Colleagues,
     I am contacting Alison McNab at JISC to find out what's going on. I
came back this morning after 3 days off and find we have just a few days to
respond to a request for a 5 month subscription renewal.

     This is no way to treat a major client base, especially as it has been
suggested that unless 80% of us do renew, before Friday this week, the whole
arrangement could be withdrawn!

                  John Makin, Chair of LISE.

*****************************************************
John L. Makin
Faculty Liaison Officer, Education, Nottingham Trent University, LIS,
Clifton, Nottingham NG11 8NS, UK.
Chair of "Librarians of Institutes & Schools of Education".
Editor of "Education Libraries Journal".
Tel:   0115 848-3421 FAX: 0115 848-6304
***************************************************


-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 13 February 2002 15:04
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Education datasets


Dear All,
         With regard to the Education datasets, I dont know how other
members of lis-lise feel, but I for one do not think that the user
community for these datasets has been treated very well, regarding the
renewal of this agreement. There seems to have been a real lack of
communication by JISC, regarding the future of these datasets. I feel
that we have not been kept informed about the negotiations despite the
importance of these databases to ourselves and our users. Even if the
negotiations had not been finalised at an earlier stage I would have
liked some reassurance that something was happening, rather than the
silence from JISC.

Further to the lack of communication, we now discover at the last
minute that the agreement will only be renewed until the end of July
this year if 80% of institutions sign up to it. If for any reason this
does not happen, we may discover that we are left with no provision at
the end of the month, leaving us very little time to investigate
alternative suppliers to maintain access at the end of February.

If anyone else feels the same as I do, I think it is important that
JISC knows that we are not happy about this situation and the lack of
communication. I for one have some ERIC/BEI group database training
sessions booked for early March and am now beginning to wonder if they
are going to happen. If I have to cancel them, because the renewal does
not go through, I would have liked some notice and the opportunity to
make alternative provision for my students.

Lets hope the renewal goes through ok after all, sorry about the
ranting, but I do feel quite annoyed about this.

Best wishes to you all,

Sue
************************************************
Sue Chubb
Subject Librarian for Education, Counselling and Psychology
Graduate School of Education
1st Floor, Helen Wodehouse Building
35 Berkeley Square,
Bristol
BS8 1JA

Email: [log in to unmask]
Tel: 0117-9287062 (Education and Counselling - Education Library)
Tel: 0117-9288032 (Psychology - Arts and Social Sciences Library)
Fax: 0117-9300763 (Education Library)
************************************************

SJ Chubb, University Library Service
[log in to unmask]