Re: subscription agent service fees question-online journal subscription Pennington, Buddy D. 29 Jun 2005 17:35 UTC
I just wanted to voice my agreement on two points here. First, Liz is right in that the agents have a lot of connections that faciliate e-journal access management and troubleshooting. And they are developing the tools to make that more apparent to us. I don't necessarily agree with the per title charge for packages (it seems like some sort of discounted service charge could be negotiated for that), but I do believe they can and are providing services that make our jobs easier and we should pay them something for that. As we all know subscription agents are finding their profit margins slim down tremendously as they lose business (both libraries ordering direct and libraries cutting print titles due to serials inflation and/or declining budgets). I also agree on the final point. We are likely to see higher service charges (and this will be because the agents will have to raise them to survive), if the steady stream of lost business continues. We have all seen this with journals that have small subscription bases. If a bunch of libraries cut the title, the "surviving" subscribers eat the price increase. Subscription agents need to convince libraries they can manage their e-journals better than the library can on its own and this is could be a hard sell down the road. Something they can do is develop ERM services. They have the advantage of a deep understanding of serials and publishers. Buddy Pennington Serial Acquisitions Librarian UMKC - University Libraries 800 E. 51st Street Kansas City, MO 64110 816-235-1548 816-333-5584 (fax) penningtonb@umkc.edu UMKC University Libraries: Connecting Learners to the World of Knowledge www.umkc.edu/lib -----Original Message----- From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Elizabeth Lorbeer Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2005 12:07 PM To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU Subject: Re: [SERIALST] subscription agent service fees question-online journal subscription My library uses Ebsco to order our electronic journals. Like you, I share the dislike for the $10 per title service charge. In 2004, we purchased the LWW Total Collection, composed of 234 titles, and paid $10 for each title in the bundle. Right now we most likely pay about $3,000 to $4,000 in title charges. What's happening is that the publisher is no longer cutting a share to the agent like before with print orders. It's unfair to the agent who has historically brought a steady stream of customers to the publisher. I encourage agents and publishers to sit down and broker a deal that allows the agent to recoup their commission. It's too tempting for the customer to leave the agent and buy directly from the publisher. I strongly believe in using a subscription agent and supporting the practices of the ASA (http://www.subscription-agents.org/). Rollo Turner wrote an excellent article two years ago on the value of using an agent. The agent provides many services which I am not equipped to handle. Further, when an electronic journal is not working, or the publisher has failed to apply payment for a renewal, all I have to do is call my agent, and this matter is taken care of in a matter of hours. They have the contacts, the power, and knowledge to keep my collection electrified. A word to the wise: If the decision is to remove substantial amount of business from the agent, you can expect your annual service charge to rise on the rest of the subscriptions they order on your behalf. Though the per title charge may seem excessive, weight it against an increase in annual service charge. Sincerely, Liz Lorbeer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elizabeth Lorbeer; EdM, MLS Collection Development Manager Rush University Medical Center Armour Academic Facility, 5th Floor 600 South Paulina Street Chicago, IL 60612-3832 Phone: (312) 942-2282 Fax: (312) 942-3143 Email: Elizabeth_R_Lorbeer@rush.edu Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2005 12:34:03 -0400 From: Tian Zhang <ZHANGT@STJOHNS.EDU> Subject: Re: subscription agent service fees question-online journal subscription We use Ebsco since 2002. Their service is good. Instead of the service fee, Ebsco also charge $10 per title if the publisher does not give them commission for that title. But I have a question: right now, we subscribe more and more e-journals, and usually, I have to sign the license agreement with the publisher directly. Also I have to activate the journal by IP address and then put the URLs to our catalog records for our library users. As online journal, our library do not need to make claims. And most of the time, I subscribe the journals by packages with the publisher if it is available. And I want to subscribe these titles directly through publisher and withdraw them from any agent by spending service fees. What are your opinions about it? Tian Zhang Serials Librarian St. John's University Library