Last year I used Rapid Renewal
for my consortial package renewals for Sage & Springer. For this year
I wanted to expand it and was told that Elsevier and Wiley-Blackwell agreed to
participate but only for a limited number of customers ( I guess they want to
try it out). I’ve never received a flat out, “No, we
won’t participate.” I’m told everyone I deal with
on my e-packages that I want to use Rapid Renewal: my Elsevier &
Wiley-Blackwell reps, the consortia through which I order most of our packages,
and my e-package renewal specialist at EBSCO. I
thought that if Elsevier & W-B were looking for participants, I wanted to
make sure my name got out there!
Shirley
Rais, MLS — Chair, Serials & Electronic Resources
Dept.
Library
Liaison to the School of Public Health
LOMA
LINDA UNIVERSITY | University Libraries
11072 Anderson Street,
Loma Linda, California 92350
office (909) 558-4583 · fax (909) 558-4919 · srais@llu.edu
From: SERIALST: Serials
in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Lila
Ohler
Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 1:42 PM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] Use of Ebsco's Rapid Renewal for Elsevier titles?
Is anyone else experiencing problems convincing Elsevier to
participate in Ebsco’s new Rapid Renewal Tool for managing and renewing
subscription titles that are part of Big Deal contracts, or acquired through
consortia sponsored Big Deals?
We are very disspointed today to hear from the publisher
that they will not paricipate in the program, or perhaps that applies only to
us, we’re not sure.
Libraries use serial vendors for a multitude of
reasons. But perhaps the most important one in this unstable financial
environment is to facilitate the rapid renewal and payment of journal title
subscriptions as early in the fiscal year as possible. This is especially
vital for large state funded libraries who participate in multiple journal
publisher Big Deals which require title reconciliation before renewals can even
be processed. The reality of our financial environment is that most
libraries are experiencing multiple budget cuts within the same fiscal year,
and the truth is that we are likely to experience this same trend for the next
few years. This means that many libraries will have to face difficult
decisions about any journals not yet renewed or paid further into each fiscal
year.
Perhaps Elsevier is unaware of this trend? Could it be
they do not realize the potential consequence of insisting on a renewal process
that takes longer and leaves their journal titles still unpaid more than
halfway through the library’s fiscal year? I guess I can’t
help but wonder, how is that a good business decision?
If there is anyone out there with similar observations and
questions, I would love to hear from you! Or if I’m missing
something and you can convince me of the wisdom of Elsevier’s decision,
please feel free to try!
Thanks,
Lila
(Angie) Ohler
Head
of Acquisitions, McKeldin Library
University
System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions
College
Park, MD 20742
301
405-9308 (phone)
301
314-1200 (fax)