PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION - March 25, 1998
 

For further information about this statement, contact:
Arnold Hirshon, Vice Provost for Information Resources, Lehigh University, Bethlehem PA. Phone: 610/758-3025.   Email: arh5@lehigh.edu   Fax: 610/758-3004
For further information about ICOLC, contact:
Tom Sanville, Executive Director, OhioLINK. Columbus, OH. Phone: 614-728-3600, ext. 322. Email: tom@ohiolink.edu   Fax: 614-728-3610

The International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) announced today the release of its "Statement of Current Perspective and Preferred Practices for the Selection and Purchase of Electronic Information." The Statement establishes for the first time an international perspective on consortial licensing and purchasing of electronic information by libraries.

The document addresses current and future electronic information environment issues such as the increasing expectations of library users in a stable funding environment, fair use, archiving of information, pricing strategies, and electronic information delivery metrics. The preferred practices section covers contract negotiations, pricing, data access and archiving, system platforms, licensing terms, information content and its management, and user authentication.

The explosion in electronic licensing, the wide variance in publisher practices, rapidly escalating prices, and a concern about the reduction in the number of independent scholarly information providers all served as the impetus for the statement. The Statement calls for developing multiple pricing models, separating charges for electronic licenses from those of paper subscriptions, and lowering the cost for the electronic information below that of print subscriptions. ICOLC expresses its concern over the growing practice of publishers that levy initial surcharges on electronic information, which is compounded by significant multi-year inflation surcharges and prohibitions against libraries canceling print versions of journal titles. As a result, while libraries may receive access to a larger array of titles by paying the "print price plus electronic subscription cost plus inflation," the total base price for electronic access over the print subscription could increase by 40% or more within as little as three or four years.

Arnold Hirshon, vice provost for information resources at Lehigh University, executive committee chair of the Pennsylvania Academic Library Connection Initiative, and one of the authors of the Statement noted that "the 'print price plus' cost model simply is not economically sustainable for academic libraries. We must develop alternative pricing structures before the current pricing practices become the norm." While recognizing that publishers should be able to recover reasonable costs, the Statement asserts that publishers cannot expect libraries to bear all development costs today for incomplete product features and unstable systems.

ICOLC seeks new economic models that reduce the unit cost of information while enabling the lowest possible cost-per-access to a journal title or article. "We see a potential for dramatic shifts in pricing, with publishers and libraries working together to break the current cycle in which libraries each year spend more on serials but are able to buy fewer of them," said Tom Sanville, executive director of OhioLINK and ICOLC convener.

The ICOLC intends for the statement to be an olive branch to the publishing community. Ann Okerson, associate university librarian at Yale University and coordinator of the NorthEast Research Libraries consortium (NERL), says "through the ICOLC we want to begin discussions with the publishing community to advance the use and availability of electronic information resources in educational and research institutions." Elmar Mittler, Library Director, Niedersaechsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Goettingen, adds that "the ICOLC represents a combined membership of over 5,000 libraries worldwide, which makes it an effective forum to work with information providers to find common ground."

David Kohl, dean of libraries at the University of Cincinnati and a statement author, stresses that the Statement is about more than just money. "We are as concerned the quality of the content provided and the ability to archive that content to guarantee future availability as we are about the cost of purchasing that information today."

THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION

The statement is endorsed by consortial representatives in Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with additional endorsements anticipated from other nations. Inspired by a previously developed statement of electronic information principles by a group of Dutch and German universities in 1997, Hirshon approached that group on behalf of the ICOLC to seek European cooperation on the Statement.  Hirshon attended a meeting in The Hague in February with representatives from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany.

"We developed an instant rapport and common views," said Fred Friend, Director, Scholarly Communication, University College London. Hans Geleijnse, university librarian, Tilburg University, added "Scholarly publishing increasingly is a global enterprise, and the strength of libraries increases by working globally through consortia to establish mutual positions." John Gilbert, head librarian, Universiteit Maastricht, observed that "academic librarians around the world share the same interest in providing the maximum amount of information to our faculty and students at the lowest possible cost."

The complete Statement can be found at http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia/statement.html

Further information about the ICOLC can be found at http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL COALITION OF LIBRARY CONSORTIA (ICOLC)

The International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) is an informal organization that began meeting in 1997. Comprising about sixty library consortia in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Israel, and Australia, the Coalition represents over 5,000 member libraries worldwide. The Coalition serves primarily higher education institutions by facilitating discussion among its members on issues of common interest. ICOLC conducts meetings to keep its members informed about new electronic information resources, pricing practices of electronic providers and vendors, and other issues of importance to consortium directors and their governing boards. These meetings also provide a forum for consortial representatives to meet with the information provider community, discuss their products, and engage in a dialog with Coalition members about issues of mutual concern. The ICOLC also maintains listservs and web pages for the benefit of its members. Alex Klugkist, chairman, Dutch University Library Association, and university librarian, Groningen University notes that "the ICOLC has become a highly effective forum to coordinate academic library efforts internationally."

