Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Diversity In Collection Development: Comparing Access Strategies To Alternative Press Periodicals, Deborah Lafond, Mary Van Ullen, Richard Irving

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

A study by researchers from the State University of New York at Albany compared the efficacy of various strategies for providing access to nonmainstream periodicals listed in the Alternative Press Index. The strategies that were compared included the regular local subscription approach, resource-sharing consortia that include expedited interlibrary loan systems, and four electronic full-text periodical products. Although electronic full-text packages were found to provide some added access to nonmainstream journals, results revealed that much greater access was provided by participation in resource-sharing networks.