A Method Out of the Madness

Abstract

The downward spiral of increasing serial prices and decreasing subscriptions is well documented. Libraries' efforts to minimize its impact by trying "just in time" rather than "just in case" solutions have most otten attacked the periphery of the problem. Most libraries' efforts have as an objective only to lose by closer scores rather than keep pace or even expand journal coverage. This paper examines ways in which the OhioLINK community and individual libraries are trying to levcrage their collective resources to dramatically reverse the spiral.

An Analysis of the Use of Electronic Journals in a Spanish Academic Context: Developments and Profitability

“…This feature coincides with the trends observed at other universities, for instance the libraries making up the OhioLINK consortium (Sanville 41,42 ), university libraries in Galicia (Bugalicia 43 ) or Catalonia (Lluis Anglada et al…”

“…This system has been positive as a starting point, as it has permitted real usage information to be recorded on the basis of access to very extensive generic collections. As Sanville pointed out a decade ago, 57,58 ). Effective access to e-journals, as was noted by the European Commission report 63 , lies in the ability of libraries to continue paying the growing price of licenses.…”

“…Inflationary pressures affected the price of periodicals and led libraries into cancellation after cancellation. Apart from the great increase in the accessibility of academic journals, such packaged deals provided more flexibility in the use of information, as confirmed by the universities in Ohio, where, as pointed out by Sanville,18 two-thirds of the titles used had not been previously available in paper form. This same author stressed the advantages of a growth in the number of journals available, with wider availability and accessibility of documents leading to greater use of them.…”

Pricing and other means of charging for scholarly journals: a literature review and commentary

“…OhioLINK is a unique type of bundling and provides access to all libraries in an entire state (Ohio) in the US. [27][28][29] OhioLINK is the oldest Big Deal, having been around more than a dozen years, and is unique since all users have the ultimate form of access in that they can download the full text of everything they find. Nicholas and Huntington 29 are conducting a study of OhioLINK use as part of an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant to the University of Tennessee, School of Information Sciences.…”