SU Library adds 350 Sage titles to e-journal collection

Pamela McLaughlin
(315) 443-9788

Effective Jan. 1, 2009, the Syracuse University Library will add nearly 350 online journals to its already extensive holdings. The journals, which span numerous disciplines, are all published by Sage Publications, a respected publisher of academic titles. The library was already purchasing about 150 Sage journals and, with this addition, now makes available all of Sage’s titles. Access to the entire collection from 1999-present is provided through one easily searchable platform.

Especially important to Syracuse University librarians and researchers is the interdisciplinary nature of many of Sage’s titles. With the addition of these titles, the library has increased its support for emerging areas of excellence at SU, including materials science, health sciences, environmental sciences, air quality, hospitality and sports management, engineering and sustainability. A sampling of new titles includes: Journal of Bioactive and Compatible Polymers, Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials, Statistical Methods in Medical Research, Lighting Research & Technology, Environment and Urbanization, Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, Autism, Chronic Illness, Modern China, Simulation and Gaming, Journal of Consumer Culture, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, and the Journal of Sports Economics.

The campus community is welcome to explore all of the new titles by discipline (http://www.sagepub.com/journals.nav, left side of page) or by title (http://www.sagepub.com/journalsIndex.nav).

Normally, adding 350 journal titles at one time at full market cost would be fiscally challenging, if not impossible, for most research libraries. However, this large increase was made possible by the library’s participation in the Westchester Academic Library Directors Organization (WALDO). WALDO is a nonprofit library consortium that procures online content for its members at reasonable costs by leveraging their collective negotiating power. Currently, WALDO includes 450 academic libraries, 325 public libraries and 155 hospital libraries in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states.

As an example of the impact of group purchasing, annual subscriptions to the 19 materials science journals included in this package would have cost the SU Library about $33,000 per year. However, SU’s consortial price to add all 350 titles (in addition to the base cost for the current 150 titles) is about half that amount annually.

By pursuing innovative strategies like this to purchase or lease online content at substantial savings, the SU Library not only stretches its dollars, but reaffirms its commitment to simultaneously providing the maximum amount of scholarly material and the highest quality journals to SU students, faculty and researchers.

For more information or assistance with Sage e-journals, contact Scott Warren at 443-8339 or sawarr01@syr.edu.