping the journals we have and increasing the number of journals we subscribe to). I spend at least $100 a month purchasing articles in journals that the University does not subscribe to. That's a rough thing to do on a student's budget. Or, they could consider adding a cost for research purchases as part of the standard amount that students get in financial aid - if they would prefer. Also $35 per article is rediculous. General rates run between $9 and $25 per article, with most being between $12 and $15. Surely we can get a better rate when buying in bulk that the individual can get on-line? Thank you for your time and consideration.
Graduate Student, Nursing, sent May 4, 2007
First, I would like to thank you for being a wonderful resource.as an on-line PhD nursing student I have found access to the online journals so helpful. I would be willing to pay a reasonable amount to maintain access to this vital service. I have no idea as to the complexities of subscribing to this service, but part of the ability for me to take these courses and remain in this program is to have electronic access to these journals. Please keep us posted as to ways in which we can maintain this service.
Jhonsen Djajamuliadi, Graduate Student, Chemistry, sent May 10, 2007
I'm a graduate student in the Chemistry Department. I'm writing to you to express my concern about the removal of journals that I find very helpful in my research. I attached a list of journals that I accessed multiple times throughout the year. With this I hoped that the board, or the authority in charge, will reconsider the removal of these valuable journals. Please remember that a direct access to these journals is essential to maintaining the pace of graduate students' research, and faculties alike. Thank you.
Durrell Kaplan, sent May 10, 2007
Dear Kris, I am guessing this is your e-mail, and I apologize for using it to give you feedback. But like many users I'm sure I was unable to come to
provide input on the journal cancellations on specific days and I feel our input should have been more easily collected than in person.
Overall I think UHM's policies, while reflecting budgetary realities may adversely affect scholarship.
Personally, I use the following journals: Journal Title, 2005 Uses, 2006 Uses, Average Use/Year, 2007 Price, Average Cost/Use
Journal of Theoretical Biology 198 203 201 $4,299.00 $21.44
Theoretical Population Biology 34 34 34 $1,094.00 $32.18
Acta Oecologica 38 118 78 $472.00 $6.05
The former two journals are directly related to the NSF Undergraduate Program in math biology (PI Les Wilson) so their cancellation will provide hardship to a wider growing community of math biologists. I hope you can do something to keep these (and other desired journals) from being cancelled as a part of cost-cutting measures. All the best, Durrell
Ramona G. Chinn, PhD, APRN, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, sent May 8, 2007
I would like to express my concern about your plans to eliminate some of the electronic journals that are currently available at the University of Hawaii. I work in the School of Nursing and specialize in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Care. I would especially like to request that you do not cancel the electronic Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Thank you for your attention.
Patricia Donohue, Graduate Student, Communication and Information Sciences, sent May 5, 2007
Kristen, I am a doctoral student in Communication & Information Sciences. I also now live in California where I rely heavily on electronic publications from UHM. In spite of all this, I would highly support dropping the high-priced journal subscriptions, especially from Elsevier, in favor of a pay-per-request. I often pay the high prices to get an article I want from ACM or Taylor & Francis if I cannot locate it through UH. I regularly use ILL, and find that the MOST useful of my online access. I would be willing to pay for any download I need, particularly if it is at a reduced rate from the publisher's greed price. Although many doctoral students are poorer than I, I think many would agree with paying for the specific articles they need. My wholehearted support of any decision the library chooses to make. Patricia Donohue
Benjamin Bergen, Associate Professor, Linguistics, Director, Program in Cognitive Science, sent May 8, 2007
Hi, I'm writing to comment on the proposed cuts to the electronic serials available. I know the budget is very tight, and, after talking to Paul Wermager in your office hours today, I understand that the real sources of the problem are the high prices asked by the big publishing houses and the low funding provided by the state. That said, there are a couple of journals on the to-be-dropped list thatare really important in my field of cognitive science, and that seempretty cheap. These are: Cognitive Psychology, Brain and Cognition,Cognitive Psychology, and Neuroscience. The first three of these are used more than a number of journals on the to-be-kept list and are cheaper both overall and per view than some journals there. It would be a shame to lose them! Thanks for your consideration, and please let me know if there's anythingwe on the faculty can do to help. Ben
Susan Y. Lin, B.A. (Hons.), Graduate Student, Clinical Psychology, sent May 8, 2007
Aloha Dr. Denise Konan: I would like to write to let you know that research e-journal access is very important to the academic and research productivity of our department, the Department of Psychology. I am a graduate student in clinical psychology. I access e-journals approximately 3-4 times a week during the academic year and I also do research either for my thesis or for projects assigned to me as a research assistant at the Mental Health Services Research Evaluationand Training Center, a program under the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI). Being up to date with the current developing in the field is important in terms of our communication with other scientists in our research communityand also important as part of our learning and training in developingcritical thinking skills and clinical knowledge. We are a discipline based on empirical science and these academic journals are a great resource for this purpose and the purpose of allowing us students to develop as a scientist-practitioners that our Clinical Psychology aspire for us to become. What concerns me about the currently proposed token system for downloadingarticles is the potential that once we run out of tokens for the year we will not have access to any more articles, either in paper form or electronically. There has been several previous cuts to subscriptions, as I am informed by Kris Anderson, Collection Development Officer at HamiltonLibrary who has been helpful in holding consultations for this process. We can however, also order materials from Interlibrary loan but this will cost the library and it delays the process of obtaining articles. In order to optimize research capabilities of the students and faculty of University of Hawaii at Manoa, I believe library resources and journalsare vital to achieve this end.
For your reference: this is the list of journals I use on a regula basis that I have informed Kris Anderson. American Journal of Medicine, Behaviour Research and Therapy, this is a major research journal in area of clinical psychology, Behavioural Processes, Brain and Cognition, Clinical Neurophysiology, Clinical Psychology Review, Cognitive Development, Cognitive Psychology, General Hospital Psychiatry, Health Policy, Journal of Anxiety Disorders, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Journal of Psychiatric Research, Neuroscience, Social Science Journal, Social Science Research,
I understand this is a difficult decision for everyone, and I thank you for your time and consideration. Please feel free to contact me if you havequestions or concerns.
