Opportunity Costs of Electronic Resources

摘要

Many research universities are turning to electronic-only collections for research materials such as journals, monographs, and reports. However, significant opportunity costs exist when institutions elect to replace all paper materials with licensed electronic resources such as e-books and e-journals. This article will address the advantages and disadvantages of moving library resources and services into a solely electronic format, as well as explore the literal and figurative costs of replacing information access points with annual license agreements and expensive database packages.