1

The Evolving Agent

Sarah DurrantSecretary General

Association of Subscription Agents & Intermediaries (ASA)

2

Welcome

• A bit about me• A bit about the ASA

• Talk – The basics: what do subscription agents do?– The evolving agent: new tools and services

for the information supply chain

• Q&A

3

Logistics

Coffee/tea break at 3pm

Feel free to participate…Ask questions

at any stageon any topic or issue

4

About me…

• Secretary General of Association of Subscription Agents & Intermediaries (ASA)

• Part-time role, started July 2008

• Red Sage Consulting

• 20 years in information industry (Academic Press, Wiley, CatchWord/Ingenta, INASP)

• Publishing background so learning all the time…

• Recently adopted retired racing greyhound

5

About the ASA…

• Founded in 1934 (not by me…)

• International trade association serving subscription agents and intermediaries

• 40+ members covering over 90% of the world's scholarly/professional subscription business

Upholds standards of excellence, integrity and service innovation in the information supply chain

Promotes best practice in the purchase, supply and access of serials

6

About the ASA…

• Seeks to enhance relations between publishers and libraries

e.g. early pricing, gracing of e-journals, claims reduction, anti-fraud

• Innovates/cooperates on industry standards e.g. ISSN, COUNTER/SUSHI, EDI, ONIX etc.

• Lobbying e.g. no/reduced VAT on e-journals

7

Before we take off…

• A snapshot of the services provided by subscription agents

• Not a detailed examination of specific services from any particular agent…

• Not all services are available from all agents

• Agency services are evolving all the time

8

The Basics:What do subscription agents do?

9

In broad brush terms…

• Publishers create and disseminate scholarly research information

Libraries subscribe/purchase access to that information

Agents work between the two to:

enhance the efficiency of the information supply chain

save their customers (libraries and publishers) time and money

10

It can be murder in the library…

• Limited library staff, time, budget and resources

• 100’s if not 1000’s of publishers

• 1000’s of journals

• Archives and back issues

• Plus, the need to keep on top of: shelf-ready printed journals publisher web platforms registrations & access usernames and passwords publisher licences claims

11

• Potentially 100’s of publishers interacting with the library, each with:– different renewal and

payment terms– currencies– claiming terms– different access procedures– different licences time-consuming and

expensive for libraries and publishers

Without an agent…

Image courtesy of Paul Williams, Swets

Library

12

With an agent…

Agents are specialists at facilitating one-to-many relationships

Leaves library staff free to concentrate on core needs of library and users

Agent

Library

Image courtesy of Paul Williams, Swets

13

Finding a niche…

Historically, agents had a very clearly defined role:

consolidate the library’s print orders

place those orders and manage payments…

…to multiple publishers in multiple currencies

deliver print copies to the library

chase claims on behalf of the library

14

Finding a niche…

Services valued by publishers and libraries alikeClear benefits to the supply chain

However, in the last 10-15 years, technology has bought major change to the scholarly information environment:– creation– dissemination – ‘consumption’

15

An illustration from Darwin…

• Pale Peppered moth (Biston betularia typica )

• Dark Peppered moth(Biston betularia carbonaria)

• Environment favoured pale moths• Industrial revolution…soot• Environment favours dark moth• Improved environmental standards • Environment favours pale moth again

16

‘Fittest’ in Darwinian terms does not mean strongest, it means the most

apt or well-suited to the (new) environment.

17

Interesting.

Didn’t we just say that scholarly information

has undergone its own‘industrial revolution’?

18

Over 85% HSS journals and over 95% STM journals now online*...

*Cox J & L: Scholarly Publishing Practice (Third Survey 2008), ALPSP 2008

…the scholarly information environment has become

increasingly complex.

19

Increasing complexity (i)

• Access vs. ownership

• Complex pricing models

• Publishers dealing direct with libraries

• Evolution of consortia

• Publisher licences

• Agreements open to negotiation e.g. pricing and terms

• Big deals, collections & packages, backfiles, databases, eBooks, individual articles

• Issues over perpetual access rights

20

Increasing complexity (ii)

• Technology-based service provision (e.g. InterScience, Science Direct, IngentaConnect, High Wire Press etc.)

• Continuous evolution of media for delivery/access (e.g. microfiche > disc > CDs > laptops> PDAs > mobile phones > eBook readers etc.) [oh, and print]

• Alternative models of scholarly communication– open access/institutional repositories

– informal exchange/peer networks

– other web-based content e.g. blogs

21

Range and complexity of pricing models…

Use of Pricing Models Among Online Journal Publishers

38.3

%

61.1

%

33.3

%

7.4

%

27.8

%

42.0

%

4.3

%

5.6

%

44.4

%

49.7

%

33.2

%

9.1

%

24.1

%

42.2

%

4.3

%

16.6

%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Onlineonly

Freeonline with

print

Disc. foronline only

Disc. forprint only

Surchargefor onlinewith print

CustomerSize

AdvancePPV

Other

2005 2008

Cox J & L: Scholarly Publishing Practice (Third Survey 2008), ALPSP 2008

22

In a changing environment, species must either…

…adapt

…or perish

Another lesson from Darwin

23

Would agents adapt or go the way of the Dodo?

