The Emory Libraries will negotiate this summer with the publisher Elsevier for a smaller and less expensive collection of journals, which is better tailored to Emory’s research and teaching. We are seeking your input.
The current Elsevier journal subscription package includes 1,900 journals which costs around $2.9M and accounts for around 17% of the Woodruff Library and Health Sciences Library collections budgets, combined. The current Elsevier package fiscally constrains the libraries’ budgets with yearly market increases which are not financially sustainable. This journal package also hinders our ability to adjust to changes in budget allocations and academic programs. Many research institutions have begun to reappraise the sustainability and value of these journal packages, including Cornell, UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, MIT, and University of Chicago.
In January 2026, Emory faculty, staff, and students will no longer have direct access to discontinued Elsevier journals. Journals were reviewed by subject librarians and informationists using a variety of use, citation and publication metrics. We are soliciting your comments or concerns via this form by May 15 for potential discontinued journals.
After January 2026, we will retain access to a significant number of discontinued Elsevier journal articles by way of ongoing subscriptions (such as Clinical Key), purchased backfiles, open access copies, and research databases. We are also committed to providing efficient and quick access to needed articles from discontinued Elsevier journals for Emory faculty, students, and staff at no cost to you. We encourage you to read these Elsevier Journal FAQs for more detail on how titles were chosen, what access we will retain, and how we are managing alternative access to Elsevier content. Our new Expedited Article Delivery will also be in place for discontinued content to provide quicker access, when needed.
This process will follow the same process we used to assess and reduce our collection of Wiley journals in 2024. We will continue to share and respond to feedback information about collections needs and decisions. Thank you for your input.