eJournals from the Library Directors Viewpoint Sue McKnight 29 June 2007

Data Gathering to SCONUL Directors List What you Hate What you Love What you would change if you could 28 Responses from 20 libraries Serials, eSerials, Acquisitions Librarians Liaison Librarians Directors

What We Hate VAT E should be much cheaper than print! Disadvantages UK against other more enlightened nations E.g. Australia, USA Publishers lobby as well as library and scholarly organisations

What We Hate Costs Big Deals cost too much for smaller libraries Additional costs for separate campuses/sites Too many pricing plans Too many archiving options Charging for access to archives Charging for specialist content on basis of total FTE even though only a small subset use the content Annual price increase way above inflation Link to historic print spend

What We Hate Big Deals are too big Keep bundles, but make these smaller and more specific Limiting flexibility and providing dross Packages locking in budget for x years Library budgets are not guaranteed years ahead Restrictive cancellation policies Tying prices for eJournals to Print Journals Print cancellations impacting eJournal access

What We Hate Complicated licence agreements Multi-site licences instead of recognising multi- campuses of same institution No consistency between suppliers No model licence Too many licences Course pack restrictions Holdings changing suddenly mid term Transfer of title to another publisher with different license conditions

What We Hate Titles dropping out of Big Deals mid term Authentication/Access Difficulties Separate Passwords for different services Too many subscriber numbers for access Not using specific IP range Not allowing proxies for off-campus access Not allowing walk in users access Complicated log-on screens

What We Hate Uncertainty regarding perpetual access for previously licensed eJournals Titles being split between platforms As often happens if a title is bought out Too complicated than it ought to be Downloading as easy as online shopping (some do it well now; others dont) Lack of communication on title changes in Big Deals

What We Hate Needing specialist staff to set up access and federated searching Publishers not using Open URLs Federated search engines that dont include everything subscribed to Link resolvers that make the library do most of the work Representatives that dont bother to visit the library

What We Love Ease of Use 24 x 7 access Full text articles Not too many clicks to the full-text Searching possible across multiple systems/cross searching (open URL) Abiding by Standards Good statistical reporting on use

What We Love Good searching facilities Geographic terms Industry codes Product names Thesauri facilities

What We Love Model Licenses CHEST Licenses JISC national negotiations Generous/unlimited concurrent access Choice in how to license content Title Subject packages Medium to Big bundles

What We Love Support for open URLs Title and Article linking Use of DOIs Easy Authentication Athens; Shibboleth Providing access to remote customers

In a Perfect World… The opposite to everything we do not like!!

In a Perfect World… No VAT Or at least clarity how it is applied to combined subscriptions Pricing Simple pricing models Prices that increase at a reasonable rate Early advice on pricing for budget purposes Incentives to convert to e only Perpetual access to content that has been previously licensed Fixed date and Not rolling access Even when a title changes publisher

In a Perfect World… Sign-on and authentication Athens; Shibboleth Seamless access to everyones journals One sign on protocol to get to all journals Customers dont have to get a special password IP access and proxy access Filing/Access by Subject Discipline We dont shelve books by publisher!

In a Perfect World… Inbound OpenURL complaint to article level Outbound OpenURL compliant from all article references/citations Support rich integration with Z39.50 and other remote searching protocols Support direct citation export to standard bibliographic management software packages

In a Perfect World… Offer a simple, clean, intuitive interface Focused on searchers needs, not selling the title Subscription entitlements transparent to visitor What can visitor access Allow visitor to filter searching by subscription content, should they wish Does not require non-standard plug-ins or other software Fully accessible /assistive technology compliant Allows a degree of branding, customisation and inclusion of support contacts

In a Perfect World… Standardisation of native interfaces Customers know they are searching eJournals Referencing should be integral Eliminate overlap between aggregators Make it easier to extend access Associates of the Library e.g. emeritus professors Alumni Collaborative Partners Walk in readers Ability to use eJournals for ILL

In a Perfect World… Common or consistent approach to licences Clarity in Licenses/renewal notices No doubt on renewal terms; able to cancel without financial penalty Web Site with all relevant information available Account managers/technical support to call Access/activation guaranteed each year while payments are made More flexibility in changing titles within a subscription package No link to print titles Include new titles in Big Deals Able to choose titles required

In a Perfect World… Federated Searching even simpler Work with SFX, Serial Solutions etc Knowledge bases are accurate Different packages can be switched on with minimum manual work Dont change URLs Information on mergers and acquisitions Improved statistical reporting At least COUNTER compliant Clarity as to whether statistics from different hosts are included in publishers statistics Include breakdown by user ID Standard across suppliers

In a Perfect World… Content More Art and Design eJournals Great image quality Everything ever published is online Commitment to provide speedy response to access problems for hosted content 24 x 7 help desks Easy linking into VLEs

In a Perfect World… Prior announcements of publisher web site improvements and these not just happening More competition amongst publishers

In a Perfect World… Publishers would make knowledge available to the developing world at a price they can afford Publishers would support Open Access and Institutional repositories

Other Information SCONUL Survey (Ian Snowley) 20 of 141 libraries responded 26%-90% of journal subscriptions or for eJournals In 10 years, expect % electronic Pick & Mix is preferred licensing model