Please respond directly to: Shiela Osheroff,  osherofs@ccmail.orst.edu
     (not to SERIALST)

     LICENSING FOR NETWORKING OF CD-ROMS IN LIBRARIES

     Since the late 1980s, the Oregon State University Libraries have been
     acquiring compact disks containing indexes, abstracts, and databases.
     Although the Libraries still maintain an active and heavily used CD
     Center within the library building, they also make a large number of
     indexes and other materials on CD available via the campus network. As
     the collection of CDs has grown, so has the number of questions about
     the acquisition and handling of CDs. Several current questions revolve
     around the issue of what level(s) of staff should perform various
     tasks when obtaining and administering site licenses for CDs and
     materials in other electronic formats.

     To stimulate our discussion and introduce options which we might not
     have previously considered, we ask that libraries with CD collections
     respond to the questionnnaire below.

     1.  Who contacts the vendor regarding the availability of a site
     license for networking of CD-ROMS?
        _ Library director
        _ Collection development/management coordinator
        _ Coordinator of CD center
        _ Acquisitions staff   - at what level?
        _ Serials staff - at what level?
        _ Other: please specify

     2. Who examines the licensing agreement when it arrives to determine
     whether the library will pay for a site license?
        _ Library director
        _ CD coordinator
        _ Collection development/management coordinator
        _ Organization's attorney
        _ Other: please specify

     3. What factors are considered when deciding whether to purchase a
                site license? (Check all which apply)
        _ Cost
        _ Cost vs. number of users permitted by license
        _ Anticipated amount of use of item
        _ Compatibility of software for using CD with machinery _
                                         and/or  with other CDs _
        _ Space to leave CD mounted on a tower for network access (As
                opposed to having to request that a CD be inserted in a
                player on a local station)
        _ Other: please specify

     4.  How often are decisions about site licenses for exisiting
     subscriptions reviewed?

     5.  What are the most frequently stated reasons for changing from
     locally available to networked licensing?

     6.  What are the most frequently stated reasons for changing from
     networked to locally available licensing?

     7.  Who "administers" the CD once it has arrived?
        ________________ Maintains file of contracts for site licenses
        ________________ Communicates with other library staff about terms
                                of license
        ________________ Retrieves and returns or withdraws CDs which are
                                replaced
        ________________ Ensures that the number of simultaneous users is
                                limited on the network to the number
                                specified in the site license
        ________________ Mounts the CD on the network server
        ________________ Decides which CDs to leave on or put on the server
                                when space is tight

     8.  How many are on your library's staff (in FTE) ?
        ___  Clerical / support staff
        ___  Paraprofessionals
        ___  MLS-degreed Librarians
        ___  Other professionals (without MLS)
        ___  Students  (approximate FTE)

     9.  What proportion of your CDs are networked ____ and what proportion
     are only available within the library ____ ?

     10.  Other comments or observations:

     Many thanks for your time and information!

     Shiela Osheroff
     Assistant Head - Acquisitions
     Kerr Library 121
     Oregon State University
     Corvallis, OR     97331-4503