21/22 Febr 2011ASA Annual Conference 2011 The intermediary in the digital age - luxury or necessity? A view from the library Dr. Hildegard Schäffler Bavarian State Library Munich

2 Library perspective(s) No single or uniform library perspective on the issue of the intermediary in the digital age due to differences in »Purchase patterns (single items vs. packages; on their own vs. within a consortium) »Collection policy (access-based only vs. archival role; special collections; hybrid components) Focus on »Academic libraries with hybrid collections, purchasing on their own as well as within consortia »Consortium managers

3 The more specific perspective Bavarian State Library »Central regional and archival library of Bavaria »Second largest universal library in German-speaking countries »International research library »Between cultural heritage (extensive manuscripts, rare books and special collections) and the digital age (mass digitisation, licensing, electronic publishing) Group purchasing at the regional and national levels »Bavarian Consortium as one of the major German regional consortia, run by the Bavarian State Library »Negotiations of national licences and national consortia, supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft → Role of intermediaries currently under debate

4 Is Library Choice the choice of the library? “Agents and publishers understand that many libraries are struggling in this challenging environment.” ( OR RATHER … “Libraries and publishers understand that many agents are struggling in this challenging environment.”  Library Choice = Library/Consortium Needs? = Agents‘ Chance?

5 Example #1: eJournals one by one Support in dealing with one-to-many relationships remains valid in the digital world Beyond ordering and claiming »Timely information about changes in business models »Assistance with the implications of complex pricing models »Access support (only if faster than direct contact with publisher) Tail end in focus »Larger publishers tend to come via packages/consortia  How much effort can agents invest to operate economically?

6 Example #2: eBooks one by one What about eBooks? »Title by title selection tends to be more important than with eJournals »Tail end included »One-to-many-relationships Beyond ordering »Comprehensive title selection tools »Integrated print and e-services »Metadata supply: Delivery vs. quality control »PDA support  Is every agent qualified to deal with eBooks?

7 Example #3: Whatever print remains… Print business is not gone completely »Journals in special collections, esp. in the humanities »Book market not at the e-level of journals yet by far »Deep Discount print options within package deals Anything which is print-related should remain with the intermediaries  The tail end again…

8 Example #4: Consortia negotiations Direct negotiations between consortia and publishers as the rule »Immediate exchange of information »Better knowledge of the interests and needs of the consortium participants »No commercial interest in the deal »Keep the deal cheaper vs. staff time Possible exceptions »Representation of publishers in markets where they are not present directly: agent must understand the specifics of the respective regional market »Smaller package deals Agents competing with consortia? »Publishers, please don‘t confuse libraries!  Room for intermediaries rather limited

9 Example #5: Consortia administration for eJournals (1) Invoicing »Breaking down single invoice to institutional level »Breaking down the institutional invoice to faculty level etc. Renewal services? »Holdings reconciliation / checking of subscription lists -Limitations where several agents are involved (Library Choice!) -Will increasingly lose importance with further advance of e-only models »How come publishers‘ lists are faulty in the first place as intermediaries have been involved all the time?

10 Example #5: Consortia administration for eJournals (2) Title information management? »“Not knowing precisely which titles and years are included in a deal makes collection management difficult and time consuming and this lack of detail makes content linking and discovery difficult, if not impossible.” (  This should have been dealt with in the negotiation!  Room for services in consortia administration, but not for their own sake

11 Example #6: Consortia ordering for eBooks Typical eBook consortium framework: volume-based discounts negotiated by the consortium manager Libraries would welcome to be able to order via the agent of their choice  Publisher policies tend to vary  Agents tend to strive for exclusive representation

12 Example #7: Tools Libraries require (some) (affordable) tools »Electronic Resource Management, discovery services, statistics analysis, link resolving software etc. Intermediaries compete with other information service providers and home- grown systems in this field  Agents are welcome to participate in this competition

13 Library Choice: yes, but… Libraries may need support in one-to-many relationships and administrative issues Libraries struggle with the tail end BUT … The intermediary can only be part of the distribution chain if the services make sense in the digital age

14 Thank you! Phone: +49-(0)