Group Purchases of Korean Online Databases

Mikyung Kang

Korean Studies Librarian

UCLA

Before planning

Free trial services for initial 6 mo. after the 2002 CEAL meeting

Expanded another 6 mo. of trial services Survey on usage of Korean Studies online

databases Constant testing of the DB access and

searching Asked usage statistics from each vendor

Free Trial Services

Full-text journal article DBs DBPia Korean Studies Information: KISS

Historical/literary primary source DBs DB Media Contents Library: Korea AtoZ KRPia

Encyclopedia DB EncyKorea

Web-based survey

Target audience: the UCLA Korean Studies scholarly community, including Approx. 50 graduate students 10 faculty members Approx. 10 visiting scholars

Period: Winter Qtr. 2003 January - March 2003

Survey pop-up window

Survey questions

1. Which database(s) do you use most frequently? Please choose all that apply. DB Media Contents Library: Korea A to Z EncyKorea KRPia DBPia Korean Studies Information KISS

2. How often do you use one of these Korean studies online databases? Once a week or more Once every two or three weeks Less than once a month

Survey questions (2)

3. Each of the database provides access to a number of different titles. Which title(s) do you find most useful?

4. Have you had any problems using any of the databases? No Yes. Please describe the problem(s)

Survey questions (3)

5. Which journal/other publication titles do you recommend for purchase by the library? If more than one, please list in order of importance from most to least important.

6. Do you have any comments or suggestions for the library or for the database companies?

Survey questions (4)

7. What is your status? Choose one. UCLA undergraduate student UCLA graduate student UCLA faculty Visiting scholar

8. What is your primary research area?

Announcement through the UCLA EAL homepage

Announcement through e-mail

Survey results

Survey Results

Total 23 users responded Excluding undergraduates,

21 users responded 31% response rate

39% of respondents answered: Use Korean Studies online databases once a

week or more Databases used most frequently:

Journal article full-text databases

KSI online statistics

Initiated as a UC-wide project

Agreed among two Korean Studies Librarians in the UC system (UCB & UCLA) first

Contacted potential UC system libraries for participation

Provided all the UC campus IP addresses to the DB vendors for requests of free trial services

Introduced Korean online databases in the EAALC (East Asian Academic Librarians of California) annual meeting

Looked for other UC library participations

Beyond a UC-wide project

Not enough participations among UC system libraries

Two non-UC Korean Studies Librarians (Columbia & Michigan) expressed to join

So, at least 4 libraries (UCB, UCLA, Columbia, and Michigan) firmly committed to work together as a starting point for the consortial purchase project

Before negotiation with vendors

Set a maximum amount each participant can contribute to the project

Prioritized database titles by the four Korean Studies librarians

Discussed fair and reasonable amounts each library can pay annually to each vendor

Decided time frame for the project Divided responsibilities into two parts:

Communication with vendors (UCB) Communication among libraries (UCLA)

Negotiation process

Different pricing for tier 1 and tier 2 groups Combined concepts of ‘subscription’ and

‘purchase’ (subscription + back-up copy provision)

Tried to ask similar purchase conditions to all three vendors

Centralized communication channels Communicated in person with the vendors in

Korea (UCB & Michigan)

After negotiation

Announced through EASTLIB Received requests of purchase information (prices &

conditions) for each database Distributed purchase information upon requests Received participation requests by due dates Participating Libraries

Korea AtoZ – 9 libraries EncyKorea – 7 libraries KRPia – 6 libraries DBPia – 6 libraries KISS – 9 libraries

License agreement

Made standard license agreement drafts by UCLA for all participating libraries and vendors

Distributed electronically by each vendor for each participating library’s own use for individual contracts

Finalized and signed contract documents individually by each participating library for each database

After group purchases…

Each participating library is responsible forAnnual payment to each vendorReporting any technical problemsCommunicating with each vendor for

any other problems

After group purchases…

The working group will continue to Plan potential future consortial purchases Introduce any new databases available Request free trial services for newly

developed databases Look for a possibility of cooperative

cataloging for Korean E-journals in aggregator databases (DBpia & KISS)

Any questions?

Thank you very much!!