Serials Cancellations: An Analysis of Processes, Criteria, and Decision Making Tools

University libraries have struggled with rising serial costs and stagnant or falling budgets for decades. In response to this situation, librarians have conducted periodic serials cancellation projects. In 2002, the Academic Affairs Libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill completed a serials review project to identify 10% of its serials and standing order budget for cutbacks. This case study, based on a series of interviews with selectors involved in this project, seeks to identify and analyze the processes, the criteria, and the tools that they used in their decision-making and to learn whether the presence of electronic resources affected these decisions. Selectors were found to use a variety of processes, criteria, and tools to make decisions mainly based on their current circumstances, the constraints of their particular collections and disciplines, and the larger university, consortial, and publishing environment, and to a lesser extent, cost and electronic access