Holiday reading!
Ian Winship
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What's the "big deal", and why is it a bad deal for universities?
David Ball
Interlending & Document Supply 32(2) 2004, 117-125
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/vl=1101492/cl=15/nw=1/rpsv/cgi-bin/linker?ini=
emerald&reqidx=/cw/mcb/02641615/v32n2/s7/p117
At first sight the "big (or all-you-can-eat) deal" seems excellent value for
libraries and their users, and represents the shining possibilities of the
electronic age. A more thorough-going evaluation, however, exposes dangers
for universities, their funders and publishers. This paper examines the big
deal in the light of fundamental market conditions and suggests alternative
models for procuring electronic resources. The roles and strengths of the
players in the information supply chain are defined and traditional
hard-copy procurement is analysed in terms of these roles and the concepts
of authority, branding and monopoly. The fundamentals of procuring
electronic resources and prevalent purchasing models are discussed in terms
of the same roles and concepts. The advantages of the big deal are laid out
- access to resources, low unit costs etc. The dangers are also discussed.
These arise mainly from the publishers' position as monopolists. The
possible long-term effects, on library budgets and academic publishing, of
dealing with monopoly suppliers are examined. Means of avoiding or
minimising these dangers - consortia, alternative publishing methods, new
economic models to promote competition - are examined.
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Ian Winship, Electronic Services Manager
Learning Resources, Northumbria University
City Campus Library, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
email: [log in to unmask]
tel: 0191 227 4150 fax: 0191 227 4563
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