Regards,
Susan Lin
Faculty, Linguistics, sent May 7, 2007
Dear Kris, Thank you for taking the time to meet with me on Friday about potential cuts to journals. As I mentioned on Friday, I am deeply concerned about the following cuts: Journal of Phonetics Cognitive Psychology Journal of Neurolinguistics Brain and Cognition Speech Communication Language Sciences First, it doesn't make sense to me from a financial perspective to cut these journals. If I understood the proposed token system correctly, each download from a cut journal would cost the library $35. If usage remained similar to what you've tracked for these journals in recent years, it would be significantly MORE expensive to handle that usage through tokens than through an unlimited subscription. (E.g., J. of Phonetics, 122 average uses per year x $35 = $4,270; subscription = $542.) Given that the costs per use are well below $35 for each of these journals, this only makes economic sense if you assume they have been used frivolously, or it the library is no longer able to support necessary research. Second, these are critical journals for linguistics (and other domains). Journal of Phonetics is the leading journal in phonetics, a core area of linguistics. About half of the articles in recent issues are directly relevant to my area of expertise, as well as to one to four other faculty in the Department of Linguistics, and their students. Cognitive Psychology is one of the three leading journals in psycholinguistics (together with Journal of Memory and Language and Psych Review). Its articles regularly appear in Science Direct's top 25 downloaded articles in the arts and humanities. I read it, cite it, and referee for it regularly, and it contains many articles that are foundational for research by several faculty in the department. The other journals are similarly important. Third, as your tracking shows, several of these journals showed increases in usage from 2005 to 2006. All of these journals but Language Sciences are important to laboratory approaches to linguistic study. This area has shown increasing importance in the field of linguistics in general, is strongly represented in the work of the most recent hires in the Department of Linguistics, and is an area that has become increasingly popular among our graduate students. Therefore, you can anticipate that demand for these important journals will continue to be strong at UH. I hope that you will be able to take these concerns into account and preserve our subscriptions to these journals. If you would like further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Ashley E. Maynard, Associate Professor, Chair of Graduate Studies, Department of Psychology, sent May 9, 2007
Dear Kris, While I understand that there are budget constraints, I fear that cutting many of the journals scheduled to be cut would seriously undermine the research initiatives of this university. My students and I use the following journals regularly: Cognitive Development Cognitive Psychology Developmental Review Infant Behavior and Development Intelligence Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology Journal of Experimental Child Psychology Journal of Research in Personality Neuroscience I am writing to beg you to save these journals. I am sure the list is incomplete, but these are at the top of my list. If we are to maintain the integrity of this university, we must have a functional library where faculty and students can conduct research. Mahalo for any help you can provide. All best wishes, Ashley
PingSun Leung, Researcher, MBB, sent May 2, 2007
Aloha Kris, It's sad to learn that there will be a budget shortfall for the library.In browsing through the list, I would sincerely request that Agricultural Systems and Marine Policy be spared from the deletion list.They are relatively low cost and we have been relying on these two journals for a long time. Thanks for your consideration. PingSun
Joshua Manning, PhD student, Communication & Information Science, sent May 7, 2007
A library's holdings are certainly one of the major factors affecting a university's rank and standing in the academic world. It's official - I am completely embarassed to be a student of this university and will discourage anyone I know from attending school here. Further, I will do everything in my power to graduate and leave the state quickly. My program has a $0 budget. Meanwhile, the business school is apparently using a $25 million dollar donation to paint the walls - creating a semester's worth of paint fumed classrooms. The football team has enough money to purchase multiple helmets. The state has a budget surplus in excess of half a billion dollars. There is plenty of money to go around. No one has the brains to use it wisely. Nice timing, too. I hope that you didn't receive a lot of criticism at the end of the semester and during finals when students and professors are distracted...
Faculty, Microbiology, sent May 2, 2007
Hi Kristen: I would like to request your removal of "Journal of Microbiological Methods" from the cancellation list. This is a journal that all microbiologists need at one time or another. Please keep subscribing to all their microbiology journals because it will become impossible to do either research or teaching here. The situation is already bad enough. Thanks.
Fabiana Piccolo, PhD student, Linguistics
Dear Ms. Anderson, This is Fabiana Piccolo, a Ph.D. candidate of Linguistics at UH Manoa. I am writing to you to ask you to consider to continue our subscription to the Journal of Phonetics. I am a phonetician, working on a sociophonetics dissertation, and I have often used this well-established and respected publication for my papers and dissertation. Phonetics is a core subject for our linguistics program. All graduate students have to take at least one phonetics course and all undergraduate students who take an introductory or intermediate course in linguistics (such as Ling 102: Introduction to the Study of Language or Ling 320: General Linguistics) have to study phonetics as part of their syllabus. Phonetics always proves itself to be enjoyable to most students - I can vouch for this, as I have always included it (and always will) as part of Ling 102 teaching experience with amazing results: my students were particularly attentive during the phonetics classes. Phonetics deals with the sou nds of languages. Students learn how to read IPA, that is, the commonly used phonetic alphabet that allows anyone who can read it to correctly write and read any language, regardless of whether one speaks the language or not. I personally know at least four students who are actively doing phonetics research in my Department and I am sure that newer generations of students will be also interested in phonetics one way or the other. At our Department, we have a very strong focus on language documentation. It has been estimated that 90% of the world language might be lost by the end of the century. An awful loss that the field of language documentation might not prevent or revert, but at least oppose. When a linguist documents a language, s/he always needs to refer to IPA. How could s/he not? It is the only alphabet that anyone can understand with little effort! Thanks to phonetics training, this linguist learns to understand the sounds s/he hears. There are so many more reasons why keeping Journal of Phonetics is fundamental for our Department and for UH. I will only mention that providing access to such an important publication allows linguistics students, professors and researchers to gain more insight in the field of phonetics. Phonetics is vital to linguistics at large, and the Linguistics Department has hired and produced so many outstanding scholars, such as Dr. Kenneth Rehg, who has worked extensively on the Ponapean language, and Dr. Albert Schutz, who has written a well-known and extremely informative book on the history of the study of the Hawaiian language. All these scholars are well-trained in phonetics, and have attracted a high number of students interested in either phonetics per se or language documentation. Therefore, I would once again ask you to please consider keeping the Journal of Phonetics as part of our subscriptions. Best regards, Fabiana Piccolo
PhD Graduate Student, Nursing, sent May 4, 2007
First, I would like to thank you for being a wonderful resourceÉas an on-line PhD nursing student I have found access to the online journals so helpful. I would be willing to pay a reasonable amount to maintain access to this vital service. I have no idea as to the complexities of subscribing to this service, but part of the ability for me to take these courses and remain in this program is to have electronic access to these journals. Please keep us posted as to ways in which we can maintain this service.
