Usage statistics for Big Deals: supporting library decision‐making

Abstract

Only simple statistical analysis, using MS Excel and COUNTER‐compliant usage reports, is required to calculate performance metrics for Big Deals. Big Deal e‐fees themselves are a relatively small proportion of journals expenditure, so when budget cuts need to be made, most savings have to be made by cancelling individual journal subscriptions. However, many individual subscriptions are tied by the non‐cancellation clauses that are an inherent part of most Big Deals and so cannot be cancelled unless the Big Deal is cancelled first. Typically, half of all downloaded articles are in the unsubscribed portion of the Big Deal. Thus it is impossible to make even moderate cuts in journals budgets without inflicting serious damage to an institution's access to journal articles, with serious implications on research. Both libraries and publishers benefit from the Big Deal, so it is essential that pricing remains affordable. Libraries may need to educate their funders to ensure that they continue to receive adequate funding for Big Deals.

Usage Data, E-journal Selection, and Negotiations: An Iranian Consortium Experience

“…This will help us have better selected sets of journals especially for smaller universities and specialized research centers. We also believe that due to the aforementioned problems with usage data, locally collecting usage data, rather than relying on the usage data provided by vendors and publishers, is an option that is worth considering.The study also confirms that, as Bucknell 13 said, we can use simple statistical analysis to calculate performance metrics for Big Deals and decide about library e-journal collections.…”

“Big Deal” Journal Subscription Packages: Are They Worth the Cost?

“…3 As an illustration, in one study, researchers found that one library subscribed to only 18% of the titles in the Big Deal, yet 56% of downloads were from unsubscribed titles. 4 Because of the Big Deal journal package, end-users were able to download more than twice the number of articles available in the library's subscribed titles. 4 Furthermore, Big Deal packages are especially useful for large university libraries that serve end-user communities diverse in terms of subject interest and research level.…”

The Big Deal, Interlibrary Loan, and Building the User-Centered Journal Collection: A Case Study

“…Bucknall stated it this way: "It certainly appears that UNCG's careful selection of subscribed titles was not adequate to support the research needs of our faculty and students, and that our researchers are indeed benefiting from access to a greatly expanded title set." The cost-per-use analysis made the high journal costs seem reasonable (Franklin 2005, Botero et al 2008, Wolverton and Bucknall 2008, Bucknell 2008, Ives and Fallon 2009. The large number of titles to which libraries had access now put them and their users on a par with colleagues in larger research universities (Ebert 2005).…”