"The Future of Open Access Journals in Academic Libraries: a Survey on Current Practices and a Blueprint for Collection Development

Print journals collection development is a long-standing academic library role, whose support of university curriculum and research is essential. However, academic libraries have weathered difficult collection development decisions due to costs and strained budgets. As technology has given rise to online journals and space is reallocated, libraries have shifted focus to online journals. In addition, some academic libraries select open access journals to supplement subscriptions, but lack criteria. Furthermore, academic libraries are challenged by some open access journals’ predatory practices, unreliable access, and lacking peer review. This article explores academic libraries’ open access journals collection development and provides a blueprint.