A View from Academic Libraries Working Together through Mergers and Acquisitions: Impacts and Best Practices for the Library Market A View from Academic Libraries

Agenda for Today Highlight some benefits for publishers and libraries Consider some negative aspects of mergers and acquisitions Look at some current trends and best practices

Benefits of Mergers and Acquisitions Stabilize publisher or vendor Protect important titles and services Maintain staffing New cash flow Provide technology and operational support Protecting important titles, Sage often acquires titles, price goes up but the content and quality of the journal should be maintained or improved, drawback is they often push price up by huge percentage in first year. John Elliot, VP for Collection Development, YBP, at UA in December, discussed positive impact for YBP and its customers after EBSCO acquisition. Technology, distribution, marketing

More Benefits of Mergers and Acquisitions Opportunity to pursue new markets Enhance marketing Improve existing products and services Ability to pursue emerging areas Faster access to content Vin Scalfani, Science and Engineering Library at UA, Royal Society acquired Merck Index. Better discoverability, tremendous value, integrates with other RSC products, Kept name, Merck Index, increased interest in product 3X the price but much better product now

Negative Impacts of Mergers and Acquisitions Destabilize existing company Loss of content Reduction in service quality Loss of favorite reps Changes to existing licenses and agreements YBP acquisition by EBSCO means that Baker & Taylor will no longer service academic institutions. There was an immediate impact on UA (graphic novels and children’s books). YBP will have to figure out a way to pick up this content. Company name changes can be confusing, often times mergers are not well advertised to key customers, key content is lost, access issues ensue, license agreements may not be enforced

Current Trends with Mergers and Acquisitions Decline in monograph and serial vendors Expansion in services for existing vendors Vendors become publishers Vendors provide content management Larger portion budget with one company

Current Trends with Mergers and Acquisitions Larger publishers consume smaller publishers Steep increases to subscription price Profitability over quality Impact: society publishers/university presses Unsustainable pricing to force out competitors

Managing Acquisitions in a Changing Market Be vigilant- keep watch on company performance Prepayments are encouraged - so is insurance *Support pricing and content models that benefit your organization, not the provider* Actively collaborate with publishers/influence outcomes Kim Maxwell, Electronic Resources Management Librarian, MIT at Acq Institute 2015, stressed importance of insurance for a large prepayments. Saved them when Swets closed.

Protect Your Organization and Influence Change Charge one key position with knowing the market and monitoring changes Seek out opportunities to have an impact on changes to content and services Be clear to reps and company leadership regarding expectations Work with teaching faculty to ensure your university is actively involved with content development (Sage Video) ASP

Plan for Today and Tomorrow Carefully review license agreements after a merger or acquisition Make sure content was not lost/ compare lists Plan ahead by purchasing perpetual ownership - support Portico and similar initiatives

For Questions or Comments: Michael A. Arthur Head, Resource Acquisition and Discovery University of Alabama Libraries Tuscaloosa, AL 205-348-1493 maarthur@ua.edu