Thank you to everyone who replied to my query of 7th Feb. regarding how other HE institutions administer access to electronic resources for staff at institutions that are 'partner' institutions for foundation degrees etc. without contravening licence restrictions. It seems that this is quite a 'hot topic', and it was oddly reassuring to know that there is obviously a significant number of other librarians as confused as I am.
I had 17 very helpful replies, summarised below.
* 1 institution discovered, on checking, that the staff from the partner institution were in fact being paid through the 'home' institution's payroll, so it's always worth checking with your personnel department. As registered staff on the payroll there is, presumably, no problem in allowing them full access.
* 8 institutions 'get around the problem' by making staff at partner institutions Associate Staff / Affiliate Staff / Registered University Teachers / Visiting Lecturers / Unpaid Teaching Staff (take your pick!). One of these 8 institutions specifically mentioned making this 'legitimate' by getting their HR department to add these staff to their employee database, but the process can be time-consuming as HR may not see this as a priority. Others were not so formal and admitted it was 'a very grey area', 'ad hoc', and 'hoped' that it didn't contravene licences.
* 3 other institutions had more formal arrangements in place. One had registered the staff as Associate Staff but then also negotiated access with those suppliers that required it, 'sometimes paying for the privilege.' 2 institutions had received advice from CHEST. Apparently circumstances will vary according to types of course, but advice can be sought from CHEST if desired. Heather Franklin at CHEST was mentioned as being very helpful on this matter. One of these 2 institutions get staff concerned to complete a specific agreement form.
* 3 institutions confirmed that they don't allow staff at partner institutions access. 2 of the 3 described having to resist institutional pressure to allow the kind of informal arrangement described above, for fear of the withdrawal of access if the arrangement was ever tested and found to be unlawful.
* 1 'home' institution mentioned that their partner Colleges had had to subscribe to a limited number of resources for the benefit of their staff, having seen no other way around the problem other than an institutional merger.
* Finally I was recommended the following online article by Jessica Warner http://www.fdf.ac.uk/phase9docs/journal3.pdf describing issues/measures taken at Kingston College and its partner institutions, and there is a related article in the latest CILIP issue of Update.
So thanks again to all the respondents. As the article I've linked to above says, 'It is an area of concern that traditional publishing arrangements and licences are a barrier to the modern delivery of courses that cross institutions...'. Certainly there doesn't seem to be any standard practice at present, and it would help to have some authoritative guidance to aid library staff struggling to do the right thing in these cases. Perhaps SCONUL could help, as this very issue appeared among its representatives' three top concerns, October 2004.
Peter
Peter Brooks
Acting Librarian
Royal Agricultural College
Stroud Road
Cirencester
GLOS
GL7 6JS
Tel: 01285 652531x2275
Fax: 01285 889844
mailto: [log in to unmask]
http://www.rac.ac.uk
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