Linda Martel, HIGP, SOEST, sent May 2, 2007
Hello Kristen, After reading the list of proposed cancellations, I am submitting my request that you please do not stop the subscriptions to the Journal of Structural Geology or Engineering Geology. Thank you for your consideration. Linda Martel
Burgel Faehndrich, Graduate Student, Linguistics, sent May 2, 2007
Dear Kristen Anderson, I am currently in mainland China, and therefore will not be able to go to Hamilton on either one of the two days suggested, so I am submitting my comments by email. I am a graduate student in the department of linguistics. I notice that the Journal of Phonetics is on your list of cancellations. In terms of average uses a year, with 122 uses per year it ranks 113th out of 362 proposed cancellations. It has more average uses a year than 14 journals that are on the list of proposed 2008 subscriptions, of which 11 are more expensive than the Journal of Phonetics. I would like to request that the Journal of Phonetics be considered for subscription for the year 2008.
P. Verlaan, J.D., Ph.D., SOEST, sent May 2, 2007
Dear Kris, I have reviewed the above and my comments pertain to Marine Policy and Ocean & Coastal Management. As a general principle, ocean policy journals of their very high calibre should not be cut from from the library resources available to students of the only ocean state in the Union, and that has so many ocean-related disciplines, courses, students, activities, tourists, jobs, etc. These journals receive a lot of use and are very inexpensive. I note you have retreated to a web-only access already for the past several years, and I assume that you mean to cut that now as well. The law school maintains a web-only access to Marine Policy, and I might concede that the campus doesn't need two subscriptions. Perhaps you could consult the law school and ensure that they intend to retain theirs, in which case it might be acceptable to delete Marine Policy from your holdings as a duplicate. With regard to Oc&CMgt, however, Hamilton is the only campus source, and it should therefore be re tained for the reasons mentioned above. However, the law school may consider taking it if it knows Hamilton is cutting it, so you may wish to discuss this journal with them as well on that basis. All the best with this difficult task.
Annalia Montany, sent May 2, 2007
If I understand correctly, under the new plan we would still be able to access the information as needed but do not have to spend as much money to have it available in its entirety? If that is in fact the case, the new plan sounds good to me Sincerely, Annalia Montany, sent May 2, 2007
Argon Steel, Graduate Student, sent May 2, 2007
Dear Ms. Anderson, While as a grad student I'm always alarmed to hear that journal subscriptions are being cancelled, the choices you've made in the journals that are being kept and those cancelled work for me. I see a few familiar titles in the cancelled list but it's clear that there has to be fiscal restraint somewhere. Given the cost and the few number of people using many of these journals, they seem expendable. Thank you for sharing information about the decision as well as the link to the Library Journal article. I have been viewing my own subscription cost increases over the last few years with alarm but I had no idea just how bad things had become. Good luck. Argon Steel
Kent Kobayashi, TPSS Department, sent May 2, 2007
Hi, Eileen, I reviewed the webpage on Elsevier's Science Direct Journals Cancellation Review. The lists of journals related to horticulture on the Proposed Subscriptions, Proposed Cancellations, and Other Elsevier Journals webpages look good to me. Thank you. Kent K.
Kathryn Wheeler, PhD student, Linguistics, sent May 2, 2007
Aloha Kris! I'm a graduate student in the linguistics department and Amy Schafer suggested we email you with our desperate pleas not to eliminate the journals we use. Working in cognitive linguistics, I personally use the following journals on a regular basis and would hate to see them get cut: Brain and Cognition Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Development Journal of Neurolinguistics Neuroscience Arguments against cutting these include the fact that recent issues of Cog. Psych. include three articles in 25 most frequently downloaded article in the Arts & Humanities area for July - Sept 2006 or October - December 2006. Also, most of these journals are not available in hard copy so we would be losing all access to them, and they cost less than many other journals that are being kept, making them not too much of a strain on our budget. Thanks so much! ~Kathryn
Patrick Uchigakiuhi, Social Sciences Research Institute, sent May 2, 2007
Hi Kristen, Thanks for the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed cutback on Elsevier journals we subscribe to. I'm currently a clinical psychologist on the research faculty at SSRI. I would like to put a request in to retain the following 2 journals, Behaviour Research and Therapy (446, 625) and Cjlinical Psychology Review (375, 451). The numbers in parentheses represent the number of hits for the past 2 years, with the numbers appearing comparable or more than many of the journals on the proposed list of journals which we will continue subscribing to. These are 2 well respected journals in our field, and if at all possible, we should continue to subscribe to them. Thanks! Patrick Uchigakiuchi
Joan Kuh, Medical Technology, sent May 2, 2007
Hi, I've just quickly perused both lists and, with respect to our area of research (lipid research/diabetes/plant extracts), I see one journal that has a low impact factor and we do not read or rely on is Phytochemistry. On the cancellation list, the only journal I recognize that is regarded well and has a fairly significant impact factor is Developmental Biology. However, I can see that it is rather expensive and faculty/staff from those areas should hopefully make a comment if it is valuable. From Medical Technology Division, Joan Kuh
Keith Fong, PBRC, sent May 2, 2007
Dear Kristen, Thank you for giving us a chance to voice our opinions regarding the importance of particular journal articles...as usual. I have a few questions regarding interlibrary loan service/proposed token system. Although having actual print journals is important to us, I have found access through interlibrary loan to be extremely valuable, though I wish we could get clear or color figure pages where appropriate. It wasn't clear to me from the newsletter whether the budget for this service will remain and we will be able to obtain articles through interlibrary loan at "no cost" to us as usual. Second, under the token system, it was described as a "pay per view" service. Does this mean we only get to view the article only once or do we actually keep the downloaded pdf? This would be useful especially for articles with color figures. Is the proposed budget for tokens based on projected downloads or past usage and/or comparable to interlibrary loan usage? The question is whether there will be enough for the university or would you expect the number of tokens be exhausted well before the next round is purchased? If the latter, then I suggest a more restricted access to just faculty and staff, for example. Students could be allowed access through their faculty supervisor or department. Can each department be monitored on the number of downloads? If so, each department can have a budget of tokens. Additional downloads can then be charged. I understand there is no simple solution to such problem...especially when I believe such information should be made available to all. I do appreciate you taking the time to consider our thoughts and how this impacts research thoughout this university. I submitted a list of journals that were on the list of proposed cuts I felt were important for us to access to my department chair. I also noted that it didn't make sense to cut a journal whose number of downloads significantly increased from 2005-2006, as it signified its value to the university as well as citation record. Brain Research was one example, a premier journal on the list of proposed cuts. However, it was brought to my attention that the JABSOM library will pick up that subscription as well as many others. I just hope that we will be able to access those journal articles from the medical school library seamlessly as we do through Hamilton. I recall we needed a separate library card# to access articles from the med library when it used to be at Queen's (and now we can't get anything there unless we're a doctor or med student). It was a bit of inconvenience. Thank you, keith
Luciano Minerbi, Professor, Urban and Regional Planning, May 2, 2007
You would do much better by sending this announcement also to the public, star bulletin and advertiser so that everyone knows how the university is supporting the move of Hawaii to the new economy for the information and knowledge society --make it a press release!
