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The number, size and cost of current serials, and changes in these since 1960, are examined from the point of view of a UK library. Both the number of current serials and the average UK subscription cost have increased exponentially, while the average thickness appears now to be roughly constant. An estimate of the cost of ‘information’, measured by the cost per metre of shelf space of serials relative to the Retail Price Index shows a substantial but irregular increase.
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CB Wootton (1976) studied this question.
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