British Research Libraries Say No to “Big Deal” Serials Packages

From The Wired Campus, July 22, 2011:

“As some U.S. research libraries back away from so-called Big Deals with journal publishers, a major British library group has also taken a stand against high serials prices. Late last year, Research Libraries UK announced that its members would not sign any more large deals with two of the biggest journal publishers, Elsevier and Wiley, unless they agreed to significant reductions in what those deals cost… David C. Prosser, executive director of the association, said it is pushing for a reduction of 15 percent in the cost of Big Deals, and that it focused on Elsevier and Wiley because those contracts expire at the end of 2011 …The association would still like to reach deals with Elsevier and Wiley—but only if the terms are right. Otherwise its members are prepared to make do with title-by-title subscriptions.

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