E-Resources Subscription for the University System: An initiative from UGC&INFLIBNET By Dr. T. A.V. Murthy

Overview  E-resource subscription scope : users, resources  Evolving model  Implementation mechanism  Pilot work  Further initiatives

Who are our users?  Universities Total No. : 273 UGC assisted: 150+ INFLIBNET supported : 142 These 142+ universities - core group to begin with  Colleges More than 14,000 Govt.- 20%, Private – 80%

What is the journal collection base?  Current journals collection Average number of titles subscribed: % titles : Indian publications Few universities do not subscribe to any foreign journals  Abstracting/ indexing journals (e.g) Chemical Abstracts : 25 (98 Chemistry Depts) Biological Abstracts : 9 (101 Biological Sciences Depts)

Why is this problem?  Known universal problem Increase in price Fluctuation in conversion rates No proportionate funding to sustain the collection  What is the way out? Large number of journals are available in e-form Access is provided on the Internet through web Subscription under consortia/ national site licensing

Therefore the initiative of e-resources subscription from UGC & INFLIBNET in the 10 th Five year plan to provide wider and larger access to electronic journals and databases

What does e-resources subscription cover?  Full text of journals  Bibliographic databases like Chemical Abstracts, Psychological Abstracts  Other sources

An evolving model  Provides access to and supports only electronic version  Not to be linked with print subscription  Perpetual access to subscribed resources Archival access for back issues Provision for DDS/ILL  Few print subscription proposed  Subscription for minimum 3 years initially  To be reviewed at the end of three years

How is it being implemented?  In phase manner Universities : In Groups Subject : Four Resources : journals & bib. databases  Major funding (up to 90%) from UGC  INFLIBNET to administer, maintain and monitor  Potential resources to be identified through experts consultation involving universities  Participating university to sign an MoU with UGC & INFLIBNET  Start with a pilot work in select disciplines

Major issues involved  Identification of universities to be served  Identification of resources to be provided  Identification of potential publishers/vendors/aggregators

The pilot work  To start with 4 disciplines identified Biological Sciences Chemistry Mathematics Physics  A expert group is formed in August 2002  Interaction with 142 universities initiated

Identification of universities  Selection from 142 universities using following criteria: Universities having  departments in selected four disciplines  number of faculty members  students  number of PhDs  NAAC accreditation  network infrastructure  research contribution in terms of publications

Identification of e-resources  Bibliographical / abstracting databases proposed BIOSIS Previews : Biological Sciences Chemical Abstracts: Chemistry INSPEC: Physics & allied areas MathSciNet: Mathematics

Identification of e-resources…  Selection of full text e-journals Complex issue User base is large(150+ universities) Difficult to get inputs from universities  User information  Existing journal collection information Large number of journal titles Too many in the game  Publishers  Vendors  Aggregators

Identification of e-resources…  Selection of full text e-journals… Sources/ tools used  Journal Citation Report (ISI)  Journals covered by Current Contents  Journals research institutions  Journals database at INFLIBNET Comprehensive core list of journals prepared based on the above sources

Identification of potential publishers/aggregators & others  Publishers Non-profit making  University Presses (e.g. OUP,CUP)  Professional Societies (e.g. ACS, IoP)  Research Organizations (e.g. CSIRO, NRC)  Scholarly Publications initiatives (e.g. SPARC) Commercial publishers  Aggregators

Immediate tasks  Selection of the following: Number & names of universities Bibliographical databases Core list of journals Potential publishers/vendors/aggregators

What next?  Extend this initiative to other areas including Humanities & Social sciences

Summary  E-subscription - major initiative of UGC & INFLIBNET  Identification of potential users & resources is a complex process  Model in the evolving phase  Started on a pilot basis for four disciplines  Success depends on university participation & co- operation  Long term support from Govt. & UGC required