JRNL Pilot Project – Expanding Access to Facilitate Gap Filling

One of the many tools available to WEST members is the Journal Retention and Needs Listing tool (JRNL), a shared print retention database and gap filling marketplace developed and maintained by the University of Florida. This tool allows WEST Archivers to display their retention commitments and solicit contributions for gaps in their archived holdings, and provides a space for all WEST members to contribute materials to complete runs in WEST as well as the other JRNL partners: BTAA, EAST, FLARE, and Scholars Trust. Until recently, only institutions participating in one of these programs were able to offer contributions to fill gaps.

In December 2021, JRNL program staff participated in the CDL, CRL, Hathi Collaborative Virtual Summit, which aimed to fuel collaboration and innovation for the future of shared print in the collections lifecycle. For JRNL, these conversations sparked a commitment to explore expanding access to libraries that may wish to support shared print through gap-filling but are not affiliated with a library consortium registered to use the tool.

To this end, in August 2022 the JRNL Oversight Committee launched a year-long pilot project inviting libraries from outside of these shared print programs to help explore solutions for JRNL to more broadly support the filling of gaps within shared print holdings. Participants will review local holdings to identify volumes that can be contributed to complete retained serial titles on other campuses. The work is expected to be largely self-directed and libraries to set their own pace. All WEST Archivers are strongly encouraged to post their archived holdings and gaps to JRNL to take advantage of this pilot.

See the newly updated WEST AGUA JRNL instructions for details on leveraging the AGUA JRNL Export files to update your holdings and gaps in JRNL. Full instructions for using all JRNL functions as an Archiver and as a contributor are available on the JRNL LibGuide. Have questions about JRNL? Please contact WEST Analyst Anna Striker (anna.striker@ucop.edu).