Analysis of the downward trend in document supply in pharmacology:: a case study from INIST in France (part 1)

Purpose - The article seeks to investigate the evolution of document supply of print serials. Design/methodology/approach - The study is based on data from INIST-CNRS - document supply requests and access to electronic resources - of 95 serials with JCR impact factors in pharmacology. Data were collected from 1992 to 2003. Findings - The results distinguish four groups of serials each with a different evolution of document supply requests. Nevertheless, the overall decline from 1999 is a global phenomenon linked to growing access to online journals and there seems little likelihood of a slowdown for the next few years. Originality/value - This is the first of three articles on a longitudinal study over 12 years on different aspects of the relationship between document supply and impact factor (citations) in pharmacology, a scientific domain with a high use of scientific information.