RE: query about the Big Deal

["Chris Bulock" <cbulock@siue.edu>]

I don't know that there's a terribly widespread movement to 
cancel Big Deals, but I do believe there is interest from 
libraries. I was at the NASIG conference earlier this month, 
where there was a very well-attended session on the topic. 
Program description is below (from 
http://www.nasig.org/conference_program.cfm)

(1) Leaving the Big Deal: Consequences and Next Steps Jonathan 
Nabe, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; David Fowler, 
University of Oregon

This session will focus on the consequences of leaving "Big 
Deals," with the aim of addressing concerns of lost access and 
community response, and easing the process for other institutions 
considering taking this step. Specifically, two aspects of this 
issue will be addressed. First, an analysis will be provided of 
the impact, measured in terms of loss of access, changes in ILL 
requests or document delivery services, response from the 
community, and overall impact on the budget. Second, an 
examination of the process for moving forward, focusing on 
renegotiation, including terms such as multiyear vs year-by-year 
subscriptions, price caps, cancellation allowances, and pitfalls, 
including increased "content" fees and other surprises. Jonathan 
Nabe, Collection Development Librarian at Southern Illinois 
University, will share the experience at SIU's Morris Library, 
which has left Big Deals from Wiley, Elsevier, and Springer in 
the last two years. David Fowler, Head, Licensing, Grants 
Administration, and Collection Analysis at the University of 
Oregon, will discuss Oregon's experience with Big Deals from 
Wiley and Elsevier.

Chris Bulock
Electronic Resources Librarian
Lovejoy Library
SIUe
cbulock@siue.edu
618.650.2422

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Joseph 
Esposito
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 6:28 PM
To: Liblicense-L@Lists. Yale. Edu
Subject: query about the Big Deal

I have been in a number of conversations the past few months
about Big Deals, in which I have been told such things as "The 
Big Deal is over," "Everyone is cancelling the Big Deal," and 
"Unless the prices come down, we will withdraw from the Big 
Deals." Has anyone documented what is actually going on? I would 
be very interested to hear of specific actions, whether on-list 
or off.

I suppose that this query runs into the question of definitions: 
What exactly is a Big Deal anyway? Does the term apply to all 
aggregations or only those of a specific character?

This query is made without judging the actions or the Big Deals 
themselves. I simply want to understand the phenomenon and to 
determine if there is a gap between rhetoric and reality.

Thank you.

Joe Esposito