The impact of electronic information sources on university libraries: The case of Iranian Institute of advanced studies in basic sciences

Collection development in university libraries is affected by a number of factors. The increase in the amount of information, technological developments, price hikes and electronic publishing are among them. In addition, university libraries are faced with the growth of collections and diversity of services. Iranian Institute of Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS) Library (Ketabhaneye Merkeze Tehsiyate Tekmili der Olume Paye) is faced with a serious budget and space problem. The number of journals that the Library subscribes to decreases each year due to ever-increasing journal subscription prices and the Library's constant budget shortages. Binding, cataloging, storage of and access to those journals constitutes the most important problem of the Library. The objective of this study is to answer the following conjecture: If IASBS Library subscribed to the electronic versions of journals instead of their printed copies, its budget and space problems would be eased. The hypothesis is that "If IASBS Library subscribed to the electronic versions of journals in the year 2002, its total expenditures would be decreased." To prove this hypothesis, we compared various expenditures (subscriptions, mailing, control, binding and archiving) of both printed and electronic versions of journals that IASBS Library subscribed to in 2002. Findings obtained proved our hypothesis. If IASBS Library subscribed to the electronic versions of journals instead of their printed equivalents, the Library would have decreased its total expenditures approximately $57.000. This figure translates to almost 13% economy in the Library's overall material acquisition budget. In addition, instead of 155 journals, IASBS Library would have obtained access to a total of 2260 electronic journal by paying less. In conclusion, IASBS Library should provide access to electronic versions of journals as soon as possible in order to solve its budget and space problems