 |
 |
Hello, I think you're mixing up two different issues. I use a subscription agent to manage my subscriptions, but they don't host the journal access too - I've been doing this since I started, to cut down on the need for user names and passwords (we have all our journals' links on our intranet). If our users are on site, but not using our a-z list, they have no problem accessing journals we subscribe to, via PubMed or Google, as access is IP-authenticated. I'd much rather have one set of invoices to deal with (and one supplier record to set up with our procurement people) than 35 different publishers. So for me, having a subscription agent to manage my subscriptions, but not to host them, is a win-win situation. You might want to look into this yourself, if having an agent-host isn't working. Ann Ann Brew Library & Information Services Manager Library Cancer Research UK 44 Lincoln's Inn Fields London WC2A 3LY Tel : 020 - 7269 2868 Fax : 020 - 7269 3084 From: UK medical/ health care library community / information workers [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jane Proctor Sent: 05 April 2011 11:21 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Subscription agents reponses Whilst our online subscriptions are managed via our subscription agents I am finding increasingly I need to manage our online subscriptions myself anyway - largely because access via our subscription agent is more limited and doesn't include things like early view access, which I can only get if I register directly with the publishers. It also means our users can only access the journals if they come in via the subscription agent's site and not via other means such as an internet search engine. This has opened up a whole can of worms for me as a lot of the time the publishers and subscription agents disagree on the journals and years we should have access to, which is proving difficult to sort out. But from my experience the publishers are a whole lot better at responding to my queries than our agents are and they generally come back with solutions much quicker - as Mike says, this means I feel more in control and I know what is going on rather than being left in the dark! I can see the appeal of managing all our journal subscriptions ourselves - although overall I think managing separate subscriptions and invoices and claims with each individual publisher might be even more of an administrative headache than it is through the agents. The words rock and hard place come to mind... Jane Proctor Librarian Northamptonshire NHS Provider Services Richmond Library William Kerr Building Northampton General Hospital Northampton NN1 5BD Tel: 01604 545929 E-mail: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> www.library.northants.nhs.uk<http://www.library.northants.nhs.uk/> ________________________________ From: UK medical/ health care library community / information workers [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Roddham Mike Sent: 31 March 2011 15:38 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Subscription agents reponses We've started managing a lot of subscriptions ourselves, due to serious dissatisfaction with agents. We have been with both of the ones you mention and they are equally useless. Our subs are mostly online and yes, we have had problems with publishers and access. The real advantage is the direct contact with the publishers, knowing what is being done and being in much more control Regards Mike Mike Roddham Head of Service West Sussex Knowledge & Libraries 01243 831507or internal extn 2778 [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> http://www.westsussexknowledge.nhs.uk The information contained in this e-mail may be subject to public disclosure under the NHS Code of Openness or the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Any processing, redistribution, disclosure, or reproduction of this message, except as intended is prohibited. Unless the information is legally exempt from disclosure, the confidentiality of this e-mail and your reply cannot be guaranteed. If you received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender and remove all copies of the message, including any attachments. Any views or opinions expressed in this e-mail (unless otherwise stated) may not represent those of Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust. ________________________________ ________________________________ This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. Any views or opinions expressed are those of the author and do not represent the views of the Trust unless explicitly stated. The information contained in this email may be subject to public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Unless the information is legally exempt from disclosure, the confidentiality of this email and your reply cannot be guaranteed. ________________________________ This communication is from Cancer Research UK. Our website is at www.cancerresearchuk.org. We are a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464) and in Scotland (SC041666) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales under number 4325234. Our registered address is Angel Building, 407 St John Street, London, EC1V 4AD. Our central telephone number is 020 7242 0200. This communication and any attachments contain information which is confidential and may also be privileged. It is for the exclusive use of the intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient(s) please note that any form of disclosure, distribution, copying or use of this communication or the information in it or in any attachments is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender and delete the email and destroy any copies of it. E-mail communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error free, as information could be intercepted, corrupted, amended, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. We do not accept liability for any such matters or their consequences. Anyone who communicates with us by e-mail is taken to accept the risks in doing so.