An Analysis of the Consortial Use of Electronic Journals in Turkey: The Case of SpringerLink and Wiley InterScience Databases

One of the most important functions of libraries is to develop and manage an effective collection that best meets the information needs of its users. With the introduction of electronic resources, collection development and management policies have become much more complex and interesting. Using the survey method, 2,770,905 journal articles downloaded by the users of the consortium members (universities) from SpringerLink and Wiley InterScience databases between 2003 and 2007 were evaluated. Journal articles used were analyzed by means of bibliometric laws and tcore journals were identified. One third of the articles used were satisfied by the core journals that constitute some 2.2% and 4.5% of all journals. Distributions of articles used for journals do not conform to Bradford’s Law. No correlation was observed between the frequencies of use of core journals and a) their impact factors; b) total number of citations they received; and c) their half-lives. Findings of this study should be used in collection development and management. Frequently used core journals should be retained, while rarely used or never used journals should be excluded from the collection. Findings should be used to negotiate better consortium license agreements.