Using Article Photocopy Data in Bibliographic Models for Journal Collection Management

This article describes a method for analyzing the demand for photocopies of individual journal articles for the purpose of making journal selection, deselection, and retention decisions. The study of a specialized library is based on 491 users responsible for more than 48,000 journal article photocopies during the three-year data-collection phase of the project. Cost-per-use analysis was employed to evaluate which journals were most cost-effective to own. Analysis showed that a subscription budget of $100,000 would meet 78 percent of the demand for article photocopies while a budget of $200,000 would meet 85 percent of the demand. This information was used to make subscription deselection and selection decisions each year. Four years after the study was completed, the number of subscriptions had been reduced more than 45 percent, but the number of photocopies made from journals held within the library (as opposed to borrowed from outside) had increased from 45 percent to 67 percent. The analysis also provided information on user behavior and journal use patterns. It showed that very few users (fourteen) accounted for more than half the photocopy requests, and half the photocopy requests were for articles in only thirty-six of the 1,673 journals used in the study. No relationship was found between rankings of journal importance as measured by the photocopy data and published journal impact figures.