InfoGuides: Scholarly Resources: Acquisitions &amp; Cancellations: Faculty Input Requested

General faculty input form: How do you use our collections?

As we update our collections strategy to align with new budget realities, we want to hear from you!

Let us know how you're using the Libraries' print and online collections in your research, teaching, and service:

Fill out the collections reductions feedback form, and/or
Reach out to your subject librarian.

See the other tabs on this guide for information about FY24 and FY25 budget reductions and for resource cancellation lists.

Elsevier journals: Request for comments

In 2021, the Libraries cancelled its subscription to its comprehensive Elsevier journal package. We now maintain 218 individual journal subscriptions at an annual cost of over $600,000. As Elsevier journals are still our largest collections expenditure, we are currently exploring options for further reducing our Elsevier journal subscription costs.

Please complete this form by June 30 to help us understand the impact of past and potential future Elsevier journal cancellations on your work. We also want to hear about how well our article delivery services meet your needs.

The main questions in the form are:

How did the January 2021 Elsevier cancellations impact your research and teaching?
How do you use our remaining 218 Elsevier journal subscriptions (see list)? Are any of these journals particularly significant for your work?
If the Libraries cancel any Elsevier journals in January 2025, we would retain access to pre-2025 articles. Articles published in or after January 2025 would be available via Interlibrary Loan (2 hours to overnight) or Article Express (near instant delivery). Please share any comments about how well Interlibrary Loan and Article Express would meet your needs.

Feedback forms for similar & overlapping resources

The Libraries are reviewing groups of similar and/or overlapping online resources to identify potential cancellations. There are eight groups of resources, with each group presented in a separate box below. Each box contains a feedback form, along with summaries of recent cost and usage levels, and links to the resources. Here's what to expect on the feedback forms:

Page 1 -- 5 quick questions about you.

Name
Email
Role at Mason (response required)
College/School affiliation (response required)
Department/program

Page 2 -- How you use the resources in question.

Multiple choice
- Which of these resources do you use in your teaching?
- Which of these resources do you use in your research?
Open-ended (actual question phrasing varies to reflect specific circumstances)
- Please tell us how you use these resources. Which specific functionalities or content do you use? How do you or your students use these databases in specific projects or assignments?
- If the Libraries were to cancel any of these subscriptions, how would the cancellation(s) impact your research and teaching?
- Please share any other questions and comments about these resources or our collections in general.

Chemistry Resources (SciFinder and Reaxys)

The Libraries currently subscribe to both SciFinder N and Reaxys, two chemistry databases. Due to substantial overlap in content and functionality, we are considering retaining just one of these resources.

If you use either of these databases in your research and teaching,

please complete this feedback form by June 30.

Members of the Mason community may view information on usage and cost effectiveness (you must be logged in to your Mason365 environment).

SciFinder-n This link opens in a new window
SciFinder-n provides integrated access to the world's most comprehensive and authoritative source of references, substances and reactions in chemistry and related sciences.
Reaxys This link opens in a new window
Provides extensive coverage of high-quality, authoritative information and experimental data in organic, inorganic and organometalic chemistry.

Data/statistics

The Libraries currently subscribe to numerous databases containing statistics and datasets. We are reviewing these databases for overlap in content and functionality, and have identified one with low usage: ProQuest Statistical Insight. We are exploring the possibility of cancelling or restructuring this subscription.

If you use ProQuest Statistical Insight in your research and teaching,

please complete this feedback form by June 30.

Members of the Mason community may view information on usage and cost effectiveness (you must be logged in to your Mason365 environment).

ProQuest Statistical Insight This link opens in a new window
Find all statistics issued by the US government since 1973; 1000 of the best statistical publications of private and state government sources and approximately 2000 titles from international agencies.

Engineering

The Libraries currently subscribe to Compendex and Inspec, two engineering databases. Due to overlap in content and functionality, we are considering retaining just one of these resources.

If you use either of these databases in your research and teaching,

please complete this feedback form by June 30.

Members of the Mason community may view information on usage and cost effectiveness (you must be logged in to your Mason365 environment).

Compendex This link opens in a new window
Provides abstracts and full bibliographic citations for worldwide engineering and technical literature.
Inspec This link opens in a new window
Scientific and technical journals and conference proceedings in physics, electrical engineering and electronics, computing and control, and information technology.

Linguistics

The Libraries currently subscribes to Linguistics Abstracts and also provides access to Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA) via VIVA, Virginia's academic library consortium. Due substantial overlap in content and functionality, we are reviewing our subscription to Linguistics Abstracts.

If you use either of these databases in your research and teaching,

please complete this feedback form by June 30.

