Proposal

The FAU Libraries are requesting $284,784, to purchase multiple Springer Electronic Journal Archives: Chemistry and Materials Science, Computer Science, Engineering, Humanities, Social Science and Law, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics and Astronomy (see chart below).  These Springer archives consist of access to academic journals, with coverage from as early as 1832 through the last issue of 1996.

The acquisition of these backfiles will give users access to almost the entire Springer journal portfolio. The FAU Libraries currently subscribe to the Springer journals package, which provides access to over 1,800 current Springer journals, with coverage from 1997 to present.  In addition, FAU already has access to a number of Springer backfile collections, with topics including business, biomedical science, behavioral science, and environmental science.  Springer journals are well-used: over 38,251 articles were accessed by FAU students and faculty in 2013.

Springer, a leading global scientific and medical publisher, has been publishing for over 170 years, and also publishes in the fields of technology and business.  Springer, partnered with approximately 500 scientific societies, published more than 2,200 English language journals and more than 8,000 new books in 2012.  A total of 1,539 Springer journals were listed in the 2012 Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports® (JCR), a recognized authority for evaluating journals.

Springer Electronic Journal Archives are delivered online and are available 24/7.  If purchased, the content will be accessible to all students, whether on campus, via IP authentication, or off campus via EZproxy remote authentication.  The journals and articles in the collections will be easy to discover through the library catalog; the library search engine, SearchWiSE; the electronic journal listings page; and librarian-created research guides.  Users will also discover this content through subject databases, Internet search sites such as Google and Google Scholar, and other popular library databases such as PubMed, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, and Web of Science.  The articles are in PDF format and are easily printed, emailed, and downloaded to read on a cell phone, tablet, or computer.

Target student population to be served by the project

The collections are of potential benefit to the entire FAU community, including undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty.  Because FAU will gain perpetual rights to the content, the journal backfiles will meet the study, instructional, and research needs of the FAU community into the future.  The content aligns with FAU’s course offerings, and the broadly organized journal packages align with many of the departments and courses offered at FAU.  There are many credit hours being taken in each of these departments, adding up to a total of 318,297 state-fundable credit hours for the 2013-2014 school year (http://iea.fau.edu/Reports/productivity.aspx).  Many of the materials will be used by students of all majors who are taking required core classes and popular electives; having such a broad use makes funding these materials with Tech Fee money particularly appealing.

The requested funds of $284,784.00 will cover the entire cost of The Springer Electronic Journal Archives.

If funded, we anticipate that access to the Springer Electronic Journal Archives will begin upon payment of the invoice.

The requested funds will cover the entire cost of Springer Journal Archives. The FAU Libraries will negotiate with Springer as needed to keep the collection updated and to provide archival access to any acquired journals. The Libraries will measure the success of Springer Journal Archives through usage data and surveys. The Libraries will monitor usage through COUNTER standard reports that track which titles are used, and the number of articles downloaded.

There is no annual access fee as long as the library subscribes to Springer content. Any access fee that may arise in the future will be covered by the FAU Libraries budget.

FAU Libraries Electronic Resources