David et al,

The legality of the issue will revolve completely around what the
publisher/vendor/provider stipulates in their license.  Obviously that
will vary from case to case.

We had a few subscriptions like the one you mentioned as well.  In cases
where the pub won't allow your patrons (i.e. faculty, staff, students)
to access the content online the question really becomes "Why license
that online content at all if no one (with the exception of one person)
can use it?"  It sounds like, in those cases, the library or institution
would be better off doling out individual subscriptions (but that'd be a
pain as well).  I think in those cases I'd opt for the print.

As previously mentioned, some pubs will allow all users to access online
content via a username/passwd combo.  That's just not ideal though.

Chad E. Hutchens
Electronic Resources Librarian
Montana State University Libraries
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT  59717-3320
(406) 994-4313 phone
(406) 994-2851 fax
chutchens@montana.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of weeks@UPEI.CA
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2:46 PM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Dealing with password authenticated online
content

In reading some of the recent postings re: username and password, I get
a sense
that some institutions feel they can make online content available to
all faculty, staff
and students. I am not sure this is the case.

I will provide one example. One of our faculty inquired why they
couldn't have online
access to Compendium: continuing education for veterinarians. They
realized that
another university library (which will remain nameless)  was providing
online access.
It was my understanding the the publisher, Veterinary Learning Systems
did not allow
the library to provide the username and password to patrons  or through
some of the
arrangements recently described provide online access to the greater
university
community.

I phoned Veterinary Learning Systems and was told emphatically that we
could not
provide online access to our faculty, staff and students.

I would be interested in comments. I may not be understanding some of
legalities of
this issue.

Thanks for reading

David J. Weeks
Robertson Library, UPEI
Charlottetown, PE
Canada