Hello, all

I am interested in hearing from libraries who purchase materials
collectively with other libraries how they figure out what the fair share
for each library is.

Here at Tufts our 4 libraries purchase journal collections or databases of
interest to all so we can split the costs. At this moment, our cost-sharing
for many resources is based on usage for each individual library. In the
future things are going to change and usage stats broken out by specific
libraries will no longer be possible.

How do you all decide what each library's fair share of the costs would be
in collective purchases? We have heard that some split the bill based on %
of materials budget, or % of journals subscribed as alternatives. Has this
worked well for you? Have you tried any other method of determining shared
costs?

I would love to hear from some of you who have this problem with specifics
of how you resolve this sticky problem.

Thanks in advance,
JoAnne Griffin
Serials/E-Resources Librarian
Tufts Hirsh Health Sciences Library
Boston, MA 02111