Alternatives for increasing access to scientific journals

The nation´s libraries are currently faced with severe budget problems. One of the more critical areas for the large academic research libraries is the acquisition of scientific journals. Faced with the requirement to reduce the number of journal titles to stay within budgets, many librarians are considering cooperative activities to share resources. At the same time the number of available current titles still appears to be increasing. The dilemma is basically how to spread reduced real dollars over an increasing number of titles competing for the funds. Based upon a recent study by the Association of Research Libraries, two alternative approaches for improving the access to periodical resources are examined. The two basic configurations are 1) a single new national facility with a comprehensive collection, and 2) a regional resource network based on designated existing library collections. After a brief description of the approaches, they are compared on the basis of estimated costs and satisfied demands. Additional noncost factors are included in the final decision for a single new national center.