Article-Level Acquisition: An Alternative to the Big Deal?

Oxford University Press LAG Oxford

May 25, 2012Michael Levine-ClarkUniversity of Denver

Journals – Current Landscape

Big deals

supplemented by

Single-title subscriptions

supplemented by

Article-level acquisitionOn the marginsILLPDF purchase

The Big DealCost effective

Incredible deals for University of Denver

Lots of bang for the buckAccess to many more titles than

possible with title-by-title selection

Probably not sustainable with current academic library budgets

The Journal Inflation Problem

FY 2007

FY 2008

FY 2009

FY 2010

FY 2011

FY 2012 (est)

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

RecurringNon-Recurring

Journal Costs – University of Denver

Journal Packages; 1352598;

51%

Individual Journals; 1144582;

43%

Aggregators; 123330; 5% ILL; 11402; 0%

Titles Available – By Source

Journal Packages;

10145; 16%Individual Journals; 1542;

2%

Aggrega-tors;

49117; 77%

ILL; 2902; 5%

Cost Per Journal Title

Jour

nal P

acka

ges

Indi

vidu

al T

itles

Aggr

egat

ors IL

L$0.00

$100.00$200.00$300.00$400.00$500.00$600.00$700.00$800.00

$133.33

$742.27

$2.51 $3.93

Cost Per Use (Article)

Jour

nal P

acka

ges

Indi

vidu

al T

itles

Aggr

egat

ors IL

L$0.00

$1.00

$2.00

$3.00

$4.00

$5.00 $4.70

$0.26

$1.83

Cost Per Use (Article)

$0.00

$10.00

$20.00

$30.00

$40.00

$4.70$0.26 $1.83

$41.54

How Do You Replace the Big Deal?

Journal vs. ArticleIn electronic environment, the

article is what mattersThe unit most people want(Relatively) affordable per itemEasily discoverable

Replacing the Big DealMedium or small deals

More title-by-title selection

Unmediated article-level purchase

Why DDA is Ideal for Books

High cost per use (but cheap unit cost)

Low overall useAs percentage of collection (40% not

used)Per item (most only used 1-2 times)

High publishing output~1 million titles annually (UNESCO)

Articles (Why DDA May Not Be Ideal) Low cost per use (but generally

expensive absolutely)

High overall use

Smaller publishing universe (but still impossible to get it all)~350,000 titles (EBSCO)

Current OptionsExpensive PDF lease

$30+ per articlePrint/downloadGiven to end user

Nothing for libraryNothing for next user

Works well for marginal material – not enough demand to warrant a subscription

Current OptionsRead-only short-term loan

Cambridge University Press modelLow cost ($5.99) in line with normal

cost per use 24-hour accessNo download/printAnother use = another payment

Might work for core material – but limited utility

A Goal: Replace Big Deal – Similar Access Level for

Similar Spend

Replace Big DealBenefit libraries

Access to wider range of journals/articlesGreater budgetary flexibility

Benefit publishersMaintain most revenue in face of

stagnant/shrinking library budgetsMaintain viability of journalsIncrease access to journals (beyond core)

Benefit bothMove from journal to article

Possible ModelsExpensive PDF purchase

$30+ per articlePrint/downloadFull-text access on publisher site

Available to next userPotentially lower cost per use

Possible ModelsCheaper short-term loan

$1.99Print/downloadSingle user with expiration

Possible Models - Requirements

Need a sustainable price

Need a capAt some point the library owns the

article (or journal)

Do publishers need a guarantee, or do we assume that good content will be acquired?

Thank You