Renewal of the ISI Agreement London 20 July 1998

Programme n Jenny Pendlebury - a minutes silence n Where we are with negotiations n Demonstration of Web of Science n Results of the survey n Comparison of WoS and current service n Discussion

In memory of Jenny Pendlebury

Background n ISI 1 n agreement started 1990 n Substantial community input n replaced by ISI 2 in 1994 n runs at BIDS n ISI 2 n Started 1994 n Overlapped ISI 1 n includes abstracts n now 117 subscriptions n runs at BIDS n ends March 2000

Options n Do not renew –existing databases provide > 80% coverage –libraries could spend on more focused databases –a viable alternative could be put together from what we have n Buy an alternative n Renew with ISI

Options from ISI n Web of Science run by ISI in the USA n Web of Science run by a JISC datacentre n Raw Data run by a JISC datacentre with its own software

What is WoS? n Science Citations Index n Social Science Citations Index n Arts and Humanities Index n ISTP + n web interface i.e. same data as we have now

WoS in USA n ISI will provide contractual guarantees on performance to JANET sites. n ISI covers all bandwidth costs to achieve this n No equipment or operational staff needed in UK n Some support, promotional, and administration effort needed in UK n Less sense of ownership n Athens authentication believed possible

WoS in UK n Software provided by ISI ( free ) n Hardware and maintenance required n Some operational effort required n Some support, promotional, and administration effort needed in UK n More under UK control

Raw Data n Data only supplied n UK interface and software, hardware, etc need to be provided and maintained n JISC would invite proposals from the Datacentres n UK has control of Interface and service

* Note that this cost is based on current costs and datacentres might well tender for ISI 3 at a significantly lower cost.

Cautions n Nothing finalised n Figures are estimates n Raw data service based on current costs n Assumes current 117 institutions n Pricing differentials for small, medium and large are unconfirmed n Vat liability for USA WoS service unclear n Current Contents service additional cost

Issues n WoS is different to current service –user interface –no telnet in WoS n Cost vs control n Overlap year? –Start new service March finish current service March 2000 –significant cost

What's happening now? n JISC ( CEI and CWG ) prepared to underwrite the renewal, in principle. –best value, lowest risk –fits strategy over the next 6 years –overlap fundable? n Trial service –3 months –5 years data –at NISS

Community needs to think about: n cost vs familiarity n WoS vs home-grown functionality n how long it will continue to need telnet n whether it still needs ISI n whether all current subscribers will renew, if substantial numbers dont, then prices rise for the rest