Consortia in Academic Library Purchasing: The Present and Future Role of SHEDL

1. SHEDL Scottish Higher Education Digital Library Negotiating together: the present and future role of consortia in academic library purchasing Tony Kidd JIBS Workshop, York, December 2010

2. Context • Scottish HE tradition of co-operation • Manageable size • Separate funding arrangements • Competitive concerns • Research Pools • Examples of other consortia JIBS Workshop, York

3. History • Previous attempts to implement ‘Scotland-wide’ access too ambitious • Cross-sectoral funding • Continuing concerns over patchy access • Investigative funding from Principals of Glasgow/Edinburgh Universities JIBS Workshop, York

4. Investigative Study • May-October 2007 • SCURL sponsored – Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries • John Cox Associates Ltd • Interviews • Libraries • University administrators/Universities Scotland • Academics/Research Pools • Stakeholders – Scottish Funding Council/JISC etc • Report launched Oct 2007 • SCURL website: scurl.ac.uk JIBS Workshop, York

5. Relationship with JISC Collections/NESLi2 • Strong consensus that SHEDL should work within JISC Collections framework • SFC and Principals expect SHEDL to co-exist with and complement JISC • But wish to fill in gaps, to move away from ‘opt-in’ arrangements, to ensure overall access for Research Pools • Plus possibility of wider range of deals (recognising NESLi2’s current work with ‘small/medium publishers’) JIBS Workshop, York

6. Structure & governance • SCURL • SCOPNet • SHEDL Steering Group • Interest groups (6), NLS • SHEDL Working Group • Buy-in from all 19 HEIs • Procurement – APUC JIBS Workshop, York

7. Phase 1 • Steering Group & Working Group – collaborative working • Initial agreement to work with 3 publishers, covering a wide range of subjects • Agreements for 2009-2011 with: • American Chemical Society • Cambridge University Press • Springer JIBS Workshop, York

8. Costs • Costs are fixed at the start of the contract, with agreed annual price caps • SHEDL institutions continue to fund their own subscriptions, and do not expect to pay more than before • Option to buy print at ddp • Reduced overheads – single payment and early payment where possible JIBS Workshop, York

9. Process • Verification of holdings and expenditure with each publisher • Confirmation of contract entitlement • Licence agreement, based on JISC Model Licence • Local consultation on print retention • Adjustments to holdings – link resolvers & opacs • Monitoring of usage – locally and centrally JIBS Workshop, York

10. Phase 2 • Consultation across all 19 HEI’s • 40 nominations • 6 publishers approached, following consultation with JISC • 3 new publisher agreements for 2010-2012 • Berg • Edinburgh University Press • Oxford University Press • Portico licensed across SHEDL JIBS Workshop, York

11. Phase 3 • Consultation process completed • 46 nominations • 7 publishers identified for 2011 • Agreements for 2011-13 • Intellect • Project Muse JIBS Workshop, York

12. Phase 3 - Difficulties • Negotiations more difficult this year • Agreements with publishers with greater ‘market penetration’ already achieved • Publishers still expecting market growth • More difficult for libraries to commit • Collaboration more essential in world of funding cuts, but also more difficult JIBS Workshop, York

13. Benefits – HEIs • Institutional buy-in and support • Shift to e-only • Single payment • Cost containment • Proof of concept • widening access • increased availability of content • increased usage • efficiency gains • Shared services agenda JIBS Workshop, York

14. Benefits - Publishers • Reduced overheads – single point of contact for administration and invoicing • Wider dissemination of content • Improved compliance • Encourages adoption of e-only • Cash flow – protects market JIBS Workshop, York

15. Impact – the users • More content, accessible at the point of need • 1800+ titles available • Increase in usage across all Phase 1 publishers, and across all institutions • Usage increased by 41% from 2008 to 2009 • Analysis shows that previously non-subscribed titles are being used JIBS Workshop, York

16. Issues • Impact on intermediaries and consortial purchasing agreements • Impact on institutional workflows • Monitoring – within and across institutions, changing patterns of use • Resource Discovery and findability • User expectations are raised – sustainability • Budgets – impacts on collection management decisions JIBS Workshop, York

17. Evaluation - RIN • Evaluating the impact of SHEDL • John Cox Associates/Frontline GMS • Usage data • Interviews – academics/librarians • Single year • http://www.rin.ac.uk/our-work/using-and-accessing-information-resources/evaluating-impact-shedl • Launched November 2010 JIBS Workshop, York

18. Evaluation - RIN • Impact of SHEDL • Confirmed overall usage increase of 41%, compared with 22% ‘average’ annual increase • Wide variation in increases – single year – whether or not titles already accessible • Some evidence that Research Pool participants benefiting • Heavy use of top 10 titles, but also long tail • Cost/use variable, and declining (by 20%+) JIBS Workshop, York

19. Evaluation - RIN • Impact of SHEDL – interviews • SHEDL accentuates existing trends • Access/convenience/power browsing • Student expectations/VLE/Google • Cross-institutional research • Marketing – variations • Large target list of publishers • Extend to e-books/databases/datasets/back runs JIBS Workshop, York

20. Evaluation – JISC Coll • Bloc payment mechanisms • Cost redistribution criteria • Albert Prior/John Cox • Not specifically SHEDL • Experience elsewhere/modelling • http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Reports/Bloc-Payment-for-online-journals/ • Launched July 2010 JIBS Workshop, York

21. Evaluation – JISC Coll • Bloc payment mechanisms – findings • No ‘magic formula’ • Six consortia using cost distribution models • Size • Expenditure • Usage JIBS Workshop, York

22. Evaluation – JISC Coll • Bloc payment mechanisms • Authoritative/credible data • JISC Banding • Institutional income • Research/contract income • Staff/student numbers • Not usage • Variable • Discourages promotion etc JIBS Workshop, York

23. Evaluation – JISC Coll • Bloc payment mechanisms • Use >1 variable • Transition period, from ‘current spend’ • Maximum rate of change • Top-slicing… JIBS Workshop, York

24. Sectors • National Library of Scotland • Portico • National Health Service • Current discussions • Further Education • Scottish Funding Council • E-books - Springer JIBS Workshop, York

25. Funding • Scalability/viability? • Funding cuts? • UK countries/regions • ‘Journals as infrastructure’ • Top-slicing – current climate?? • Elsevier/Wiley negotiations in coming year JIBS Workshop, York

26. Questions/Discussion • Website – under development • http://scurl.ac.uk/WG/SHEDL/index.html • Gillian Anderson, Chair SHEDL Steering Group • gillian.anderson@uhi.ac.uk • Tony Kidd, Vice-Chair • tony.kidd@glasgow.ac.uk • Kidd, T. Collaboration in electronic resource provision in university libraries: SHEDL, a Scottish case study. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 15 (1), 2009, pp 97-119 http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/7637/ • Kidd, T. & Stevenson, L. SHEDL – the Scottish Higher Education Digital Library: an update. Serials, 23(3), 2010, pp 196-200 http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/44955/ JIBS Workshop, York