(Message sent to multiple lists.  Please pardon the duplication.)

Dear Colleagues,

You are invited to attend the ALCTS-SS Research Libraries Discussion
Group session at the 2006 ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio, TX.  Our
discussion, "Breaking Up the Licensing Logjam", will explore
standardization and best-practices that can help ease licensing of
electronic resources, particularly from small publishers.

The meeting will take place from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm on Saturday, 21
January in the St. Anthony Hotel, Georgian Room.  On behalf of the
panelists, we hope to see you there for an interesting and informative
session!

Sincerely,

Laura Kane McElfresh, Chair
Selden Durgom Lamoureux, Vice-Chair/Chair Elect
ALCTS-SS Research Libraries DG

**************************************************
BREAKING UP THE LICENSING LOGJAM
**************************************************
Panelists:
 - Judy Luther, Informed Strategies LLC, and President Elect of the
Society for Scholarly Publishing
 - Selden Durgom Lamoureux, Electronic Resources Librarian at UNC Chapel
Hill

Description:

Since journals and databases became available on the Web, librarians and
publishers have gone through the learning curve on licensing.  While
there are generally acceptable terms, every publisher and library has
potentially unique requirements.

For large publishers the cost to negotiate terms separately with each
library can be spread across hundreds of titles.  However, there are
hundreds of small publishers making a few electronic titles available
and in many cases, the cost of handling the license exceeds the cost of
the product.

For publishers, the current model does not scale down.  For librarians,
there is an increasing backlog of licenses.  In an industry desperate to
reduce prices, and in libraries eager to supply access, it may be time
to rethink our approach to small publishers whom librarians especially
want to support.  In an effort to find a solution and break through the
licensing logjam, two approaches will be presented for discussion.

The first is a proposal from Judy Luther for a "Best Practices" document
that replaces a negotiated contract, modeled after successes of library
/ publisher initiatives like Project COUNTER.  The second is a pilot
study and follow up research on use of a library "Standard" license.

ALCTS-SS Research Libraries DG
"Breaking Up the Licensing Logjam"
Sat. 21 Jan. 2006
10:30 am - 12:30 pm
St. Anthony Hotel, Georgian Rm.

--
Laura Kane McElfresh, Chair, ALCTS-SS Research Libraries DG
Serials Cataloger
Mathematics & Computer Science Librarian
Dance Librarian

Emory University                   Phone: 404-727-1613
Woodruff Library                   Fax:   404-727-0053
Atlanta, GA 30322                  Email: lmcelfr@emory.edu