The Inbetweeners and me Thoughts and lessons learned from dealing with publishers and their agents Niamh Lucey, St Vincent’s University Hospital

I’m going to talk about…. Negotiating with Publishers Licences Subscription agents in the digital era Experiences of SVHG Libraries

Acknowledgement The following slides on negotiation and licences have been adapted, with permission, from the UKSG Licensing & Negotiation Skills for Librarians training course created by Sarah Durrant, Red Sage Consulting

UKSG Licensing & Negotiating Skills Licensing & Negotiating Skills – London, June 13

Negotiating with Publishers Negotiation is a conversation Librarians negotiate all the time Can (should?) be win-win It’s not personal, it’s business! Never accept first quote, see it as an invitation to negotiate Adapted from Red Sage Consulting Licensing & Negotiating Skills Course for UKSG, 2011

Preparing to Negotiate Know who you are negotiating with Know your own organisation Know yourself Know the product “successful negotiation is 80% preparation” - Clive Rich Adapted from Red Sage Consulting Licensing & Negotiating Skills Course for UKSG, 2011

Factors to consider WTEs Concurrent users Usage statistics Reduction in budgets Cost per download Other available models – PPV, ILLs etc Consortia Adapted from Red Sage Consulting Licensing & Negotiating Skills Course for UKSG, 2011

Don’t tell the publisher your total budget how much you want it how much you are willing to pay Adapted from Red Sage Consulting Licensing & Negotiating Skills Course for UKSG, 2011

The Licence Licence = a contract, an agreement between two sides Legally binding Governed by law of country/state where company is registered Adapted from Red Sage Consulting Licensing & Negotiating Skills Course for UKSG, 2011

Contents of a Licence Permitted uses – ie who can access (staff/students/external users) Restrictions Responsibilities of the Publisher Responsibilities of the User Concurrent users ILLs Access authentication methods – IP/Athens etc Mobile devices – smart phones, tablets etc Counter compliant/usage data Archival access Post-cancellation rights Adapted from Red Sage Consulting Licensing & Negotiating Skills Course for UKSG, 2011

Licence negotiation Licence should be mutually acceptable Can be negotiated (esp if you can’t get price down) Request a copy in advance Be clear about what you want to change and why Be realistic Adapted from Red Sage Consulting Licensing & Negotiating Skills Course for UKSG, 2011

Putting the theory into practice.... Good publisher Bad publisher

Subscription agents

Do we need a subscriptions agent?

Subscription agent An Agent is one who acts for, or in the place of, another, by authority from him; one entrusted with the business of another - (accessed 4/05/12)

What does a subscription agent do? Simplifies the purchasing and management of (journal) subscriptions for libraries: 1.Renewals/invoicing 2.Claims /problems with access Doesn’t negotiate on price for us

Association of Subscription Agents & Associates Helping libraries stay informed Save time and money Technical support Consortia services Decision support Members include: Ebsco, LM, Prenax, Swets (accessed 7/05/12)

Our story… 2010 PROBLEMS…. Bad customer service - poor communication/lack of follow up Variance in prices from quote to final invoice Supplementary invoices during year Poor journal hosting site/lack of support 30 years with same subscriptions agency 79 subscriptions – mostly online E-journal subscriptions shared with our sister hospital, St Michael’s

The breakup Numerous s unanswered to resolve problems with E-Journals hosting site Company visited annually apologised for problems, took copious notes and…… nothing changed

A new beginning? 2008 changed over to a better platform to host our journals 2009 company actively sought our business

Making the move Received pitches from 3 prospective providers Existing provider – slow to respond, hard to interpret spreadsheet, did not fight for us (sob!) Alternative provider – quick response, simple format, no print management, not all titles held Courting provider – quick to respond, professional, proactive, reassuring we were swept off our feet! (kind of)

The Honeymoon Professional Training No interruption to our access Available regularly Lots of communication, personal visits

Teething problems Access to electronic journals Platform for journals hosting Price fluctuations

What we like Invoice consolidation Payment to multiple publishers in multiple currencies Pricing/licencing information available in one place Process print claims Process electronic claims – but often just a go- between with no

What we don’t like XThey don’t negotiate on price for us XThey don’t negotiate the licence for us XSome publishers don’t deal with intermediaries or offer discounts to deal directly XHosting sites can be hit and miss XPrices not updated on database

In conclusion… A subscriptions agency is only as good as your customer service representative Managing the subscription agent and their hosting site is a full time job And we are paying them for the privilege!

Bibliography Durrant S (2011) Negotiating and Licensing Skills training, UKSG May De Jong M (2009) Good negotiations: strategies for negotiating vendor contracts. The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances. 22(2): Grogg J et al (2012) Gateway to good negotiation: from computer mediated communication to playing hardball. The Serials Librarian. 62(1):1-4 Bussey H (2009) Best practices: considering a subscription agent? Here are some questions to ask when you interview prospective providers. Library Works. A special supplement to INFOcus September Strader CR et al (2008) E-Journal access: a collaborative checklist for libraries, subscription agents and publishers. The Serials Librarian. 55:1-2, Tonkery D (2003) Rethinking the role of the subscription agent in the transition from print to digital collections. Publishing Research Quarterly, Winter 2003:

Acknowledgements Sarah Durrant, Red Sage Consulting Anne Madden, St Vincent’s University Hospital Niamh Lucey St Vincent’s University Hospital (01)