If the package can't be broken up, we treat it as a single subscription
- add up the usage and divide by the cost of the package. Same thing if
the package can be broken up, but we are not interested in doing so.

If the package can be broken, and we want to evaluate the titles
individually, we typically start with the above method (all use divided
by total cost), then look at what cost-per-use would be if we subscribed
to individual titles at retail price. If we are serious about
cancellation, we also estimate post-cancellation usage and utilize
per-article costs to approximate the cost of delivery via ILL.

--
Nikki DeMoville
Electronic Resources Coordinator
Robert E. Kennedy Library
California Polytechnic State University
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407

email: ndemovil@calpoly.edu
ph: 805-756-5780 fax: 805-756-7711

On 10/24/2013 8:00 PM, SERIALST automatic digest system wrote:

> Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 16:40:28 -0600
> From: Jenny Lockwood <jelockwo@LIB.NMSU.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Calculating cost per use for bundled titles
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>
> If I can find the prices for the titles sold individually, I total that
> to calculate the discount and apply that percentage to derive the cost
> of the individual titles. If I cannot find individual prices, I divide
> the price by the number of titles to assign a cost to each--this is not
> very satisfactory. If we have a title that has been taken over by
> another publisher and bundled with other titles that we did not take in
> the past, I put all the cost on the title that we chose to keep as I
> consider that is the cost to us of keeping that title. If you break a
> package, you have to make sure you cancel enough to make it worthwhile.
>
> On 10/24/2013 2:30 PM, Leslie Burke wrote:
> >
> > If you have an ERM tool, you might want to see if they can calculate
> > at the package level, which would give you an aggregate for those
> > items that you get in the whole package. That might tell you if the
> > package as a whole is “worth” the money being spent, or if it makes
> > more sense to get just a title or two on their own.
> >
> > Splitting it out evenly would be another way, but it might make more
> > sense to go with the listed price if you were to subscribe to the
> > actual journal. I */believe/* this is how EBSCO’s ERM Essentials
> > calculates the price per use [any EBSCO lurkers, correct me if I am
> > misrepresenting!]. I think this would make an evaluation a little more
> > accurate, especially for those “extra titles” thrown in, e.g. if we
> > paid for this directly, this is how much it would cost per use. I
> > believe that’s what I would factor in when deciding to keep or change
> > or cancel a package of journals.
> >
> > This is my first year with usage stats with cost/use, so I’m still
> > formulating what’s important to us in decision-making, so I’ll be glad
> > to hear. There is a small group of us who are “crowd-sourcing”/working
> > on a book of best practices especially around usage statistics issues,
> > so we will be glad to get input from as many people who have opinions
> > about this.
> >
> > Curious too,
> >
> > Leslie
> >
> > Leslie D. Burke
> >
> > Collection Development & Digital Integration Librarian, Library
> >
> > Kalamazoo College
> >
> > 1200 Academy St
> >
> > Kalamazoo, MI 49006
> >
> > p 269.337.7144
> >
> > f 269.337.7395
> >
> > Leslie.Burke@kzoo.edu <mailto:Leslie.Burke@kzoo.edu>
> >
> > LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leslieburke/
> > <http://www.linkedin.com/in/leslieburke/>
> >
> > Twitter: librarygal2go
> >
> > *More in Four. More in a Lifetime. *
> >
> > *From:* SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
> > [mailto:SERIALST@list.uvm.edu] *On Behalf Of *Rita Wells
> > *Sent:* Thursday, October 24, 2013 4:11 PM
> > *To:* SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
> > *Subject:* [SERIALST] Calculating cost per use for bundled titles
> >
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I am interested in learning how other libraries are calculating cost
> > per use for bundled titles.
> >
> > For example : American Association for Cancer Research journals where
> > one subscription price pays for 5 or 6 titles as opposed to separate
> > title pricing. Is the general practice to divide the cost of the
> > bundle equally among all titles and calculate cost per use for each
> > title? Or are there other methods being used?
> >
> > Very interested in what's going on out there.
> >
> > Thank you in advance,
> >
> > */Rita /*
> >
> > */Rita Wells
> > Rutgers University
> > Alexander Library/Distributed Technical Services
> > 169 College Ave
> > New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1163
> > 848.932.6128/*
> >
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>
> --
> Jenny Lockwood
> Acquisitions/Electronic Resources
> New Mexico State University Library
> PO Box 30006 Dept 3475
> Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003
> 575-646-3104
>
>
>
>
>
>
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