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Draft of 1st hour talk to EIM students 27th April 2009
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1
The Evolving Agent
Sarah DurrantSecretary General
Association of Subscription Agents & Intermediaries (ASA)
2
Welcome
• A bit about me• A bit about the ASA
• Talk – The basics: what do subscription agents do?– The evolving agent: new tools and services
for the information supply chain
• Q&A
3
Logistics
Coffee/tea break at 3pm
Feel free to participate…Ask questions
at any stageon any topic or issue
4
About me…
• Secretary General of Association of Subscription Agents & Intermediaries (ASA)
• Part-time role, started July 2008
• Red Sage Consulting
• 20 years in information industry (Academic Press, Wiley, CatchWord/Ingenta, INASP)
• Publishing background so learning all the time…
• Recently adopted retired racing greyhound
5
About the ASA…
• Founded in 1934 (not by me…)
• International trade association serving subscription agents and intermediaries
• 40+ members covering over 90% of the world's scholarly/professional subscription business
Upholds standards of excellence, integrity and service innovation in the information supply chain
Promotes best practice in the purchase, supply and access of serials
6
About the ASA…
• Seeks to enhance relations between publishers and libraries
e.g. early pricing, gracing of e-journals, claims reduction, anti-fraud
• Innovates/cooperates on industry standards e.g. ISSN, COUNTER/SUSHI, EDI, ONIX etc.
• Lobbying e.g. no/reduced VAT on e-journals
7
Before we take off…
• A snapshot of the services provided by subscription agents
• Not a detailed examination of specific services from any particular agent…
• Not all services are available from all agents
• Agency services are evolving all the time
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The Basics:What do subscription agents do?
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In broad brush terms…
• Publishers create and disseminate scholarly research information
Libraries subscribe/purchase access to that information
Agents work between the two to:
enhance the efficiency of the information supply chain
save their customers (libraries and publishers) time and money
10
It can be murder in the library…
• Limited library staff, time, budget and resources
• 100’s if not 1000’s of publishers
• 1000’s of journals
• Archives and back issues
• Plus, the need to keep on top of: shelf-ready printed journals publisher web platforms registrations & access usernames and passwords publisher licences claims
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• Potentially 100’s of publishers interacting with the library, each with:– different renewal and
payment terms– currencies– claiming terms– different access procedures– different licences time-consuming and
expensive for libraries and publishers
Without an agent…
Image courtesy of Paul Williams, Swets
Library
12
With an agent…
Agents are specialists at facilitating one-to-many relationships
Leaves library staff free to concentrate on core needs of library and users
Agent
Library
Image courtesy of Paul Williams, Swets
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Finding a niche…
Historically, agents had a very clearly defined role:
consolidate the library’s print orders
place those orders and manage payments…
…to multiple publishers in multiple currencies
deliver print copies to the library
chase claims on behalf of the library
14
Finding a niche…
Services valued by publishers and libraries alikeClear benefits to the supply chain
However, in the last 10-15 years, technology has bought major change to the scholarly information environment:– creation– dissemination – ‘consumption’
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An illustration from Darwin…
• Pale Peppered moth (Biston betularia typica )
• Dark Peppered moth(Biston betularia carbonaria)
• Environment favoured pale moths• Industrial revolution…soot• Environment favours dark moth• Improved environmental standards • Environment favours pale moth again
16
‘Fittest’ in Darwinian terms does not mean strongest, it means the most
apt or well-suited to the (new) environment.
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Interesting.
Didn’t we just say that scholarly information
has undergone its own‘industrial revolution’?
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Over 85% HSS journals and over 95% STM journals now online*...
*Cox J & L: Scholarly Publishing Practice (Third Survey 2008), ALPSP 2008
…the scholarly information environment has become
increasingly complex.
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Increasing complexity (i)
• Access vs. ownership
• Complex pricing models
• Publishers dealing direct with libraries
• Evolution of consortia
• Publisher licences
• Agreements open to negotiation e.g. pricing and terms
• Big deals, collections & packages, backfiles, databases, eBooks, individual articles
• Issues over perpetual access rights
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Increasing complexity (ii)
• Technology-based service provision (e.g. InterScience, Science Direct, IngentaConnect, High Wire Press etc.)
• Continuous evolution of media for delivery/access (e.g. microfiche > disc > CDs > laptops> PDAs > mobile phones > eBook readers etc.) [oh, and print]
• Alternative models of scholarly communication– open access/institutional repositories
– informal exchange/peer networks
– other web-based content e.g. blogs
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Range and complexity of pricing models…
Use of Pricing Models Among Online Journal Publishers
38.3
%
61.1
%
33.3
%
7.4
%
27.8
%
42.0
%
4.3
%
5.6
%
44.4
%
49.7
%
33.2
%
9.1
%
24.1
%
42.2
%
4.3
%
16.6
%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
Onlineonly
Freeonline with
Disc. foronline only
Disc. forprint only
Surchargefor onlinewith print
CustomerSize
AdvancePPV
Other
2005 2008
Cox J & L: Scholarly Publishing Practice (Third Survey 2008), ALPSP 2008
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In a changing environment, species must either…
…adapt
…or perish
Another lesson from Darwin
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Would agents adapt or go the way of the Dodo?
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How have agents responded?
• By creating new tools and services librarians need
• By providing tangible support to libraries on industry-wide issues
• By continuing to play a leading role in standards
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New tools and services for libraries…
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Helping libraries stay informed
• Electronic information much more dynamic than print
• Web-based agency services keep libraries informed: publication schedules
web platforms
changes to URLs
username/password management
titles included in particular collections
licensing terms
etc.
