I would second Barbara's comments (we have long used SwetsBlackwells' FAST
consolidation service) and getting proof of current subscription for electronic
access entitlement where granted is often time-consuming and repetitive.
SwetsBlackwells did, I noticed, automatically advise our permissions to
ingenta.com which helped considerably. And it does alert us by mail if a
subcribed title begins to offer electronic access.
But, given publishers often want confirmations either by copies of invoices or
"subscription numbers", using consolidation means we often don't have this as
discrete (ie. title-by-title) information. So our SwetsBlackwells contact has
to do the confirmation for us.
There is yet another gripe that I have, and that's the increasing need to sign
individual licences with a publisher, perhaps for just one or two titles, to
gain access to them via a gateway such as SB Navigator or ingenta.com. This
would seem to diminish the benefits of aggregation via consolidation !
Jonathan Eaton
Electronic Resources Manager
London Business School
Sussex Place
Regent's Park
London NW1 4SA
T +44 (0) 20 7262 5050 ext 4238
F +44 (0) 20 7706 1897
Barbara Houston wrote:
> Sandra's gripes are all too familiar, but when you add in problems arising
> from switching to consolidation services the situation just becomes worse.
>
> We moved to consolidation for some titles in January and are still sorting
> out access problems, mainly due to publishers thinking our subscriptions
> have been cancelled and not tying in the new order (in the agents name) with
> us.
>
> You then have to prove/persuade/convince the publisher, usually via the
> agent and numerous emails to both, that you still have a current sub to
> their titles BEFORE you even get to the stage of finding out the magical
> subscription number.
>
> Barbara Houston
> Deputy Head of Periodicals
> St Andrews University Library
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