"We Own It": Dealing with "Perpetual Access" in Big Deals

Waller, Andrew S.; Bird, Gwen

doi:10.4324/9781315864389-20

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To obscure this pricing mechanism, publishers include non-disclosure clauses in subscription contracts, which lowers the overall perception of the real cost of journals (Moore and Duggan, 2011). Besides that, in some cases, subscribing to a big deal package does not always guarantee perpetual access to the journals following a cancellation or only grants perpetual access to a small core subset of titles (Waller and Bird, 2006).…”

Section: Big Deal Packagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unbundling practice: the unbundling of big deal journal packages as an information practice

Ivanov¹,

Johnson

Cassady

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to introduce a theoretical framework and approach for studying the evaluation and decision-making practices through which academic librarians attempt to reduce the cost of electronic journal subscriptions – an organizational practice known as the unbundling of big deal journal packages.Design/methodology/approachThe article presents a literature-based conceptual analysis of several fields to delineate the elements of the practice of unbundling of big deal journal packages. Beyond analysing the prior literature, the discussion is supported by empirical findings from a pilot study on the topic conducted by two of the article's authors.FindingsThe main finding of the article is that the unbundling of big deal packages is a case of what sociologist refers to as decision-making in a social context. By reviewing previous studies, the article identifies the social and material elements constitutive of this practice. This, in turn, allows to develop questions and concepts for future research on the topic and to position it as an area of inquiry within the field of information behaviour/practices.Originality/valueThe article is the first attempt to conceptualize the unbundling of big deal journal packages by highlighting its phenomenological status as a type of information practice. In addition, the article proposes a research approach for studying this type of information practice by drawing on insights from the information behaviour/practice literature and enriching them through practice theory contributions in organizational studies and sociology.

show abstract

Section: Big Deal Packagesmentioning

confidence: 99%