Developing a Database for E-Journals That Improves Both Access and Management

Beginning in the autumn of 1997, the Utah State University (USU) Libraries began to set up Web pages with links to USU’s electronic journal (e-journal) collection. USU’s first e-journal link was to titles published by the Institute of Physics (IOP) that were offered free with a paid print subscription. The initial link to IOP seemed like a minor departure from the daily duties of the Web master of the Utah State University Library Web site. However, pursuing, creating, and maintaining the library’s e-journal collection proved to be too much of a challenge for a single individual as the number of e-journals grew. In December 1997, USU provided access to only one subscription-based e-journals collection, Project MUSE, consisting of approximately forty e-journals, and forty-eight e-journals that were accessible at no additional cost with a paid print subscription. By 2002 the number of titles at USU had increased to over 2,100 individual e-journals.