Re: big deal

[Tom Williams <twilliam@bbl.usouthal.edu>]

We have it in our Science Direct and other agreements that we can cancel
all or some titles if budget problems mandate it.  Also, we can eliminate
up to 1% of our total amount spent each year.  Not much and for us comes
to about 1 title per year.  Still it's something.  How restrictive or not
your license is can depend very much on how well you can negotiate and how
much clout your institution or consortia has.  Another reason why my
mantra continues to be "develop national guidelines for licensing."  MLA,
SLA, ALA, et al, where are you?

Thomas L. Williams, M.S.L.S, A.H.I.P, Director
C.M. Baugh Biomedical Library
 and Media Production Services.
University of South Alabama, BLB 326, Mobile, Al 36688
tel. (251)460-6885
fax. (251)460-7638
twilliam@bbl.usouthal.edu

> Hi All:
>
> I'm doing some reporting on the so-called Big Deal -- contracts where the
> library agrees to subscribe to all of a publishers' e-journals, but can
> not cancel individual electronic journals without losing a subscription to
> all the journals.
>
> I'm interested in speaking to librarians who have either rejected the big
> deal for their academic library, or are strongly supportive of it.
>
> Please contact me via e-mail or phone.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andrea Foster
> Assistant Editor
> Chronicle of Higher Education
> 202-466-1740
> andrea.foster@chronicle.com