John Young, PhD student, Psychology, sent May 2, 2007
To Whom It May Concern, I am a graduate student working in the field of psychology, and have recently reviewed the proposed list of journal cancellations. I understand that these are budgeting constraints, and that this course of action seems inevitable, but I wanted to add two opinions/objections to this policy: First, it would seem that libraries and scientific journals are the cornerstone for academic activities, particularly at the graduate and professional level. Given the current paucity of publications available on an already restricted budget a further cut seems appalling (as does the fact that the library's budget does not get adjusted for inflation purposes, while tuition and fees receive such adjustments). Has anyone petitioned the administration to decrease spending in other areas ("campus beautification" comes to mind) in order to provide funding for the foundation of academic activities? This is the most important thing that the university can provide, and they have never been particularly good at it...A further pullback in such a critical domain is just saddening. Second, is there any necessity to obtain paper copies of ANY journals in the age of electronic indexing? No one I know goes to retrieve paper articles unless there is no other alternative. It is time consuming and much more difficult than simply finding PDFs online. Additionally, it seems that libraries are going to move in this direction sooner or later, and it would be possible to save money and continue to provide more resources if UH were able to do so immediately. The cost difference for Elsevier, as outlined in the library's posted article, was tremendous. This would allow the library to stretch its small budget much farther, and would also be much more environmentally friendly with the diminished need for paper copies. Subscribing only to electronic copies of journals for all fields would also likely cut down on the need for ILL resources, as fewer requests would be issued. It could also provide a model for other systems to engage in similar practices, thus benefittin g academia at large. For what that's worth...Given the typical speed and decision- making process of much of UH's administration I know that things are not likely to change. If no one tries, however, this will definitely become a reality and it does not seem right at Hawaii's premier institute of higher learning. Mahalo, John Young, M.A. (Doctoral Candidate)
Michael Cooney, Associate Professor, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, sent May 2, 2007
Dear Kristen, I'm not sure how this decision was made but you can not cut access to journals at a research university. One needs to understand that access to journals, and reprints, is the first and foremost requirement. It is not possible to puruse research without this access. This is not debatable. If you make a cut this deep, then you effectively stop the act of literature research which then eliminates any chance of research groups competing, which then hinders an ability to publish leading papers, which then hinders the ability to secure funding, and from this point there is no return.> This decision is so far reaching that I'm not so sure you have truly considered the implications, but they are rather severe. Regards, Michael Cooney
Ken Rubin, Geology and Geophysics, SOEST
Hi Kris: Like everyone else I'm not happy about cuts. But anyway, here's a list of journals I would like to see retained. I have downloaded papers in the past year from all of them Aquatic Toxicology $9.51, Computers & Geosciences $16.64, Earth Science Reviews $9.69, Environmental Research $16.51, Global and Planetary Change $12.61, Physics of The Earth and Planetary Interiors $10.09, Quaternary Research $7.07, Quaternary Science Reviews $8.13, Sedimentary Geology $17.20, Tectonophysics $17.71
Merle Kataoka-Yahiro, Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene
Dear Kris, Thank you for speaking with me over the phone. I am the Graduate Curriculum/Evaluation Chairperson for the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene. I would like to discourage you from decreasing any funds for science related electronic journals. This will impact our students and faculty at the PhD, MS, and BSN levels. This has tremendous impact on the quality of research and scholarly work produced by the nursing faculty and students. I am sure that our outer island nursing campus colleagues(ie. UH Hilo, Hilo Community College, Kauai Community College, Maui Community College, Kapiolani Community College) will also be impacted.
