J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci., Vol 32, No. 4,
1992 page 398
Scientific Journals: Issues in Library Selection and Management Edited by Tony
Stankus. The Serials Librarian Series:
Supplement No. 3.
Scientific Journals:
Improving library Collections through Analysis of Publishing Trends. By Tony Stankus. The Serials Librarian Series:
Supplement No. 6.
The spiraling costs of scientific journals and the
tight budgets of many organizations are forcing many libraries to review their
journal holdings and subscribe only to those titles most important to their
needs. The aim of these two closely related books is to help those involved in
scientific journal selection. The material is presented in a series of
independent essays and papers (some are reprints from journals). Each chapter
can stand alone and is not necessarily related to the other chapters. Stankus
is either the sole author or co-author of each entry in both books.
Using a variety of methods, citation analysis, user
surveys, interviews, and analysis of publication trends. Stankus shows how to
optimize journal collections. While some of the data presented in these various
studies may not be exactly applicable to your specific journal holdings or may
be somewhat dated (especially in his older book), the methods are sound and
could be adapted to any journal collection.
In the earlier book he shows how to select the
journals needed in any particular area of research. There are several studies
on publication trends dealing with issues such as the growing importance of
some European journals and the publication habits of foreign trained scientists
who emigrated to the
Nearly every library collects some specialized (and
usually expensive) journals primarily for one researcher. Many times this
person has stopped publishing in this field or has even ceased publishing
completely. Perhaps these people have gone into other activities such as
administration or have changed their research interests. At the same time newer
people are clamoring for subscriptions to their favorite specialized journals.
Stankus presents reliable and unobtrusive methods to recognize those scientists
who have apparently ceased publishing. He presents practical advice on how to
handle the touchy situation of negotiating a journal cancellation.
For those unfamiliar with biochemistry, there is a
primer on the types of serials of interest to biochemists and how they can be
evaluated. Using this case study method, suggestions here can be applied to
many other subject disciplines.
The later book continues
along these lines. There are chapters on how a library's journal collection may
have to be adjusted when one of its users is appointed to the editorial board
of a journal or to the National Academy of Sciences.
Stankus reminds us of the
growing importance and attractiveness of European journals, particularly some
of the expensive commercially published specialty journals which have
proliferated in recent years. He explains the pros and cons of collecting them.
Considering the progress that
Stankus laments American
universities' practice of supplying European for-profit publishers with
thousands of articles yearly then buying them back in the form of subscriptions
at enormous cost. Can Americans save money by publishing in university press
journals rather than purchasing the expensive for-profit European journals?
Despite the financial attractiveness, he describes how such an operation is not
now viable on a large scale.
Despite the ever increasing burden of rising journal
costs, there are some encouraging trends. The increasing use of desktop
publishing is resulting in enhanced appearance and legibility of articles.
Competition among journals in the same subject area can help, at least it does
in cell biology, where the leading journals have improved physical appearance, increased
the use of graphics and photographs, and reduced the time lag in publication.
They are also competing directly for the best papers.
I have only a few small quibbles. Stankus points out
that an impressively large percentage of undergraduate co-authors of papers
become productive researchers. He may be overstating his premise when he
attributes their success to early exposure to scientific journals. Are
fledgling researchers really comprehending journals, or are they merely
grappling with the challenges of being new to research? However, this is only
one questionable chapter that is independent of the main thrust of most of the
other chapters. To compensate for the financial necessity of journal cutbacks,
many libraries are trying to enhance their document delivery services. A
discussion of these services would have been welcome.
Stankus loves scientific
journals and writes with dedication and enthusiasm. He expresses the fear that
as more American libraries cut their journal holdings, especially the often
expensive foreign journals, these libraries may inadvertently be strengthening
competitors by cutting off their own scientists from valuable information.
Perhaps the role of the truly professional librarian is much more suitably and
much more satisfyingly journal intelligence officer rather than allowance
monitor. These modestly priced books admirably help both librarians and
researchers who work with librarians to fulfill this role. Fortunately, we have
not heard the last word from Stankus. He has two new books in the pipeline
which I look forward to reading.
Philip Barnett
The