Members of the Mason community may view information on usage and cost effectiveness (you must be logged in to your Mason365 environment).

Linguistics Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Provides access to abstracts of articles in all the key journals in the field.
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Non-evaluative abstracts of articles from hundreds of serials published around the world.

Market, Industry, and Company Information

The Libraries subscribe to numerous databases for industry, market, and company research. We are therefore considering cancelling or restructuring up to three of these subscriptions. The three databases currently under review are listed below.

If you use any of these databases in your research and teaching,

please complete this feedback form by June 30.

Members of the Mason community may view information on usage and cost effectiveness (you must be logged in to your Mason Office365 environment).

Mergent Intellect This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Provides business data and reports, industry news and profiles, executive contact information, plus nationwide residential white pages search. THIS IS SEPARATE FROM MERGENT ONLINE.
Mintel Reports Academic This link opens in a new window
Provides reports for the top 14 US business-to-consumer categories and tracks consumer attitudes and behaviors. Each report covers market sizing and segmentation as well as consumer attitudes and trends.
Passport GMID (Euromonitor International) This link opens in a new window
Passport is a global market information database examining countries, consumers and industries. Passport offers integrated access to internationally comparable statistics, insightful market reports and interactive visualization tools across 30+ industries and 210+ countries & territories.

Note: Our other Mergent databases are NOT under review. Mergent Online is a VIVA-wide subscription and is not a cancellation candidate. View a complete list of our current Mergent databases here.

Philosophy

The Libraries currently subscribe to Philosopher's Index. We also have access to the ProQuest Religion & Philosophy Collection via VIVA, Virginia's academic library consortium. Due to substantial overlap in content and functionality, we are reviewing our subscription to Philosopher's Index.

If you use either of these databases in your research and teaching,

please complete this feedback form by June 30.

Members of the Mason community may view information on usage and cost effectiveness (you must be logged in to your Mason365 environment).

Philosopher's Index This link opens in a new window
Indexes and abstracts books and 400 journals in philosophy and related fields.
Religion and Philosophy Collection This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Provides indexing, abstracts, and full text for about 250 scholarly journals.
PhilPapers This link opens in a new window
An open access, comprehensive index and bibliography of philosophy; drawn from a wide array of sources, including journals, books, open access archives, and academics' personal pages.

Public Policy

The Libraries susbcribe to several databases of policy literature (scholarly and grey literature), including CIAO, PAIS, and Policy File. We also have a newer resource called Policy Commons. Due to overlap in content and functionality, we are considering cancelling or restructuring one or more of the subscriptions.

If you use any of these databases in your research and teaching,

please complete this feedback form by June 30.

Members of the Mason community may view information on usage and cost effectiveness (you must be logged in to your Mason365 environment).

Policy File Index This link opens in a new window
Access domestic and foreign public policy research and analytical papers on governmental and legal topics, representing the work of think tanks, research groups, and academic institutes from 1990 to present.
Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) This link opens in a new window
Provides a wide range of scholarship in international affairs from 1991 onward. Includes papers from research institutes and NGOs, conference proceedings, books, journals, policy briefs, case studies and course packs of background readings.
PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
Covers issues in the public debate through selective coverage of a variety of international sources including journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference papers, web content, and more, from 1972 to present. Includes PAIS Archive, covering content published in print 1915-1976.
Policy Commons This link opens in a new window
Database for public policy, with millions of reports, working papers, policy briefs, data sources, and media drawn from a directory of more than 20,000 IGOs, NGOs, think tanks, and research centers.

Reference (encyclopedias & directories)

The Libraries have identified several online encyclopedias and directories with low usage. We are therefore reviewing these subscriptions for FY25. The resources are: Encyclopedia of Associations, Encyclopedia of Astronomy & Astrophysics, National Faculty Directory, Oxford Research Encyclopedia on Climate Science, and Uniworld (see below for links and descriptions). Please note: Through the VIVA consortium, we continue to provide access to a wide range of encyclopedias via Oxford Reference Online.

If you use any of these reference resources in your research and teaching,

please complete this feedback form by June 30.

Members of the Mason community may view information on usage and cost effectiveness (you must be logged in to your Mason365 environment).

Encyclopedia of Associations
Comprehensive source of detailed information concerning nonprofit American membership organizations of national scope. Covers more than 23,000 organizations.
National Faculty Directory
Provides names, departmental affiliations and institutional addresses of professionals at thousands of American colleges and universities, as well as at approximately 200 Canadian institutions.
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science

Uniworld Online This link opens in a new window
Includes two multinational business contact directories (American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries and Foreign Firms Operating in the United States) covering more than 20,000 industries in over 200 countries. Provides information on headquarters, branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates of multinational firms.