Dana Alden, Professor, Shidler School of Business, sent May 2, 2007
Thanks Kris - I am confused. Here is your earlier email: In 2003 the decision was made to acquire journals in electronic format if the cost of that format was less than or equal to the cost of print. We have done that. This implies that the Library obtained electronic format instead of print in cases where the cost was equal or less. So none of the Elsevier journals that you are planning to no longer offer electronically are received in print? And in 2003, the Library canceled all print subscriptions that could be picked up electronically at the same or lower cost? Now you are just talking about canceling subscriptions period with no paper back up? Thanks for the clarification. Best wishes, Dana
Stephen Martel, Professor, Geology and Geophysics, sent May 2, 2007
I spoke with Kris Anderson this morning about the proposed list of journals to be cut. She asked that I contact you regarding the top two journals on the list. One is the Journal of Structural Geology, and the second is Tectonophysics. The Journal of Structural Geology journal is absolutely critical to my teaching, research, and service: I am the structural geologist in our department, and the Journal of Structural Geology is without question the most essential journal in my field. I publish more in that journal than in any other. I read it more than any other. I cite it more than any other. I have been asked to be one of the editors for it. Tectonophysics would be the third-most essential journal in structural geology (The Journal of Geophysical Research, which I subscribe to, is #2). So the two most essential journals that I don't subscribe to are on the hit list. I can not do my job as a structural geologist adequately without access to those two journals. I also am an engineering geologist, and Engineering Geology is either the most or second-most important journal in that field (Environmental and Engineering Geoscience is the other, and I subscribe to it). Engineering Geology also is on the proposed list of journals to be cut. In summary, the three most important journals I don't subscribe to for my teaching, research, and service are on the proposed list of journals to be cut. If you can do anything to save these journals I would be grateful.
Mary Ikegawa, UH Manoa, sent May 2, 2007
Aloha, Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the plans to cut journal services. If pay-per-view keeps our access open, maybe that is the way to go. My input is just to keep all the science journals available somehow. I often can't get to ones I want already because the coverage doesn't include enough years--mostly ecology/biology. Ecology (and other science and technology topics) is of major importance as the population grows, we need people working in these areas. Considering that our society is entirely dependent on science and technology I have to wonder why science is always the first to get cut. Check out a video of Trent Lott saying taking science and math is a waste of time if that's not your career. (Hm, how are those people in Congress making decisions about the scientific fundamentals such as food production that support us all?) If you want to see Trent Lott sending a revolting message to students, go to the following link, select session 8, and slide the time up to 36:45. http://beyondbelief2006.org/Watch/ Mahalo, Mary Ikagawa
D. Caroline Blanchard, Researcher, Bekesy Laboratory, sent May 2, 2007
Hi Kris, Long time no complaints from me, but now the cycle starts over! Lookingover the drop list, I actually think most of them are well gone, especially if you can use vouchers for the odd use. I would holler about Neuroscience,and Physiology and Behavior, but have personal subscriptions to them, so our lab, at least, doesn't care. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior is something of a blow. Any way to retain? Shirley Daniel made the interesting observation that we might retain any journal with a per request average of less than $35. I see a problem with that, in that it might (or might not, one would have to add up a lot of figures) kill the chance of vouchers for the ones that are more expensiveand thus whacked. How about an average of less than $20? If we did that, would there be enough left for a reasonable number of vouchers? An extended voucher issue: What happens after they run out, in a given year? Thanks for hanging in there!
Eric Firing, Associate Professor, Oceanography, sent May 2, 2007
Kris Anderson For physical oceanography, I would like to keep: Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans I expect meteorologists will agree. Of course what I would really like would be a wholesale conversion of scientific publishing to some sort of open access model. The present situation is inefficient and unhealthy.
Alan Stockton, Professor, Institute for Astronomy, sent May 2, 2007
I had looked through this list earlier today, and the proposed cancellation of New Astronomy Reviews seems anomalous, since it had higher usage and lower cost per use than did many other journals being continued. It is also relatively important to us (sometimes important conference proceedings are published there).
Victoria Hamilton, Asst. Researcher, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, sent May 2, 2007
Dear Ms. Anderson, As a scientist, my students and I rely heavily on access to electronic journals. I understand that the publishing companies drive very hard bargains in financially tough times for libraries - I hear complaints from colleagues everywhere about this problem, especially with regard to Elsevier. I very much appreciate that you have given considerable thought to a strategy for assessing what journals are to be eliminated. I've looked over the lists of journals that will be retained and those that will be eliminated. I am pleased that most of the Elsevier journals important to planetary science (e.g., Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, Icarus) will be retained. There are a couple on the cancellations list, however, that I am concerned about. Specifically, the elimination of access to Planetary and Space Science (PSS) and Vibrational Spectroscopy will have a significant impact on not just me and my students, but other faculty in HIGP/SOEST. There are at least five faculty in our institute alone who make our livings doing vibrational spectroscopy in the lab, on Earth, and at other planets. (In fact, I've made past pleas for adding access to Applied Spectroscopy for this same reason, to no avail.) The access numbers for Vib. Spec. may not support my contention, however. On the other hand, your access numbers for PSS are higher, and probably do not reflect likely access this year and over the next year or two, as our European colleagues have many new space flight missions, and many of their results (as well as those of their American colleagues) are being published in this journal. So I would save PSS first, and Vib. Spec. if possible. Within SOEST, HIGP is one of the strongest research units in terms of extramural funding, and an integral part of that excellence comes from having access to (and producing) cutting-edge information. By eliminating these two journals, you don't just cut access to a few students doing term papers, you cut access to important information used by faculty, staff, and graduate students conducting extramurally- supported state-of-the-art research. The ease of online access to journals from work, home, and on travel is invaluable to me. Although the lack of archival rights is a serious concern, I would support cutting more physical subscriptions (of underutilized journals) to maintain or increase online access until other means of electronic access are worked out. Thanks for seeking input; I hope this is useful.
J.B. Friday, Extension Forester, CTAHR, sent May 2, 2007
I am shocked and dismayed that our University is cutting access to electronic journals, as I am sure you are. Some UH Manoa research faculty, including myself, are stationed on neighbor islands. Access to electronic journals has been a great help to us in our research. Formerly we had to travel to Manoa to photocopy articles in the library, at a much higher expense than most of the per-use costs you show. Having electronic access to these journals actually saves the University money. Cutting access would be penny-wise, pound-foolish. If I may, I'd like to make a particular plea for continued access to two journals: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology ($22.74 per use), and Agricultural Systems ($19.94) per use. I have used both of these journals and published in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. Thank you for alerting us and allowing us to share our concerns.
