The library is committed to supporting teaching, learning, and research through our physical and digital resources. To manage our budget responsibly, we conduct an annual review of all journal and database subscriptions.
Cancellation Criteria
Librarians gather and analyze a wide range of quantitative and qualitative data and consider a variety of criteria for each resource.
Quantitative
- Usage
- Cost
- Impact ratings
- Faculty citation and publication activity
- Duplication of content in other databases
- Availability through interlibrary loan
Qualitative
- Importance to specific academic disciplines
- Connection to DePaul’s mission
- Faculty and student requests
- Usability
- Other factors
We make every effort to maintain access to highly-used and essential resources. However, some resources are not financially sustainable even when usage is strong. Many databases cost more than $50,000 per year, and individual journal subscriptions can exceed $10,000 annually. If reductions are necessary, we will prioritize maintaining access to the most essential resources and pursue alternative access options whenever possible. We will communicate any changes to our users and work to minimize disruptions.
Most cancellation decisions are tied to university budget cycles and will be shared with faculty. Subscription renewal cycles vary, often spanning DePaul’s current and upcoming fiscal years. Most database subscriptions follow the fiscal year, with cancellations taking effect July 1. Journal and periodical subscriptions generally follow the calendar year, with cancellations becoming effective January 1.
Possibly. While the library evaluates resources for possible cancellation each year, it also adds new resources to its collections annually. Please suggest a purchase and we will consider the resource again. However, the library budget is finite, and some decisions are based not on the quality of a particular resource, but on its cost and how to best meet the needs of all departments and colleges.
Print and e-books are a central part of our collection and are also affected by budget reductions. When reducing our book budget, we consider many of the same factors we use when evaluating databases and journals, including usage, alignment with curricular and research needs, and feedback and requests from faculty and students.
We understand how central the library collection is to teaching and learning at the university. We will do everything we can to continue meeting the needs of students and faculty within our budget. Faculty can help by:
- Continuing to use the library and encouraging students to use it too!
- Supporting efforts by professional associations and other groups to identify sustainable and affordable ways to distribute scholarly information.
- Considering a publisher’s pricing model and copyright policy before submitting for publication or agreeing to serve on an editorial board.
- Carefully reading a publisher’s copyright release before you sign it - you may find that you cannot offer online or print access to your own articles without prior permission. Most publishers will allow you to place a pre-published article in Digital Commons, where it will be discoverable by researchers using Google Scholar and other popular search engines.