With some licenses you are paying for perpetual access so the material
really is yours.

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Hijleh, Renee
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 11:10 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Looking for other libraries that have eliminated
check-in

Electronic checkin is different from print checkin because with
electronics, you really are only paying for access. You don't really
have a claim on the issues. The issues aren't yours to keep, they are
only there for the allotted time that you have a valid subscription and
for as long as the publisher or database wants to archive them. So the
only thing that you need to ensure for checkin is that your access is
working according to the terms of the signed license agreement.

Should you ensure that your access is working according to terms? Of
course!

Electronic checkin has been an up and coming issue at all the
professional conferences that I have attended last year.
As everyone is well aware, the costs for electronic subscriptions
(whether single subs, or as part of a
database) are skyrocketing, and thus there is justifiable concern that
you are getting the access that you pay for.
This is especially heightened for libraries that assume that all their
electronic subs are fine, and then they are horrified to accidentally
find out that their $5,000 sub. or that $20,000 database has not been
accessible for weeks, or even months, depending on the problem: license
not filled out correctly; IP address not entered correctly; password not
valid anymore & needs to be changed on an annual basis; publisher
changed from multiple user to single user, or to onsite user only; etc.
Or perhaps you assumed that the online sub that you renewed was still
full-text, and its actually now only available as full-text for select
articles, with the rest being abstract only.
Or perhaps you paid for the package that offered unlimited archival
access, and they are only providing the current year. These are all
problems that we have encountered, and I'm sure that others could name
more.

Access to electronic subs does need to be checked for all of these
reasons. The real question is, how do you make it manageable? Do you
only check the databases that your institution directly pays for, and
ignore ones that are part of consortial arrangements? Do you check only
the individual electronic subs that you pay for, or only the ones that
are supposed to come with your print sub? Where do you draw the line? I
don't know. How often should you do it, annually? monthly? I don't know.
These are all issues that we are just starting to discuss.

But I do know that just because the issue is new, and seems a bit
overwhelming, it doesn't mean that it shouldn't be done. If your public
catalog states that you have the electronic access to a title, and you
are paying for it, then by rights, the access to it should checked an
ensured that its working as paid for so that it's there when your
patrons need it.

more two cents......

Renee Hijleh
Periodicals Department
William D. McIntyre Library
PO Box 5010
University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire
Eau Claire, WI  54702-5010
715-836-3306
fax: 715-836-2949

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Chisman, Janet
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 11:12 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Looking for other libraries that have eliminated
check-in

So what are people doing about checkin for electronic resources?  We
don't check those in.