Mikki Osterloo, PhD Student, HIGP, SOEST, sent May 2, 2007
I am a PhD candidate in HIGP of SOEST. I can not express how time saving and thus money saving for myself and fellow students it is to be able to access a wide range of online journals. In my own research I use close to ~25 journals regularly. Cutting access to online subscriptions hurts my ability to access information quickly and therefore adds to the overall time of the research and my degree. There are a number of journals on your list that I would not want to see cut: Journal of Structural Geology Tectonophysics Sedimentary Geology ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer Physics of Earth and Planetary Interiors Planetary and Space Science Vibrational Spectroscopy I believe the success of an institution comes from it's ability to relay information to it's faculty and students. Libraries should be at the forefront of this task as they are the most direct link to knowledge throughout the present day and the past. Online journal access may not seem all that important to those who do not utilize the information- but it speaks loud and clear as to how important research is to this institution. Thank you for your time-
Charles Weems, Professor, Animal Science, sent May 2, 2007
Kristen-We have spent considerable time and effort in establishing a core of reproductive biologists. I highly recommend that we DO NOT CANCEL THE FOLLOWING RESEARCH JOURNALS!!!!! PLACENTA PROSTAGLADINS AND OTHER LIPID MEDIATORS MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR ENDOCRINOLOGY JOURNAL OF REPRODUCTIVE IMMUNOLOGY REPRODUCTIVE TOXICOLOGY JOURNAL OF STEROID BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Curtis S. Ikehara, Assoc. Professor, Information and Computer Sciences, sent May 2, 2007
Hi: Please try to save these from cancellation. Proposed Cancellations: Computer Vision and Image Understanding International Journal of Human-Computer Studies Thank you for your time. Also could you consider these journals. Brain and Cognition Cognitive Development Cognitive Psychology Neuroscience
Paul Armstrong, Research Associate, Greenwood Molecular Biology Facility, sent May 2, 2007
Regarding our telephone conversation today, I think that the ridiculously high priced journals should be culled first. The library has made a good start by canceling Tetraedron, but may I suggest canceling Tetrahedron Letters also (> $12,000). This sends a message to Elsevier and Tetrahedron that their prices are unreasonable. I also think that the library budget should be increased. I'm dismayed that the state cannot properly fund our university.
PhD Student, UHM, sent May 2, 2007
Science revolves around journals! Taking away access to many of these journals will severely compromise research and education efforts at UH! I have just started a PhD program and know that I will be needing several of the journals on the non-renewal list if I want to continue my research and complete my dissertation: Journal of Reproductive Immunology Molecular Immunology Developmental Biology Developmental Reviews Early Human Development Placenta Reproductive Toxicology I will hold bake sales, car washes, sell Zippy's chili, host silent auctions, etc. in order to make sure we can continue to get these journals. The pay-per-view token option will only purchase 5700 articles-- not enough for every student let alone faculty members to access even 1 article! And most libraries do not loan journals through ILL unless they are on microfilm. This is just unacceptable. I realize it is always a challenge to operate a large library on a limited budget, but such a huge cut of necessary materials is outrageous and downright disappointing. If we can't somehow raise more money for these publications, we should at least look at ALL journal subscriptions, not just Elsevier, and pare down the whole collection. It is rather unfair to faculty and students in the sciences to force a downsizing on just Elsevier, just because it happens to be 22% of the current budget. Maybe a more democratic method of voting on all journals would work. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I sincerely hope that the issue is remedied without the decimation of our scientific journal collections.
Katrin Tovote, MA/PhD Student, Psychology, May 2, 2007
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of the Collection Development Office, I would like to ask you to reconsider you decision to cut approximately 2/3 of the electronic journals published or distributed by Elsevier. As a graduate student of Psychology I use the provider Elsevier intensively. Electronic publications are for scientists: - their main source of information - their medium of communication - their currency in the scientific world In other words, the unavailability of all those journals at the University of Hawai'i means to disconnect us from the rest of the scientific world. Sincerely, Katrin Tovote MA/PhD student in Psychology
Lea Hollingsworth, PhD Student, Zoology, sent May 2, 2007
Has the library considered a "library fee" that students might pay in addition to tuition and fees? UHM has slightly more than 20,000 students-- if we all paid $50 per semester, that would generate over 2 million dollars in revenue for the library. It's a small price and I'd happily pay the extra $50 per semester to support the library. Aloha, Lea L. Hollingsworth Ph.D. Student, Zoology Department, UHM
Victor S Harrison, Internal Medicine Student, JABSOM, sent May 2, 2007
I must admit that the amount paid for these journals may not seem completely justify by the amount of thier use, however, there must be a compromise somewhere. I am just finishing my second year of med school and have greatly enjoyed the online journal access!! I have also had to use ILL many times already. I foresee this cut would cause the use of ILL to increase drastically as well as slow down the rate of research for all involved. Have these issues been weighed? I am somewhat of a conservative person and think if anything should be cut (financially) it should be campus food services or something that won't decrease the quality of education so directly. I wish there was an easy answer and will be happy if at least ILL stays as it is...free for students.
Damien K Alvarez, Student, Speech Pathology, JABSOM My name is Damien Alvarez and I am a Junior in the Speach Pathology and Audiology program in the JABSOM. I write to protest this decision to cut the these very important journals from our library system. I personally do not use these journals but I have used the Elsevrior journals for various projects and the like. It is a shame that those who use these materials will no longer have that resource. As a research library and as a research institution, we should not cut research materials. To the benefit of the UH Manoa faculty, staff, students and the people of the surrounding communities who use them, the journals should stay. Thank you for your time.
Robert Perkinson, Asst Professor, American Studies, sent May 2, 2007
I looked over the proposed journal cancellations. Tragic. To be fair, though, the only periodical on the list that I use regularly is: Journal of Criminal Justice. If there's a way to spare it, that would be great. I don't care whether it's hard copy or electronic, though I prefer the latter. --Robert
Christine C Cloak, Asst. Professor, Department of Medicine , JABSOM, sent May 2, 2007
The decision to cut such a wide range of journals, while at the same time the University is trying to build up new research programs and strengthenexisting programs is a real slap in the face to the progress that has been made. As we are all aware UH has an isolation that most other universitiesdo not have to contend with. When I was attending school in Southern California, there were literally dozens of good academic libraries to seek journals, however we are much more limited here, making electronic accessmore important. I could give a listing of the journals I don't want to loose access to, but that misses the point. It isn't about what I willloose it is what UH and the state will loose. Maybe this has already been considered, (actually, I hope every possible avenue has been considered, but.) have those making the decision to drop so many journals tried thinking "outside the box" or maybe outside the university? It seems to me that this is an issue that concerns more than just UH. If we want new industries and technologies to flourish in Hawaii, the academics and industrial areas need access to the latest information. Is there someone we can contact at a state level? Could the Hawaii universities (UH HPU, BYU, etc) join forces to support a state level library that would allow access to these necessary resources with shared costs?There may be local industries that would be willing to chip in and support this as well. Maybe I am just naive to how all this works but there needs to be a better solution that won't be so detrimental to the future of academics and industry within UH and Hawaii.
