MIT statement on Hoover's Online

[Liblicense-L Listowner <liblicen@pantheon.yale.edu>]

This has been forwarded by a couple of folks for the liblicense-l 
list.  Ann Okerson

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MIT Libraries News

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http://news-libraries.mit.edu/blog/archives/298

The MIT Libraries have reluctantly chosen not to renew Hoover's 
Online, a popular database of company information, as a result of 
a new contract requirement from Hoovers that MIT could not 
accept.

The new contract, required to renew our subscription, stipulated 
that MIT would be financially responsible for any activity 
Hoovers deemed - or even suspected - was fraudulent, putting MIT 
at financial risk and setting an unacceptable precedent.

Why an unacceptable precedent?

In addition to over 32,000 electronic journals, the MIT Libraries 
offer over 500 databases to the MIT community, and have signed 
license agreements (contracts) for most of them; not a single one 
of these contracts leaves MIT responsible when a provider 
suspects or even proves that there has been inappropriate use. 
Accepting financial responsibility in cases where a provider 
questions misuse would not only expose MIT to financial risk, but 
would ultimately make it more difficult for MIT to continue to 
purchase the content needed for MIT under viable, scalable, and 
fiscally supportable terms.

We did not make this decision lightly.

Hoover's Online is a popular and heavily-used database and the 
Libraries made every effort to avoid losing access to it; we have 
never before had to drop a product because we were unable to come 
to agreement with a provider. We continued to work on a 
reasonable compromise after our subscription expired in September 
and Hoovers cut off access, but when none was forthcoming, on 
October 6th we informed Hoovers (a Dun & Bradstreet company) that 
we would not be able to renew our access under their new terms.

We are very sorry that this loss will inconvenience MIT faculty, 
staff, and students. We have reluctantly come to the conclusion 
that this short term disruption is a necessary step to ensure 
ongoing service to the MIT community. We believe this action will 
safeguard our ability to offer a range of content in all 
disciplines, on reasonable terms, to the MIT community in the 
future.

Alternatives to Hoover's Online

[SNIP]

Working through the complexities of contracting for digital 
content is a partnership among many at MIT - the faculty, 
students and staff who rely on the content to carry out needed 
education and research; the Libraries, whose role is to ensure 
that needed content is available to them on terms that make 
appropriate and needed use possible; and the many faculty and 
staff who grapple with the complex and difficult issues and 
difficult decisions facing us in the realm of intellectual 
property in the digital world.

We welcome your comments and thoughts. Please contact Millicent 
Gaskell, Head, Dewey Library [mrg@mit.edu / 617 253 5619]