The University of Kansas Libraries

The Library Annex: Letter to Faculty

September 25, 2007

Dear Colleagues:

As you know all library units on campus are close to capacity. Last year we started the process of identifying, reviewing and moving low-use items into our Library Annex, such as archival copies of theses and dissertations, Dewey 800s and low-use material from the Murphy Art and Architecture Library.

Our critical space concerns in Watson and Anschutz need immediate attention, and to address this problem we will be moving all pre-2001 journals represented in our JSTOR database into the Annex. JSTOR , which provides image and full-text online access of core academic journals in a variety of disciplines in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, is extremely popular with our campus community . The pre-2001 print journals covered by JSTOR are therefore natural candidates for off-site location. In fact, these are often the first items moved into annexes by our colleagues at other academic libraries. The advantage of moving journals in JSTOR out of our browsable collections is that the journals are spread throughout the Library of Congress classification system, therefore creating small pockets of much needed space throughout the Libraries.

Should you need to consult a printed volume that is stored in the Annex, it will be retrieved and available within 24 hours, as is the case with all Annex materials.

This project will alleviate a short-term space problem, but we need to continue the process of identifying low use material to create additional space for the collections that remain in the open browsable buildings. We also need to make space for future collections (we add about 40-50,000 new items annually). We will continue to call upon you to assist us with reviewing items that have been identified as low-use. Please visit the Annex Web site frequently to see what collections are currently under review and the timelines for each of these reviews. Your library liaison will also notify you when collections in your discipline are up for review. We offer several methods of review -- each are described on our Web site. http://www.lib.ku.edu/annex/ To ensure a consistent and even workflow we will continue to review material up to 12-months before actually transferring to the Annex.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me directly or your library liaison.

lorraine j. haricombe
Dean of Libraries