Consortia and Journal Package Renewal: Evolving Trends in the “Big Package Deal”?

Abstract

Keeping pace with rising electronic journal costs has posed a serious budgetary challenge for most libraries during the current global economic crisis. This study's objective was to compare the specific changes in libraries' consortial deals before and during the economic crisis. A survey was issued to International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) members asking for comparative analyses of several key contract terms, such as base spend, price cap, cancellation allowance, and length of contract term, with an eye to judging whether consortia of different sizes and budgets were receiving comparable offers from publishers. The results of this study will be helpful to librarians uncertain about committing to a consortial deal during tumultuous financial times.