Providing Perpetual Access

Abstract

M uch has been written in the library literature about the move from print to electronic serials, the debate over access versus ownership, and the perpetual access clauses of various content providers. However, there is little information in the literature that explores the actual attempts made by libraries to invoke perpetual access. Significant moves from print to electronic serials, the discarding of print serial holdings and, more recently, large cancelation projects, including Big Deal cancelations, bring this issue to a head. This paper presents the results of an online survey that sought to uncover the true experiences of libraries working to provide and maintain perpetual access to electronic serials that have been canceled, have ceased, or have transferred to different publishers. Questions cover the conditions under which libraries pursue perpetual access, the varying reasons for success or lack of success, and the cost, both monetary and labor-based, of providing such access. A discussion section expands on key findings and the most common obstacles to providing perpetual access. For the purpose of this paper, perpetual access is defined as access to the years of content paid before the affected serials were canceled, ceased publication, or transferred to different publishers.

An Ongoing Treasure Hunt: One Library’s Practical Experiences Documenting Post-Cancellation Perpetual Access

“…Glasser revealed through survey results that perpetual access requires a large amount of the staff's time preparing documentation that vendors require before access is granted. 1 Serials staff must work with vague license agreements, understand how perpetual access is offered, and track title changes that are often completed without notifying the institution. Additionally, there is an apparent lack of standardization in the field that requires librarians to reinvent the wheel.…”

Perpetual Access Information in Serials Holdings Records

“…5 In sum, the vagueness and variety of license clauses reflects a larger lack of standardization among scholarly publishers regarding their role in digital preservation. 6 The policies outlined in licenses are not as specific as libraries would like, but careful negotiation during the acquisition process (initial subscriptions, annual renewals, moving from a "big deal" to title-by-title subscriptions, etc.) may allow for compromises that satisfy both parties.…”

“…8 Glasser discusses the challenges of missing licenses or other documentation, lack of staff, and difficulties in attaining perpetual access for transferred journal titles. 9 Libraries often struggle to keep updated holdings information because of rapid changes in subscriptions and publisher policies. 10 Indeed, Marshall and Bulock state that "perpetual access means perpetual effort."…”

“…1 Glasser's survey of e-resource perpetual access rights among libraries further defines perpetual access as material held "before the affected serials were canceled, ceased publication, or transferred to different publishers." 2 In the print environment, perpetual access was attained by purchasing, storing, and preserving print volumes of academic journals. This is greatly complicated, however, in the electronic world.…”

Finding alternatives when a major database is gone

“…For rental models, libraries lose perpetual access to the electronic resources if they cannot renew the rental. In this scenario, librarians prefer to have perpetual ownership of electronic resources rather than leasing the resources from vendors [4]. Current and emerging trends raise questions about the extent to which academic research libraries should continue to seek perpetual access [5].…”