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The Good Library is removing most of its back print periodicals. The remainder of the print periodicals will be removed from the 3rd floor and placed elsewhere in the library and / or possibly other locations on campus.
Why is the Good Library reducing and relocating these periodicals?
What is our timeline?
What is being de-accesioned (weeded) automatically?
These are periodicals which we feel are either redundant and/or no longer (or only marginally) meet GC's curricular needs.
What about the remaining periodicals?
The remaining (~20-25%) consist of these types of periodicals:
How do I claim a periodical that is going to be weeded?
From October 23rd to Nov 1st, come to the library third floor anytime the library is open. Browse the journals. There will be a clipboard in the room. You will be asked to put in your name, your preferred contact info, the periodical(s) you want, and the date range you want. Sometime, from October 23 to Nov 1st, you will be contacted by the library to arrange pick-up or delivery.
Alternatively, you can browse this list [Note: this is a list of just our print journals] or search our A-Z. Then, email library@goshen.edu with the periodical(s) and the date range you want.
Where will the library shelve the periodicals that it is planning on keeping?
Right now, we do not know as it all depends on how many periodicals we feel we have to keep. We do have temporary spaces in the library basement for these materials. We will provide an update when we have a clearer idea of just how many periodicals we are going to keep.
What is going to happen to the weeded journals?
Unfortunately, old print periodicals are not a hot commodity. Better World Books (the vendor who takes our weeded books) will not take our old periodicals. Right now (unless something better suddenly comes along) the plan is to provide an opportunity for faculty and staff to take the periodicals and then recycle the rest. Please see "claiming" above.
Note: IF a periodical is rare (last copy in the Midwest) then we will strive to find the periodical a home where is will get more use, such as a research library.
Just what is the impact to the school -- what is GC losing?
The Good Library believes that impact to the library holdings is relatively light. The library has access to roughly 40,000 journals. Of these, only around 2,000 are in the print collection. Currently we have 19 "gifted" subscriptions (mainly in exchange for the Mennonite Quarterly Review), and another another 24 "paid" subscriptions, which mainly include newspapers and newspaper add-ons (ex. NY Times Review of Books), Trade related publications (teacher education periodicals), and a few periodicals whose online subscription is prohibitively expensive or do not have digital equivalents.
Still, we have lost a quiet study space for students and the ability to browse older back issues.
I have concerns. Whom can I talk to?
We welcome your input here! In some cases we may be able to house a journal. In other cases, we could ask the department to keep older journals in their department area if they think they would be of value to their students. While we do have limited options and a tight timeframe, we want to do everything we can to minimize the impact to you and our students. You can email anyone in the library. Getting things right for you is our top priority!