SERU 2.0: It's Not Just for Journals

Abstract

Raise your hand if you've spent at least one hour navigating your way through an electronic resource license in the past year. Okay, put your hand down, and then make plans to attend this Lively Lunch so you can learn more about the changes being implemented in SERU, the Shared Electronic Resources Understanding. SERU, a NISO Best Practice since 2008, works in conjunction with copyright law and was originally designed to replace licenses for e‐ journals. Now its scope is being broadened to accommodate the acquisition of e‐books and more. Members of the NISO SERU Standing Committee will lead a discussion about the changes being proposed, show how SERU fits into the workflow of both content providers and librarians, and offer practical advice on how you can incorporate SERU into your electronic resources ordering process. Representatives from libraries, consortia, and pub‐ lishers met to discuss proposed revisions to SERU (Shared Electronic Resources Understanding). SERU, adopted by NISO (National Information Standards Organization) as a Best Practice in 2008, has been used by libraries and publishers to facilitate the ac‐ quisitions of scholarly e‐journals. In response to an e‐book publisher request, the NISO SERU Standing Committee has undertaken the revision of SERU to encompass other types of e‐resources, and to apply more broadly to all participants in the business of e‐ resources acquisition. SERU is an alternative to the expensive and labor‐ intensive licensing process that often accompanies orders for e‐resources. Publishers and libraries have a long history of non‐litigious cooperation that characterized acquisition of print materials; SERU builds on that trust. With more than a decade of experience with electronic resource acquisition, SERU articulates commonly held expectations be‐ tween publishers and libraries. By referencing copy‐ right law and the SERU best practices, libraries and publishers can forego a formal license and complete the acquisition transaction in no more time than it takes to order print. The SERU guidelines have worked well to describe the expectations that have emerged for e‐journals. In part that’s because we have many years of expe‐ rience in the business of acquiring e‐journals, and in part because the period of wild experimentation that marked the early years of commercial e‐journal publishing has given way to a more stable environ‐ ment. That’s not quite true of e‐books, which are enjoying a period of great experimentation in pur‐ chasing models and delivery options. E‐books also pose special challenges because of the varied mar‐ kets and rights that have always characterize books. In addition, the systems and conventions that facili‐ tate transactions like e‐journal ILL (inter‐library lending) are not yet in place for e‐books. Even so, there are many shared expectations for e‐ books that can be articulated: who is an authorized user, what constitutes a site, and how misuse of the resource is resolved, all apply equally to e‐books and e‐journals. The expectation that a purchased e‐ book is available in perpetuity to the library, like the expectation that a subscribed e‐journal is available post‐cancellation, is also a shared expectation – and, just as with e‐journals, when a publisher is not in a position to provide access in perpetuity, the shared expectation is that this will be made clear at the time of purchase. The challenge in revising SERU to accommodate e‐ books is to carefully distinguish between what is a common expectation and what is still developing in the marketplace; what is currently technically pos‐ sible and what is still awaiting a technical solution. The SERU Standing Committee asked participants to respond to several clauses that were revised to ac‐ commodate e‐books: