Whether digital or print, academic journals are standing the test of time as relevant and useful resources for academic study. Both in the world of librarianship and in its wider context, the debate over how libraries should manage and select journals continues. Cambridge University Library is fortunate enough to hold legal deposit status, meaning that it can claim any periodical published in the United Kingdom, but other libraries continue to struggle over issues surrounding both the digital divide and the economic factors caused by rising subscription costs.

As the ability to publish online becomes more widespread, so does the demand for information to be displayed on the internet. This includes access to scholarly journals for both contemporary and archived material, which can amount to costly subscription charges. Furthermore, failure to continue an online subscription can cause the complete removal of access to journals which have previously been paid for and enjoyed.

These debates over the future, cost and digitisation of journals are explained in the University Library’s Library Sciences Collection. These are just some of the relevant titles we hold in the area of digital and print periodicals:

E-journals access and management 

Evaluating electronic resource programmes and provision : case studies from Africa and Asia 

Blackwell’s guide to electronic journal management 

Scholarly electronic journals : economic implications : a supporting study in the JISC Electronic Libraries (eLib) Programme

Electronic journal literature : implications for scholars 

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