RE: Aggregator Embargoes

["Michael Simmons" <simmon11@msu.edu>]

Donnie Curtis,

I too am surprised by the embargo periods for full text titles in the
EBSCO collection.  What is especially disturbing for those of us in
biomedical libraries is that the Biomedical Reference Collection: Expanded
Edition has an embargo rate of 69%!  I haven't broken it down by 12 month,
3 month or 6 month embargo periods, but any period of time for medical
research is unacceptable.  I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who is
shocked by this.

Michael Simmons, MLIS, AHIP
Library Manager, Sparrow Health System
1215 East Michigan Avenue
Lansing, MI 48909
voice: 517.483.2274
fax: 517.483.2273
simmon11@msu.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu]On Behalf Of Donnelyn Curtis
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2001 6:30 PM
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: Aggregator Embargoes


I just took a look at the title list for EBSCO's Academic Search Premier
and was shocked to realize that of the 2947 full text titles, 1460 (or
49.5%) have an embargo period of 3 months or longer. 1081 (36.7%) have an
embargo period of at least 12 months. For these titles, the full text
holdings statements on EBSCO's title lists and MARC records, which many of
us are putting in our catalogs and on our web pages, says "to present."

This is not only misleading to our users, but I'm not sure that all of us
are aware that some of our databases are losing their currency. It is a
trend that has crept up on us, or at least I was never informed. I haven't
had a chance to look at title lists for other aggregator databases to see
whether this is an industry trend or if it is limited to EBSCO.

The publishers whose journals are embargoed in Academic Search Premier are
familiar academic publishers: Carfax, Taylor & Francis, Blackwell,
Blackwell Science, Routledge, Oxford University Press, American Institute
of Physics, Springer-Verlag, Sage, Lauwrence Erlbaum, and several others.

Donnie Curtis
Director of Research Services
University of Nevada, Reno Libraries