How bibliometrics is affecting SSH

Our society requires an increasing collaboration between SSH and STEM disciplines so to face the growing complexity effectively. However, current methods for research evaluation in Italy separate STM and SSH disciplines and make collaboration difficult. Academic libraries use citation counts, together with usage statistics, to support collection development policies, that is to decide cancellations and renewals of journals and books. A survey in Italian academic libraries I resume in this contribution shows how most of libraries use some kind of quantitative indicator in collection development. This might reinforce the trends and problems of bibliometrics as well as the oligopolistic concentration of the scientific publishing market in the hands of few big players reinforcing the role of the producers of citation databases. Academic libraries allocate most of their funding for big deals acquisitions of journals and for citation databases to support evaluation. Therefore, there is not much budget remaining for other kind of materials, for supporting non-bibliometric disciplines. The bibliometric world is prevailing and increasingly SSH habits are changing to become more similar to STM.