procuring e-content

Procuring e-content SLIC Introduction to procurement event, NLS Edinburgh, 9th November 2009

Jeremy Upton, Acting Director of Library Services,

University of St Andrews

Procuring e-content

It has taken us over 500 years to perfect print as a medium to communicate information.

We have only been working with digital content for around 20 years

Procuring e-content

Overview

• History of move to e-content

• Impact on the traditional supply chain

• Development of the e-bundle

• The Scottish Enlightenment: SHEDL

Procuring e-content

Overview

• World of e-books

• Skills needed for effective procurement

• Future observations

In St Andrews currently use variety of methods to procure electronic content

Procuring information very different from other commodities

Procuring e-contentMove to e-content

• Early 90’s, most content still being purchased as print

• Print plus e subscriptions, some aggregated databases of full-text

• Rapid move within sciences, social sciences to provide electronic versions

• Current situation, over 80% budget spent on procuring e-content, expectation e-access will be the norm

Procuring e-contentMove to e-content

• Increasing availability of back content• Still issues related to application of VAT to e-

subscriptions• Increasing awareness of costs of storing print

Major change, accessing content being managed by others on our behalf

Procuring e-contentImpact on the traditional supply chain

• Larger organisations long standing use of agent, smaller places, subscriptions direct

• Increase use of agents to gain economies of scale, growth of consortia

• Need for supplier to develop completely new set of skills, not clear who does them best

• Lack of clarity over roles: some traditional roles cannot continue e.g. managing access

Procuring e-contentProduction in print world

Traditional delivery model clear who took responsibility for each stage of process:Publication announced including number of issues PUBLISHERLibrary places order for subscriptionAGENTLibrary pays agentAGENTAgent pays publisherAGENTPublisher delivers issue to LibraryPUBLISHERLibrary catalogues materialLIBRARYJournal indexed in standard indexing publicationsABSTRACTING AND INDEXING SERVICESLibrary binds issues into volumes and stores back runs on shelvesLIBRARY

Procuring e-contentProduction for electronic content

New model, much less clear who takes responsibility for each stage Publication announced including number of issues PUBLISHER (although Libraries much less sure if content has now been delivered)Library places order for subscriptionAGENT/AGGREGATOR/PUBLISHERLibrary paysAGENT/AGGREGATOR/PUBLISHERAgent pays publisherAGENT/MAY NO LONGER HAPPEN, LIBRARY GOES DIRECT TO PUBLISHERPublisher delivers issue to LibraryPUBLISHER BUT COULD BE TO OWN WEB SITE, AGGREGATOR SITE, AGENT SITE etcLibrary catalogues materialLIBRARY/MAY CHOOSE TO OUTSOURCE WORKJournal indexed in standard indexing publicationsABSTRACTING AND INDEXING SERVICES/GOOGLE/HARVESTERLibrary binds issues into volumes and stores back runs on shelvesLIBRARY/PUBLISHER/NATIONAL LIBRARY

Procuring e-contentImpact on the traditional supply chain

• New players in the market to deliver services associated with e-supply

• Agents having to develop new services• Huge growth in expectation related to levels

of service: agents having to consider if they can still act effectively for customers

All above made more complex by the introduction of the e-bundle

Procuring e-contentDevelopment of the e-bundle

• Opportunity for Libraries to purchase all content from publisher at a rate considerably lower than the combined individual subscription cost

• Publisher able to increase revenue in static market

• Often tie in to a number of years• Expose more of content to community,

increase awareness of brand• Exploit lower cost of e-only delivery

Procuring e-contentDevelopment of the e-bundle

Impact• Encourages direct dealing between Library and

publisher• Complex to negotiate and establish fair price

especially when based on previous subscriptions• Once established, hard to break away• Majority in the UK negotiated by JISC on behalf of

Libraries• Can introduce inefficiencies, delays to concluding

deals, uncertainty

Procuring e-contentSHEDL

• National deals in UK negotiated by JISC: opt in rather than all in

• Scottish Libraries strong history of collaboration on joint procurement

• Good European models: IReL• Research pooling• National Government shared services agenda


Aim to extend uniform coverage of content for all member Libraries at same cost

How• Reduce administrative cost through single

payment and same terms for all: simplification• Multi-year deals at time of financial

uncertainty• Encourage migration to online only• Removal of agent fee• Wider exposure of content


• Commission report by John Cox• Commitment from all Scottish HEI’s• Negotiations carried out by JISC on behalf of

SHEDL• 3 deals in place for 2009 making available

significant extra content in all member institutions

• Equal access across research pools• Further deals to follow for 2010

Procuring e-contentworld of e-books

Purchasing significant numbers of e-books, moved from add-on to core service

• Much younger market, still many uncertainties• Little uniformity between suppliers on

functionality or content• Variety of purchasing models• No access yet to core e-text book material:

JISC e-textbook trial• Primary benefit better access, much work to

be done on format

Procuring e-contentworld of e-books

• Scottish tender under auspices of APUC, in place for 1st November

• 3 recommended suppliers• Real benefit helping us define exactly what we

want suppliers to deliver

Procuring e-contentSkills

Publishing format may look the same but must develop new skills

• Negotiation• Legal knowledge• Technical knowledge including authentication• Manipulation and analysis of data: usage

statistics• Support for associated technologies:

searching, Web 2.0

Procuring e-contentSkills

Re-evaluation existing services• Re-training of existing procurement staff• Re-assess the collection of associated

metadata• Re-consider customer service: expectation

higher but in many cases Libraries have less control

Long way to go, 75% of staff still working on print

Procuring e-contentFuture observations

• Purchase of e-content will remain complex and difficult for the foreseeable future

• Encourage Libraries to consider new payment models: pay per view

• Use of data to make academic world more aware of true cost of publishing and show value for money

• More pressure for open access: already administering some publication funds

• Increasing dissatisfaction expressed by researchers that the benefits offered by technology are not allowing them to work more effectively.

Procuring e-content

Jeremy Upton

Acting Director Library Services University of St Andrews

[email protected]

procuring e-content

Education