Further information about the ICOLC can be found at http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia

AUTHORS OF THE STATEMENT

• Arnold Hirshon, Vice Provost for Information Resources, Lehigh University, Bethlehem PA, and Chair, Executive Committee, Pennsylvania Academic Library Connection Initiative (PALCI). Phone: 610/758-3025. Email: arh5@lehigh.edu     Fax: 610/758-3004

 
• Tom Sanville, Executive Director, OhioLINK. Columbus, OH, and Convener, ICOLC.

Phone: 614-728-3600, ext. 322. Email: tom@ohiolink.edu     Fax: 614-728-3610

• Ann Okerson, Associate University Librarian, Yale University, New Haven, CT, and Coordinator of the NorthEast Research Libraries consortium (NERL).

Phone: 203/432-1764. Email: ann.okerson@yale.edu     Fax: 203/432-8527

• David Kohl, Dean, University Libraries, University of Cincinnati, and Member, OhioLINK Library Advisory Council Coordinating Committee.

Phone: 513/556-1515. Email: david.kohl@uc.edu     Fax: 513/556-0325

INTERNATIONAL CONTACTS FOR THE STATEMENT:

In the United Kingdom:
 

• Fred Friend, Director, Scholarly Communication, University College London, England.

Phone: 0171-380 7090. Email: f.friend@ucl.ac.uk Fax: 0171-380 7043

• Elmar Mittler, Library Director, Niedersaechsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Goettingen, Germany.

Phone: +49 (551) 39-5212. Fax: +49 (551) 39-5222 Email: mittler@mail.sub.uni-goettingen.de

• Hans Geleijnse, University Librarian, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Phone: +31 13 466 21 46.   Email: geleynse@kub.nl    Fax: +31 13 466 33 70
 
• John Gilbert, Head Librarian, Universiteit Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Phone: +31 43 388 3404.   Email: j.gilbert@ub.unimaas.nl Fax: +31 43 325 6932
 
• Alex Klugkist, Chairman, Dutch University Library Association, and University Librarian, Groningen University, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Phone: +31 (0)50 363 50 02/3   Email: a.c.klugkist@ub.rug.nl Fax: +31 (0)50 363 49 96

ADOPTERS OF THIS STATEMENT

This statement was adopted in principle by member representatives of the "International Coalition of Library Consortia" (ICOLC) whose institutions are listed below. This statement does not necessarily represent the official views of each consortium listed. Consortia listed are in the United States unless otherwise noted.

Adventist Libraries Information Cooperative (ALICE)
AMIGOS Bibliographic Council, Inc.
Arizona Universities Library Consortium (AULC)
Big Twelve Plus Library Consortium
Boston Library Consortium (BLC)
British Columbia Electronic Library Network [Canada]
California Digital Library (CDL)
California State University - Software and Electronic Information Resources (CSU-SEIR)
Center for Digital Information Services (Israel)
Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries
Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) Center for Library Initiatives
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) [Australia]
Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL) [United Kingdom]
Council of Australian University Libraries (CAUL) [Australia]
Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL)
Florida Center for Library Automation (FCLA) and the Florida State University System Library Directors
GALILEO: Georgia Library Learning Online
Gemeinsamer BibliotheksVerbund (GBV) [Germany]
Illinois Cooperative Collection Management Program
Illinois Libraries Computer Systems Organization (ILCSO)
Louisiana Library Network (LLN)
MINITEX Library Information Network (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota)
Missouri Research Consortium of Libraries (MIRACL)
Missouri Research and Education Network (MOREnet)
Netherlands Association of University Libraries, Royal Library, and Library of the Royal Academy of Sciences (UKB) [Netherlands]
Network of Alabama Academic Libraries (NAAL)
New England Law Library Consortium (NELLCO)
New York Comprehensive Research Libraries (NYCRL)
New Zealand University Librarians, Committee of
NorthEast Research Libraries Consortium (NERL)
OhioLINK
Orbis
Pennsylvania Academic Library Connection Initiative (PALCI)
Ontario Academic Research Libraries (OARL) [Canada]
PORTALS
Standing Conference of National and University Libraries (SCONUL) [United Kingdom]
TexShare
Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN)
University of North Carolina System University Librarians Advisory Council
University of Texas System Knowledge Management Center
Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA)
WALDO
Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC)
Washington State Cooperative Library Project