RE: A question of licences and Alumni members

["Deeken, Joanne" <jdeeken@indiana.edu>]

I'm normally a "lurker" on this list, but just can't resist jumping in on
this.

Indiana University is a large public institution and we, too, have
pressure to allow alumni to use our resources.  I believe it is a national
trend that the percentage of support from the state for all public
universities has slipped substantially.  Money from donors is of a growing
importance.  As a state institution, our fund raising bodies are separate
organizations and are incorporated separately.  That organization is
vitally concerned with keeping alumni connected to IU.  The more connected
with a university (and the more we all push life-long learning), the more
likely they are to contribute.  As with many other institutions, we have
"clubs" in many cities and universities.  Unlike many other places, we
offer alumni a permanent e-mail address.  There is also a push to offer
these alumni remote access to the electronic information to which we
subscribe.  (How much of that push is based on the belief that "it's free
if it's on the internet" is anyone's guess.)  Currently, we allow alumni
access only under "walk in user" provisions.

I agree that publishers would lose business if we offered this service.
We'd also be in serious danger of losing the educational discounts offered
by some publishers since many of the alumni would use these sources in
their daily work.  (But, I'd imagine that our alumni would get great job
offers regardless of their GPA or abilities!)  It would be interesting
indeed to see how much of the money brought in by allowing alumni access
would be designated to the libraries and whether it would even remotely
approach the additional cost of providing the access???

But, if it does happen, the issue of branding becomes an even more major
issue.  I'd want to ensure that all those alumni know that their access is
paid for with library funds.


JoAnne Deeken
Head, Acquisitions Division
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN   


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu]On Behalf Of Ann Okerson
Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2000 10:15 PM
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: Re: A question of licences and Alumni members

To John Cox and Mike Spinella:  It interests me that you separate the
Alumni Association from the University.  At my place the AYA is part of
the campus life and entity.  And all of us participate in various alumni
activities, publications, and so on.

As to the question of where the alumni information need comes from, I am
with Scott Wicks: there is definitely a demand; it is NOT
library-generated but it is directed toward the library because we are
generally thought of as the place on campus that finds ways to deliver
information of all sorts to our readers.  My guess is that for various
reasons, the connections between US universities and their alumni are much
more strong than in the UK or many other countries, and that this
tradition is possibly more strongly held in smaller American colleges and
the private universities than in the big state schools. But even the the
bigt schools, there is certainly a culture of ongoing contact with alumni,
lifelong learning, and all that goes with it.

Cheers, Ann Okerson
Ann.Okerson@yale.edu
_____________________________________

On Tue, 18 Jul 2000, John Cox wrote:

> Ann Okerson raises some interesting issues.  The following comments can
> only reflect my personal view, the context of which is to license all uses
> the licensee institution needs in order to undertake its teaching and
> research properly while keeping the paperwork to a minimum:
> 
> 1.  It does not make sense to go for a separate license.  Access to alumni
> is acceptable to many publishers provided that it is restricted to access
> made on terminals in the library itself or on courses/events run by the
> institution.  All such use is restricted to personal study and research.
> 
> 2.  If the course is run by the institution, individuals are covered by
> the usual license definition of Authorised Users including "faculty, staff
> and students"; they qualify as students.  But the course must be run by
> the institution, not by a separate organisation like an alumni association
> for which the licensee institution is not responsible.
> 
> I have a more general comment.  Where is this pressing demand for alumnus
> access coming from?  In my experience and that of my friends, we all move
> on quickly from an important three or four year experience to the rest of
> our lives.  My fellow alumni do get together for reunions etc, but these
> are mainly social.  University was a milestone in our lives, but only
> that.  Of those who have gone into academic life, they will use the
> libraries available to them at their present universities.  The rest of us
> move into other modes of life.  Is this demand merely a "nice to do"
> thought by librarians?  Show publishers the real demand, and we will
> respond.
> 
> But it sounds like tilting at windmills!
> 
> John Cox
> John.E.Cox@btinternet.com
> www.licensingmodels.com