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Subscription administration tools• Comprehensive search of library holdings
• View subscription status (active, due for renewal, inactive)
• 3-year financial history of each subscription
• Rapid ordering/renewal/cancellation
• Invoice consolidation
• Fast, efficient registration and activation of purchased resources
• Full claims history including outstanding claims
28
Support with licences
Web-based services from agents provide:• details of each publisher’s standard license
clauses • status of each license – signed, not signed,
under discussion• overview of all licences, viewable by title or by
publisher • associated ordering and access information
29
Reporting tools
Librarians can tailor reports to answer key questions e.g.:
• What do we currently subscribe to?
• Which issues are unavailable to patrons and need to be claimed?
• Which print subscriptions have cancellation restrictions (due to e-deals)?
• What’s the pricing history of this title/collection/publisher?
• What new publications are available in my subject area?
• How do our current holdings compare against e-options?
30
Technical Expertise
• Registration tracking
• Licence tracking
• Package renewal tools
• Link resolvers
• EDI transactions
• Aggregated collections
• Shelf-ready print journals
simplifies e-content registration
easy access to current licence terms
efficient renewal of large collections
appropriate copy fast, error-free transfer of orders,
claims etc.
• Economies of scale
• Save time and money
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Consortia services
Online tools for:
assessment of offers
order placement and subscription activation
ensuring e-package deals are accurately invoiced and charged
administration including tracking membership, invoicing, who has paid what etc.
efficient renewals
32
Collection development tools
• Cancel or renew subscriptions – singly on in bulk
• Upgrade to include e-version or move to e-only
• Integrate usage statistics with subscription details and pricing information allows cost-per-use analysishelps library establish value for money of a title or
collection informs renewal decisions
33
Decision support
Reports for:
• searches, sessions and turnaways
• (multi-year) price comparisons
• price-per-use data
• vendor- and/or collection specific queries
Supporting:
• collection development decisions
• migration from print to electronic
• analysis of cost per budgetary code
34
You want more…?
35
Wider industry support for libraries…
36
EDI
• Electronic Data Interchange
• Allows the exchange of commercial information between computers…
• …irrespective of processing system
• Uses standard formats agreed between trading partners
• In our industry, facilitates payments, claims and other information between publishers, agents and libraries
37
Why is this important?
• EDI has revolutionised the information supply chain:
millions of transactions efficiently processed
radically reduces delivery times
replaces paper with electronic documents
reduces errors
automates multiple repetitive tasks
saves staff time and cost – throughout supply chain
38
Early pricing information
• Publishers ‘review’ their pricing annually
• More pages, more content, access to backfiles etc. (but sometimes for no marketable reason)
• Commercial publishers often more bullish than not-for-profit and society publishers
• Prices increases are sometimes in line with inflation but 5-10% not uncommon
Agents lobby publishers to issue pricing information in a timely way
39
Why is this important?
• Timely pricing information enables libraries to:allocate budget and plan spending
engage with faculty and other users about new resources
assess value for money of offers and, if needbe, negotiate
• Ensures continued access to valued resources
40
Gracing of e-journals
• Publishers allowing continued access to subscribed content into the new subscription year
• Print and electronic
• Typically to Jan/Feb., sometimes beyond
• Often whilst licence agreements/negotiations are finalised
• Or whilst consortia/libraries finalise purchase decisions
Agents actively talking to publishers to help them universally understand the value of gracing
41
Why is gracing important?
• Enables libraries to provide continued service for valued resources to users
• Gives librarians time to assess value for money of offers…
• …and, if needbe, negotiate
• Makes allowance for discussion and delay in the purchasing process
• Helps publishers by keeping their journals in use and their customers happy
42
Claims reduction
• Claims are made by libraries when scheduled journal issues are:– delayed
– go missing
– cannot be accessed online
• Claimed issues can be print or electronic
• The claiming process is time-consuming, repetitive and very tedious…
• ..and is different for each publisher
43
Claims reduction
Agents provide web-based services populated with publishers’ publication schedules which:
automatically update library when issues are published
alert library to issues which are overdue enable library to log claims with each
publisher in an appropriate way save librarians time, money…and sanity
44
VAT on E-Journals
• Printed books, magazines and journals are zero-rated for VAT in the UK
• However HM Customs & Excise classify electronic journals as a service…
• …making them liable to (at present) 15% VAT
• Publishers have held out by making e-versions "free" with print subscriptions
• But increasingly the e-journal is the main product
• Many journals are born digital with no print counterpart
45
Why is VAT important?
It adds 15% to journal prices in the UK
Not in the interests of:• Research: scholarly information is expensive enough
• Libraries: higher prices, claim-back procedure can be tortuous
• Publishers: additional administration, higher prices
Agents are actively lobbying the European Commission through The Frankfurt group (of which ASA is a member) to demand that e-resources be zero- or low-rated for VAT
46
Standards
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Standards
• Athens/Shibboleth
• COUNTER/SUSHI
• EDI
• ONIX
• ONIX-PL
• ISSN
• etc.
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Further reading
• I have provided a handout/support document
• Web addresses for full information about each of these standards
• Available on Blackboard
49
Summary
Agents: Are committed to enhancing the efficiency of the
information supply chain Are experts in one-to-many relationships facilitating
millions of transactions between libraries and publishers Provide sophisticated services designed to facilitate
library workflow Support libraries (and publishers) through wider industry
involvement and lobbying Enable librarians to focus on core activities/more important
issues Confer major savings in staff time and cost etc.
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Remember, without agents…
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…it would be murder in the library
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Thank you for your attention.
Questions, comments…
www.subscription-agents.org
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