Posted to the list on bahelf of Andreas Drechsler (andreas.drechsler@uni-
bamberg.de)
Hello to the list from Bamberg
we are debating here in our library on how to deal with the
EI3/Encyclopedia of Islam Online or however you want to call this obscure
product. Obscure not content wise but selling wise. It is still unclear to
me and my colleagues here in the library on how to deal with what Brill is
offering. There is a consortium of German libraries negotiating with Brill
and for now most of the libraries opted for the license version meaning
the very hefty yearly fee which in the end would give you no content at
all (current status of the negotiations).
The other option is to buy the rights for the contents of the database for
an exorbitant fee and then pay another yearly fee for hosting.
What is the general opinion of colleagues in libraries? How do individual
libraries proceed? Do individial libraries already know how the rights on
the contents look? Is there a yearly CD-ROM giving you the contents bought
so far? What will be the case with the printed edition of the
EI3/Encyclopedia of Islam Online? Will it be published in print without an
index? Will the articles be published in the chronological order they come
in (which was communicated to participants of Melcom Int. in Sarajevo by
the Brill representative) or will they be published in alphabetical order?
I am trying to collect opinions and facts so we can conclude our process
of opinion building here in Bamberg. It was my assumption that buying the
content would be wiser but I would like to hear what others are doing or
planning to do.
Best wishes from rainy, grey and cold Bamberg
Andreas Drechsler
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