Re: Returning to print? tonkery@MINDSPRING.COM 30 Mar 2011 15:30 UTC
I am not sure that any library is able to turn back the clock and to return to print. For one thing your users have adopted the e-versions as the version of choice, and as other have said libraries have given up the space for other functions. Returning to print would only be a short term solution as many publishers are already planning for a e-only world as the print subscriptions are in serious decline. I don't expect print to last another 5 years with many large publishers. I think the best solution for now is some form of pay per view. Several major publishers now offer a token plan where the library can purchase articles at a reduced price. Wiley offers an interesting plan. ILL is an slow option. I think we are going to see more creative solutions to the pay per view option. Just this week I saw an announcement from CCC about their new Get it Now service. Get it Now "Another offering for libraries scheduled to be announced today is a service from the Copyright Clearance Center, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit, called Get It Now. Designed to eliminate inefficiencies in inter-library lending of journal articles, Get It Now allows students who want to read articles from journals to which their libraries do not subscribe to get a digital copy of the article e-mailed to them in minutes, rather than having a librarian send away for a photocopied version from another library. The old way tended to take 5 to 10 days, says Gerry Hanley, senior director for academic technology services at the California State University chancellor’s office, which has been piloting the service for a year. The new way takes 5 to 10 minutes. Get It Now essentially allows college libraries to purchase individual articles for students for less than it would cost, on average, to get a copy made and sent from another library. “The service has been a boon to graduate students and faculty who have had access to a greater scope of digital content than what was previously available through licensed content agreements,” Hanley wrote in an e-mail." If all else fails, I suggest you try negotiating with the publisher. I have seen many publishers work out special arrangements with libraries that have having unusually difficult budget situations. Often a publisher will go the extra mile to prevent a library from cancelling a title as they know the title might be gone for ever. Dan President Content Strategies -----Original Message----- >From: "Geller, Marilyn" <mgeller@LESLEY.EDU> >Sent: Mar 30, 2011 8:03 AM >To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU >Subject: [SERIALST] Returning to print? > >I know that this is an heretical question and that there will be knee >jerk reactions ranging from stunned to appalled, but I'm really trying >to sort out the pros and cons of this issue based on a library-wide >discussion here. > >We have some large publisher package deals that have seen dramatic price >jumps when the contract needs to be renewed. Frankly, we don't have the >money. It's not a matter of value for dollars; the dollars really >aren't there (I know we're the only ones in this situation!). Yesterday >at a meeting, someone asked what would happen if we just canceled the >package subscriptions and returned to subscriptions for the individual >titles we actually want/need. In several instances, subscriptions to >individual electronic versions are not available and they are not in any >databases we subscribe to which means we would have to return to the >print subscription. > >We know we might have holdings gaps. We know we'll run out of room >(well, actually, it's a bit too late on that one). We know we'll be >limiting access to physically being in the building. But we also know >we simply don't have the money, and the publishers in question are not >willing to lower their prices. > >Has anyone returned to print, and if so, with what consequences or >benefits? Has anyone thought about this but decided against it, and if >so, for what reason? Or does anyone have any thoughts in general to >contribute on the idea of returning to print? > >Thanks for any insights! > >Marilyn Geller >Collection Management Librarian >Lesley University Library >29 Everett Street >Cambridge, MA 02138 > >Email: mgeller@lesley.edu >Phone: 617-349-8859