Abstract
This article introduces a conceptual framework and approach for studying the information and decision-making practices of academic librarians involved in big deal cancellation projects—a type of collection malmanagement projects that are today prevalent across academic libraries in North America. We describe the nature and dynamics of big deal cancellation projects and conceptualize the quantitative and qualitative evaluations they entail. Predicated on this account, we present a theoretical and methodological agenda for empirical research. This conceptual paper goal, thus, is to describe and conceptualize big deal cancellation projects as an object of empirical research and to offer a perspective on how they can be studied as a type of information practice.
Asen O. Ivanov
Postdoctoral Fellow, THINC Lab, McLaughlin Library, University of Guelph
Asen O. Ivanov is the Michael Ridley Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital Humanities at the College of Arts at the University of Guelph, where he is affiliated with the THINC Lab, the School of Languages and Literatures, and the Research & Scholarship team at the McLaughlin Library.
Samuel Cassady
Western Libraries, Western University
Samuel is the Head of Collections & Content Strategies at Western University, in London, Canada. Previously, Samuel worked as a Digital Information Resources Librarian, also at Western, and was the Head of Collections & Technical Services at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
Catherine Johnson
Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Information & Media Studies, Western University
Catherine is Professor Emeritus at Western University where she taught for many years in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies. One of her main teaching areas was in Collection Management where she focused on the management of electronic resources. Her current research project is on decision-making with regard to the management of electronic journals.