Karl A. Minke, Associate Professor, Psychology, sent May 2, 2007
I just saw a list of the journals that are marked for discontinuance in psychology. This is appalling! Many of these are the major journals in their sub-specialties. How can we lay claim to being a research universityat any level without access to the fundamental knowledge of our disciplines? Maintenance of adequate library facilities must be of highest priority if we are to continue fulfilling our research mission and our educational responsibilities to our graduate programs.
Jon-Paul Bingham, Asst Professor, MBBE, CTAHR, sent May 2, 2007
As a new faculty member, having just arrived at UH two months ago, as a synthetic peptide chemist with 3 PhD. graduate students ALL involved in peptide chemistry, I would hope that you would reconsider the issue about cancelling the subscription to "Peptides". My laboratory, is presently being setup, my 3 students are all arriving in August - I have had little time at present to use or explore your facilities; that naturally will change..... Our past useage of the Journal "Peptides", prior to UH, has been repeatitive and paramount to the research we have and will be undertaking. Naturally this will be reflected in our future UH useage of this particular journal - as too the graduate course I am planning to teach in "Peptide-protein Bioengineering". I hope that you can reconsider this decision. I look forward to your response. Kindest Regards Dr. J-P. Bingham
Thomas Giambelluca, Professor, Geography, sent May 2, 2007
letter pdf "we can no longer continue to commit 22% of our serial dollars to one publisher" (2007 Collection Review: Elsevier Science Direct Journals: Cancellation Review, University of Hawai i at Manoa Library) While I lament the concentration of journal titles under a single publisher s masthead, the reality is that some of the best journals available across a wide range of fields happen to be published by Elsevier. I agree that their subscription rates are, in some cases, unreasonable. However, I do not think the amount of our library dollars going to a particular publisher should be a criterion in the cancellation review. Each journal has a value to UH students, faculty, and staff, which must be weighed against the cost and in comparison to the value-to-cost ratios of other journals. The question of who publishes the journal has no place in the value vs. cost determination. I have published in five Elsevier journals and regularly publish in two of those (see table on following page). I serve on the editorial board of another Elsevier journal, Basic and Applied Ecology, to which UH does not subscribe. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, which is on the proposed cancellations list, is the most important journal outlet for my work and the work of my students, post-docs, and technical staff. Ready access to this journal, especially the ability to browse articles via electronic means, is critically important for the conduct of our research. In addition, all the journals listed below, but especially Agricultural and Forest Meteorology and Journal of Hydrology, are critically important resources in several courses that I offer. For example, a large fraction of the course material in GEOG 402: Agricultural Climatology is drawn directly from Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. Free electronic access to this journal by students is absolutely essential for this course. Similarly, GEOG 405: Water in the Environment draws heavily from Journal of Hydrology. I strongly urge the Collection Review Committee to reconsider the proposed cancellation of our electronic subscription to Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. I also urge that the committee continue to support retention of electronic subscriptions for Journal of Hydrology, Forest Ecology and Management, and Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment. Lastly, I ask that the committee alter their strategy for allocating titles to the cancel and retain lists. Evaluate all journals based on their merits, instead of targeting a particular publisher. While it may be personally satisfying to poke the publishing giant in the eye, it may be doing a disservice to the students, faculty, and staff of the University. Thank you for considering my opinions.
Sherwin Alop, Student, School of Nursing and Dental Health, sent May 2, 2007
Kristen & Ginny, I am an RN to BSN Student at SONDH in my 1st semester. I cannot begin to appreciate the difficulty of the choices you are charged to make. Why is Brain and Language worth subscribing to while Early Human Development is not (rhetorical). I cringe when I think of the basic and applied research that may become derailed over the next few years because of the 2/3 cut backs on top of the decrease in amount of new texts acqured by Hamilton. I appreciate the economics of do I pay for electricity or food when it's 30 degrees outside. Difficult choices must be made sometimes. Our access to knowledge base is paying the ultimate price to keep the publishers and thier stock holders bottom line -- a 21st century dark age based on economics and greed. After reading the article in Subject Librarian, I am appalled at the audacity of the publishers to garner thier "fair share" of their long standing relationship with authors and the public. In my view, the authors should have direct access to the public as an alternative to publishing -- it is thier work. If publishers continue to destabilize the symbiotic relationship that currently exists into a parasitic one, then thier importance may become minimized by the open access movement. To what degree is the University actively participating in the propagation of the open access movement? Will our unversity be reduced to an intermediary where students come for thier undergrad and go to other institutions where thier graduate research can be fulfilled with more extensive knowldege and journal database? I keep hearing our Mayor and Governor holding in high esteem the educational needs of the people of Hawai'i but how much of that rhetoric translates into actual support? Have any of the hospitals in the community expressed any interest in helping maintain the level of the Journal Database in exchange for access or to help fulfill thier organizational goals toward thier Magnet Designation Journey? I have expressed more question and my opinion in this letter to you than solutions. For that reason, I appologize. I suppor the open access movement. Access to knowledge should never be restricted to a select few in a democracy or have we turned into communists capitaist? Sincerely, Sherwin Alop, RN
Ian Cooke, Professor, Bekesy Laboratory, sent May 2, 2007
I've now seen the list of proposed cancellations (sorry to have bothered you about this in a previous e-mail). With regard to my research areas, comparative physiology and neuroscience, the following on the cancellation list would cause a hardship as they are close to being "core" journals in these fields. I could certainly live with not having print versions, but failing to have easy access electronically would be a problem. Cell Calcium Comp Biochem Physiol Parts A and B Neuroscience Progress in Biophysics and Mol Biol Progress In Neurobiology I'm not sure how the Uses are determined, but I admire the effort to obtain objective criteria for making these painful cuts. Thank you for soliciting comments. Ian Cooke
