UKSG 2005 All or Nothing: towards an Orderly Retreat from Big Deals?

Big Deals: what are we talking about? Full Collection (Elsevier: Freedom Collection!) Subject Collections Cross-access arrangements E-access to Print collections E-only access to former Print collections

Publishers and Big Deals Publishers have been remarkably flexible in defining new models, to ensure that: + Actual spending levels are not decreasing + Pricecaps are above inflation Publishers mainly are defending existing cashflows

Seduction and Addiction 1 Big Deals are attractive for: + Users: never find a closed door + Librarians: easy to handle and no embarassment of choices + Publishers: no intermediairies; guaranteed turn over; broad visibility

Seduction and Addiction 2 Big Deals are addictive because: + It’s what users expect from Internetsources: always an answer, everything for free + Change is difficult to realise; optimal value for money; unattractiveness of alternatives from a value for money perspective

Problems Lack of Flexibility Cost Sharing and Cost Division Decisionmaking within Institutes & Consortia No Entry for countries with no substantial subscription track

The Netherlands Negotiations with Wiley, Springer, Elsevier Current Agreements: full package, pricecaps ± 5 % Ambitions UKB: + decrease increase + more value for money + more flexibility

Results 1 Wiley and Springer: new full package deals, differnt combinations of lower pricecaps, more content, more participants - NB 1. Not more Flexibility!! - NB 2. Discussions with Wiley about pay per view

Results 2 Elsevier: no lower pricecap, but more flexibility: -pay more OR get less -Still negotiating on more content (back files) and more participants (Polytechnics)

Other Remarks Libraries (and Publishers!) find it difficult to walk away from Big Deals As soon as publishers offer choices, consortia tend to disagree Consortia show little awareness of the benefits of mutual behaviour

Yet another Complication: getting your figures right Important but hard to Perform, because: + different combinations of P and E + effects of E-only discounts + effects of higher VAT + effects of costdivision models To be noticed: some publishers have different business units for P and E!!

Thank you