NASIG Newsletter

STRATEGY SESSION

Smoking Out the Big Deal: Getting What You Want Without Getting Stung
Donna Wolfe, PALINET; Narda Tafuri, University of Scranton; Nowella Owen, Springer; Rebecca Day, EBSCO.
Reported by Amy Carlson

Narda Tarfuri began the session describing the balancing act of managing a “big deal.” The big packages require libraries to manage titles they do not want while purchasing the ones they do. Tarfuri outlined the University of Scranton’s experience with SpringerLink through their consortium, PALINET. Their deal provided them with 1700 titles; caps on yearly increases to help budgeting; access to specified backfiles; archival rights that freed them to eliminate print; and a mechanism for obtaining new titles. Their usage statistics gave them specific data to help with collection development, which showed a significant increase in use, especially in unsuspected areas. They discovered changes in usage patterns, as compared to the print. Tarfuri discussed areas of concern with these packages: all or nothing packages; library budget and “deal” inflation not matching; lack of back out mechanisms; difficulty in allocating costs; lost access to titles removed; and difficulty in tracking titles. She suggested some ideas for libraries and for publishers to make these packages more flexible: non-forfeiture clauses to stop the clock; new pricing strategies; and guaranteed archival rights.

Nowella Owen provided suggestions from a publisher’s perspective.  The “big deal” offers packages of titles at 10% less than the list price for most consortia; access to all Springer journal content; archival rights; and reduced pricing for any new journals. Pricing for libraries is based on subscriptions held and maintained, although they do provide a cancellation clause. Springer offers multi-year licenses. They participate in the Transfer Project; and provide pricing policies to offset titles transferred out of a library’s base subscriptions. Owen suggested licensing terms, which help to govern use of these products. Predictable revenue, simplified renewal processes and better communication between the publisher, subscription agent, and library are all what the publishers would like to see from the system of “big deals.”

Rebecca Day working at EBSCO described the agent’s role in the process. They organize information transmitted between publishers, consortia and libraries, and help to populate that information. The agent can act as the single source for information about the library’s existing subscriptions and about the library itself. They can also track the pertinent information of the package for the library. Regardless of pricing models, the agent tracks information about the library. This tracking can help smooth the process of purchasing and renewing a large package. The agent can provide help in assigning value to content within the deal. When titles transfer in or out, the agent works to alert the library and to ensure access can be maintained. Agents already have the technology and systems in place for automatic population of data and many offer other products and tools which can assist libraries in tracking their own information.

The PALINET representative, Donna Wolfe, discussed the ways a consortium assists the library with the “big deal” packages. PALINET, a full service regional service provider, offers their members a number of different services. These include offering savings as a large buying group for electronic packages. Their size and negotiation expertise offer their members economy of effort and better terms due to their volume. A consortium’s service saves a library time. Central invoicing and their mediation in the management of titles moves the work from the individual libraries to the consortium. For publishers, a consortium offers new customers, or a wider range of customers, increased use of content, and predictable income. Communication travels both ways through PALINET, providing a feedback channel for both the publishers and the libraries. Consortia need immediate notification from publishers about any changes, efficiency in communication, and streamlined processes. Wolfe cited adding new or transferring titles and archival rights as challenges for the future.

The question and answer session offered a lively discussion on some of the key challenges of each presentation, including archival rights, transferring of titles in or out of packages, title level reconciliation, and budgeting.