Aaron, PhD Student, Botany, sent May 2, 2007
Hello, I'm a PhD student in Botany. I looked through the list of Elsevier subscriptions that you will discontinue. All look fine to me; however, there is one journal, Geoderma, that is particularly important for my research and those that work on the biology and chemistry of soils (and geography/geology/ecology). I would like to recommend that you keep subscribing to that one journal at UH. Thanks for listening, Aaron
Laxman Sharma, PhD Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering, sent May 2, 2007
Aloha, Looking at the proposed cuts in the subscriptions, I feel that the followingjournals deserve to be put in the continued list as they are most relevant to my area of research and I will be using them more often this year, as I am doing a lit. review. The journals area, in order of importance, 1. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 2. Advances in Water Resources Thank you, Laxman Sharma
David Vicic, Associate Professor, joining UHM in Fall, sent May 2, 2007
Kris, I am an Associate Professor of Chemistry who will be joining the UH Manoa campus in the fall. I received your e-mail, and I really hope you do not cancel electronic subscription to the following journals, as I use them quite a bit for my research. Journal of Organometallic Chemistry Tetrahedron Tetrahedron Asymmetry Polyhedron Thanks a lot, David Vicic
Debra Lieberman, Assistant Professor, Psychology, sent May 2, 2007
Dear Kris, I am very concerned about 2 particular journals on the chopping block: (1) Evolution and Human Behavior and (2) Cognitive Development These are central journals to two of psychologies main disciplines. Will these at least be offered electronically? Or is the proposal to cut the paper AND electronic format. I can understand cutting the paper format but not the electronic access. Please let me know what I can do to ensure that these journals are retained. Mahalo, Debra
Xiaojun Wang, Assistant Professor, Economics, sent May 2, 2007
Dear David, I was so shocked to receive the announcement that the library is about to cancel subscriptions of some top-ranked economics e-journals. It is not much an exaggeration to say that these e-journals are the lifeline of faculty research, and this point is heightened by the fact that we are geographically isolated from the rest of the world. The proposed cancellation exemplifies that politicians or whoever are proposing to make this campus a premier research institute are nothing more than a bunch of liars, and it is time for them to put their money where their mouth is. Anyway, I myself believe the following e-journals are indispensable for my own research. My colleagues might provide their own opinion on this: Journal of Monetary Economics Journal of Econometrics Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control Journal of Economic Theory Please confirm that you have received my message, and pass it on to whoever is in charge of this issue at the Library. Thanks a lot! Xiaojun Wang
UH Manoa student, sent May 2, 2007
Is there a UHM official position on Elsevier's operation of international arms fairs? Not to sling mud, but I figured it would be pertinent if UHM were reconsidering purchasing from them... "Iranian stall at Reed arms fair" Reed Elsevier and the arms trade and http://www.idiolect.org.uk/elsevier/
Megan Chock, UH Manoa undergraduate student, sent May 2, 2007
My name is Megan Chock, and I am currently a freshman undergraduate student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who is also a member of the student government, ASUH. I am deeply concerned and nearly horrified that the cancellation of these journal subscriptions are going to be put into effect for the next academic year. I understand the plight of the library; like too many other institutions on campus, it is seriously underfunded. However, I cannot imagine justifiying the proposed cancellation of these journals, all of which are critical to a large number of students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. This university is already struggling to justify itself as a legitimate academic institution nationally. If its students do not have access to the latest information in academia, there is no way that the University of Hawaii can legitimately continue towards a higher academic quality. I am writing this message as an extremely concerned student asking the administrators not to do this to the students of the University of Hawaii; if we do not have adequate access to these materials, there is no way that our quality of education can increase. Our academic journey at this institution will be very negatively impacted if this decision is put into effect, and as a student, I am sincerely requesting that the administration reverse the proposed cancellations. Please feel free to distribute as many copies of this message to any people that will support this cause. I am putting my words in your hands; I sincerely hope that something good will be done with them.
Daniel Hartline, Director, Bekesy Laboratory, sent May 2, 2007
Gary, OWWW!! This is terrible news! We can't do research without our electronic access to journals -- in fact, that access is still much too limited (we need better access to older issues before 1997). These continued library resource crises are crazy and should never be allowed to happen if we are going to stay competitive. I COMPLETELY DEPEND on UH library electronic journals for ALL the grant proposals I write these days. Can't something be done at your level to keep this situation from recurring? Dan Hartline Daniel K. Hartline, Bekesy Lab.
Xerxes Tata, Professor, Physics, sent May 2, 2007
I am sending this on behalf of all of us (Sandip Pakvasa, Gary Varner, Kirill Melnikov and myself) who met with you earlier today in connectionwith the proposal to cut several Elsevier titles. We appreciate that the cost of these journals is very high, and also that the library budget has been flat. Nevertheless, as we discussed, Physics Letters B is arguably the top letter journal (certainly in the top two) in high energy physics and one of two or three most important journals in the field; Nuclear Physics B is one of the premier journals in the field, Physics Reports is perhaps is perhaps one of the top (certainly in the two) review journals (the other being Reviews of Modern Physics), and Progess in Particle and Nuclear Physics also publishes important reviews . Physics Letters A publishes basic physics letters, and is worth saving even though these are not directly in high energy physics. We would also like to save the access to Nuclear Instruments and Methods A if this is at all possible, but understand the creative technique you have used to preserve this access even after the subscription was ended. We emphasize that the titles discussed above are important CORE titles for any group performing research in high energy physics, and losing access to these will seriously impair our ability to continue to be competetive. You can judge the importance of these by looking at the citations in papers that we publish. Indeed, as we discussed, this may provide an alternative (and perhaps better) measure of the use of these journals than the one that was used to prepare the proposed cancellation list. Thanks for your understanding, and looking forward to good news from your end.