Swets Information Services UKSG - Serials Resource Management Seminar 12 th October 2005 University of Bristol Claire Terry – Business Development Manager

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Agenda – Who are Subscription Agents – What do Subscription Agents do – How we are financed – Services to libraries – The move to online access – Consortia and multi-site management – Services to publishers – New roles and changing relationships – Summary

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Who are the Agents? Swets Information Services EBSCO Harrasowitz Local providers (eg. Maruzen – Japan) New players: InfoCandy, Prenax

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 What does an Agent do?

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 What does an Agent do? AGENT Library Publisher Library

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 How is the Agent financed? Agent Library Publisher Commission Service Service charge Large Volume (Swets > $1,000,000,000) Small Margin (single %s or fixed fee)

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Who do Subscription Agents serve? – Academic Libraries – Government Libraries – Health Libraries (NHS) – Local Authorities/Public Libraries – Corporations/corporate libraries – R&D and otherwise – Academic libraries tend to be core, in most cases over 60% of a Subscription Agent’s turnover.

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Traditional services to libraries Print subscriptions: – Single customer service contact (local language) – Industry specialists – One renewal invoice – Simplified ordering and payment – Consolidation service – Management reports (holdings lists, quotations) – Consortia buying Buy, access and manage

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 The move to online access – E-Journal reports to Libraries – Assistance with planning and decision making – Pricing and information

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Order, Renew, Upgrade, Cancel, Claim – Submit orders & upgrades to publishers – IP addresses, licence agreements, publishers references, password requests, upgrades of subscriptions – Claim for missing access – Subscription information retained after cancellation – Automated free with print set up – Set up via aggregator service or direct with the publishers

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Maintaining control of e-journal subscriptions – Gateway services (SwetsWise Online Content, EBSCO Host) – Full-text databases (ProQuest, Dialog, EBSCO Publishing) – A-Z Services (TD Net, Serials Solutions) – Link Resolvers (SFX, 1Cate, SwetsWise Linker) – Library’s own service

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Gateway services – Alphabetical title list – Advanced article search functionality – Single interface and point of access

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Underlying Principles – Depth of content – Ease of access – IP, username and password, ATHENS Single Sign On – User familiarity – Total management – Cumulative usage statistics - COUNTER

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Buying online – SwetsWise Subscriptions

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Managing online

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Underlying principles – Desk top ordering – Budget control – Approval process – Duplication – Maverick spend – Credit card payment – E-procurement linking – Online reporting – Searchable catalogue

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Consortia and Multi-site Management: new and complex challenges in e-world – E-journals more frequently offered in packages – Negotiated/customized prices – Consortia buying to obtain better deals The agents’ response: – Dedicated specialists – Services for consortia & multi-sited organizations – Extensive knowledge of e-deals – Works closely with libraries to meet objectives

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Services to publishers – Financial risk management Help cash flow Administrative management “Many to one” – EDI –Marketing/visibility Agents can enable publishers enhance their position in the market

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Services to publishers – Management Information –Renewal Status Report, Online Conversion Rates – Participation in online Gateway services –E.g. SWOC, EbscoHost – Market Information –E.g. E-Journal Survey, Price Increase Report – Consortia / Multi Site Services

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 New roles and changing relationships - Publishers dealing direct - Often partner and competitor - Decisions made outside the library – IT, Purchasing department - Consortia Purchasing – agent as negotiator - Increase in use of outsourced services - Budget restraints – increase use of consolidation - End users - Amazon & Google - Pay per view - Decreased margins - New players - Increased expectation from customers and publishers

UKSG – Serials Resource Managment Seminar 12 th October 2005 Summary – The key intermediary between publishers and subscribers, covering all markets – Single point of contact – Provide services that offer both administrative and financial benefit – Industry expertise in an environment of rapid change