Need Exceeds Space

Abstract

In 2009, the University of Rhode Island's main library, the Robert L. Carothers Library and Learning Commons in Kingston, initiated a pilot serials withdrawal project when the need for space for new services exceeded the space available in the library. A joint venture between Acquisitions and Access Services, the successful pilot led to a subsequent withdrawal project in summer 2010 to free additional space in the library. The print journals targeted for withdrawal were ones to which the library had online access through licensed journal archives. Considerations on what to withdraw, the process of identifying titles for withdrawal, and the logistics of managing the withdrawal of more than 35,000 volumes are described.