• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
• /
• v.23 no.1 s.59
• /
• pp.121-138
• /
• 2006

This study attempts to derive an economic analysis model for journal evaluation and conducts a case analysis based on the model. Total costs are calculated and include administrative fees (such as binding, ordering, claiming, etc.) and subscription costs. The model quantifies qualitative benefits to users, a utility that combines usage data that has also been evaluated in the existing economic analysis models. The model is designed by the usage statistics of the web-based electronic journals, which have become important resources for research. Rankings are assigned based on how items are utilized to the goal of the mother institution. In the case study based on the KDI School Library, the highest ranking off was assigned to journals that patrons used for citation in their outputs. For journals that were used background information, i.e., full text downloading or browsing , each was assigned ranking of 2 and 1, respectively. According to the analysis, the top 20 journals provided 75% of the entire library utility, showing different user behaviors among different cohorts. We expect that the model makes it possible for librarians to measure the value of journals. It can provide a basic tool for journal selection, particularly in special libraries with custom needs.