Let's get down to business...

I'm not exactly sure why, but this week's unit on pricing models with our guest speakers from WiLS made e-resource management seem so real. Some of it probably has to do with money, and that may be what I needed to solidify the tricky and complicated task of working with e-resources in the library setting. We started out the class with a few basics, like pricing models (here is my quick and dirty list):

1. Carnegie Classification (tiered) - this is also what WiLS uses most

2. FTE - relevant for large, research universities

3. Usage based stats: less predictable for the budget, publisher is also in charge of

documenting usage

4. Pay-per-use: see 'tokens' below

5. Simultaneous user limit: can be used in combination with other pricing, but it limits how

many people can access the database at one time (I think of the databases at the Business School Library)

6. Paying for an article: if it is immediate, they will buy it, otherwise it’s best to resort to

ILL (I tell people that at UW-Madison, you should never have to buy an article)

7. Consortial pricing: not every university will pay the same amount in one consortium –

may depend on how many full time students they have

8. Token (under pay-per-use): provides access to a single article for 24 hours, universities

will get a certain # of “free” tokens per year – monitored by the librarians and can be

doled out to different departments (tokens are an add-on, could be a pricing model in and

of itself)

9. Backfiles: an accessory to either increase or decrease your price – they are a new way of

making money for the publisher

10. Out-right purchase: particularly for e-books – lives on the publisher’s server so you pay a

maintenance fee even after you’ve purchased it.

And, of course, there was my post on the Big Deal, so I'm not sure how much more I need to say about that. Ultimately, pricing comes down to what will work best for the university. No one pricing model is acts as a one-size-fits all option. Initially, the Big Deal may have seemed this way, but it's not for every library.

I really enjoyed our guest speakers from WiLS (Wisconsin Library Services) and how they described themselves as librarians for librarians. Before they came in, I know absolutely nothing about them (other than the fact that every few days, a WiLS runner comes into the music library to ask me for some obscure microfilm for ILL). It's run exactly like a business in that they have to make things happen (like set-up contracts between libraries and vendors) in order to get paid. WiLS basically takes the pain out of negotiating and pricing for libraries - they also typically get them a 15 - 20% discount on subscriptions.

I knew that WiLS and ILL were connected, but after listening to Eric (name?) I realized just how they were connected and how the university libraries fit into the ILL + WiLS equation. That, along with their work with cooperative purchasing/consortial licensing, and their constant work to streamline processes while making enough money, makes it all obvious to me that libraries are foolish to do it on their own. E-resource management, if the library decides to do everything by themselves, is a full-time job for multiple people.

Here are a few points on negotiating that cleared up some confusion about the process for me:

1. it's a merging of two worlds - the profit and non-profit organizations

2. Always answer two questions (at least): what will the market bear? and what is a fair price based on the needs of the library?

3. a group like WiLS lessens the work for the vendor as well by streamlining the process

4. WiLS is the billing agent (also handle renewals in subsequent years)

My favorite ILL tidbit (besides learning how they work with universities): 120,000 requests annually! I now understand why he said that ILL is in the top 3 services libraries offer.