tag: Big Deal
Blog Post
January 17, 2023
Re-Assessing the “Big Deal”
Views from Cornell University and Georgia Southern University
As publishers shift their business strategies to meet higher education’s open access priorities, universities must continually re-assess the extent to which their readers still require access to content behind paywalls, and by extension, whether the bundled subscription packages that provided a discount to that content still constitute a “big deal.” Understanding the costs of these subscriptions to institutions relative to the benefits to its readers is made complicated by the uneven pace of open access uptake across disciplines as well…
Past Event
August 19, 2021
What’s the Big Deal? How Researchers Are Navigating Changes to Journal Access
Oya Y. Rieger and Danielle Cooper Present at ASERL
In a webinar for ASERL on August 19 at 2:00 pm (EDT), Oya Y. Rieger and Danielle Cooper will present their findings on researcher behavior and perceptions on strategic decision-making about Big Deal journal subscriptions. For more information and to register, please follow this link. The abstract is available below. Abstract The dominant mode by which research libraries have provided maximum journal access as broadly and efficiently as possible—subscription bundles or “Big Deals”— is giving way to new…
Blog Post
June 22, 2021
New Report: What’s the Big Deal?
How Researchers Are Navigating Changes to Journal Access
Since 1996, the “Big Deal” has enabled academic libraries of all sizes to license bundled access to a publisher’s journal at a significant discount off the list prices. Over the years, as Big Deal spending has come to occupy a greater and greater share of materials budgets, libraries have come to question the value of their Big Deal subscriptions, with some opting to cancel or significantly alter their existing arrangements. Today we are thrilled to announce a…
Blog Post
June 22, 2021
Cancelling the Big Deal Project Spotlight
An Interview with Freie Universität Berlin with contributions from Dominik Hagel, Franziska Harnisch, Mario Kowalak, and Cosima Wagner
As university budgets face considerable strain and new models for providing open access to scholarly communication proliferate, academic libraries are increasingly pursuing alternatives to the “Big Deal” journal subscription model, including cancellation. But how are these strategies affecting researchers and what do they make of them? Over the past year Ithaka S+R has been studying the impact of Big Deal cancellations on its users in partnership with 11 academic libraries. Previous research has focused primarily on…
Research Report
June 22, 2021
What’s the Big Deal?
How Researchers Are Navigating Changes to Journal Access
The dominant mode by which research libraries have provided maximum journal access as cheaply as possible—subscription bundles or “Big Deals”—is giving way to new approaches. This transition is taking place through a combination of negotiations, activism, business modeling, user needs research, and decision support, among other factors. To support these processes, Ithaka S+R partnered with 11 academic libraries to understand researcher perceptions to help inform their ongoing strategic decision making about Big Deal journal subscriptions.
Past Event
April 13, 2021
Oya Y. Rieger, Danielle Cooper, and Kurtis Tanaka at ACRL 2021
Oya Y. Rieger, Danielle Cooper, and Kurtis Tanaka will present on-demand programs during the 2021 ACRL Virtual Conference. For more information on their individual sessions, please visit this link. Oya Y. Rieger, Danielle Cooper will discuss the impacts of Big Deal cancellations on patrons. Please see the abstract below: “No deal, no problem? The Impacts of Big Deal Cancellations on Patrons” Libraries are increasingly questioning the value of their Big Deal subscriptions, leading to a number of prominent cancellations…
Blog Post
May 28, 2020
Project Launch: Canceling the Big Deal
Earlier this spring we announced that we were going to begin a new collaborative project on the impact of Big Deal cancellations on users, including their strategies for accessing content, and their perceptions of the library’s role in providing access. While at the time Ithaka S+R was only just beginning to anticipate the conditions universities and their libraries are facing now, it is already clear that the research is more important than ever. Ithaka S+R…
Blog Post
March 4, 2020
Project Announcement: Cancelling the Big Deal
As Big Deal spending has come to occupy a greater and greater share of materials budgets, libraries are increasingly questioning the status quo of their Big Deal subscriptions. Recent years have seen a number of prominent cancellations, precipitated by questions about the value of the subscription materials. In 2020 we expect this trend to continue with libraries becoming increasingly assertive in their negotiating stance with publishers. This may yield some interesting compromise agreements,…
Past Event
November 7, 2019
The Future of Subscription Bundles: Big Deal, No Deal, or What’s the Deal?
Roger Schonfeld at the Charleston Conference
On Thursday, November 7, from 4:30 – 5:15 pm, Roger Schonfeld will present on “The Future of Subscription Bundles: Big Deal, No Deal, or What’s the Deal?” as part of a Charleston Conference panel. Beth Bernhardt (Oxford University Press), Tim Bucknall (the University of North Carolina at Greensboro), and Mark McBride (SUNY System Administration) are also presenting. For more information and to register, please see the conference website. About the panel In light of well-publicized negotiations around journal deals…