The Libraries seek your help in testing and evaluating the relative merits of two competing products — Web of Science — a resource we currently subscribe to—and Scopus - a potential replacement for Web of Science.
Some context:
- The price of academic journals and databases continues to inflate at a rate of 4% to 6% per year. Such compound inflation over the last decade means that we can afford to purchase only about half of what it could purchase a decade ago.
- One of our biggest annual expenses is our paired subscription of Web of Science and Journal Citation Reports, whose combined annual cost is more than the cost of purchasing a one-bedroom condominium in downtown Burlington.
- The most viable potential replacement for Web of Science is its competitor, Scopus, which would likely cost around a third as much—still expensive but one-third our current financial commitment.
- We have initiated a trial subscription to Scopus with the intention of moving to it from Web of Science/JCR, and we seek your feedback on such a change. We will have overlapping access to both databases through September 2025.
Please don’t hesitate to email Bryn Geffert or your liaison librarian with any questions about the possibility of this change, or your liaison to ask for help.
