As digitized journal backfile sets become available online, they fulfill the lion’s share of user access needs, leading many librarians to call into question the need to retain print. Can libraries securely reassign the stack space occupied by disused print versions without risking preservation? How can librarians feel confident in the choices for withdrawal they make? To empower libraries to take a more confident approach to print collections management, this talk will examine how to develop an adequate preservation infrastructure. How does print preservation still matter and for how long will it remain a relevant priority? What sort of preservation framework is needed for legacy print collections? And, for which journals is this preservation framework already in place, allowing for responsible withdrawal today? Drawing from a report recently released by Ithaka S+R, this talk will conclude with some remarks about how the set of materials appropriate for withdrawal can be expanded to allow libraries additional flexibility in their collections management.

More information about this event