24

How have agents responded?

• By creating new tools and services librarians need

• By providing tangible support to libraries on industry-wide issues

• By continuing to play a leading role in standards

25

New tools and services for libraries…

26

Helping libraries stay informed

• Electronic information much more dynamic than print

• Web-based agency services keep libraries informed: publication schedules

web platforms

changes to URLs

username/password management

titles included in particular collections

licensing terms

etc.

27

Subscription administration tools• Comprehensive search of library holdings

• View subscription status (active, due for renewal, inactive)

• 3-year financial history of each subscription

• Rapid ordering/renewal/cancellation

• Invoice consolidation

• Fast, efficient registration and activation of purchased resources

• Full claims history including outstanding claims

28

Support with licences

Web-based services from agents provide:• details of each publisher’s standard license

clauses • status of each license – signed, not signed,

under discussion• overview of all licences, viewable by title or by

publisher • associated ordering and access information

29

Reporting tools

Librarians can tailor reports to answer key questions e.g.:

• What do we currently subscribe to?

• Which issues are unavailable to patrons and need to be claimed?

• Which print subscriptions have cancellation restrictions (due to e-deals)?

• What’s the pricing history of this title/collection/publisher?

• What new publications are available in my subject area?

• How do our current holdings compare against e-options?

30

Technical Expertise

• Registration tracking

• Licence tracking

• Package renewal tools

• Link resolvers

• EDI transactions

• Aggregated collections

• Shelf-ready print journals

simplifies e-content registration

easy access to current licence terms

efficient renewal of large collections

appropriate copy fast, error-free transfer of orders,

claims etc.

• Economies of scale

• Save time and money

31

Consortia services

Online tools for:

assessment of offers

order placement and subscription activation

ensuring e-package deals are accurately invoiced and charged

administration including tracking membership, invoicing, who has paid what etc.

efficient renewals

32

Collection development tools

• Cancel or renew subscriptions – singly on in bulk

• Upgrade to include e-version or move to e-only

• Integrate usage statistics with subscription details and pricing information allows cost-per-use analysishelps library establish value for money of a title or

collection informs renewal decisions

33

Decision support

Reports for:

• searches, sessions and turnaways

• (multi-year) price comparisons

• price-per-use data

• vendor- and/or collection specific queries

Supporting:

• collection development decisions

• migration from print to electronic

• analysis of cost per budgetary code

34

You want more…?

35

Wider industry support for libraries…

36

EDI

• Electronic Data Interchange

• Allows the exchange of commercial information between computers…

• …irrespective of processing system

• Uses standard formats agreed between trading partners

• In our industry, facilitates payments, claims and other information between publishers, agents and libraries

37

Why is this important?

• EDI has revolutionised the information supply chain:

millions of transactions efficiently processed

radically reduces delivery times

replaces paper with electronic documents

reduces errors

automates multiple repetitive tasks

saves staff time and cost – throughout supply chain

38

Early pricing information

• Publishers ‘review’ their pricing annually

• More pages, more content, access to backfiles etc. (but sometimes for no marketable reason)

• Commercial publishers often more bullish than not-for-profit and society publishers

• Prices increases are sometimes in line with inflation but 5-10% not uncommon

Agents lobby publishers to issue pricing information in a timely way

39

Why is this important?

• Timely pricing information enables libraries to:allocate budget and plan spending

engage with faculty and other users about new resources

assess value for money of offers and, if needbe, negotiate

• Ensures continued access to valued resources

40

Gracing of e-journals

• Publishers allowing continued access to subscribed content into the new subscription year

• Print and electronic

• Typically to Jan/Feb., sometimes beyond

• Often whilst licence agreements/negotiations are finalised

• Or whilst consortia/libraries finalise purchase decisions

Agents actively talking to publishers to help them universally understand the value of gracing

41

Why is gracing important?

• Enables libraries to provide continued service for valued resources to users

• Gives librarians time to assess value for money of offers…

• …and, if needbe, negotiate

• Makes allowance for discussion and delay in the purchasing process

• Helps publishers by keeping their journals in use and their customers happy

42

Claims reduction

• Claims are made by libraries when scheduled journal issues are:– delayed

– go missing

– cannot be accessed online

• Claimed issues can be print or electronic

• The claiming process is time-consuming, repetitive and very tedious…

• ..and is different for each publisher

43

Claims reduction

Agents provide web-based services populated with publishers’ publication schedules which:

automatically update library when issues are published

alert library to issues which are overdue enable library to log claims with each

publisher in an appropriate way save librarians time, money…and sanity

44

VAT on E-Journals

• Printed books, magazines and journals are zero-rated for VAT in the UK

• However HM Customs & Excise classify electronic journals as a service…

• …making them liable to (at present) 15% VAT

• Publishers have held out by making e-versions "free" with print subscriptions

• But increasingly the e-journal is the main product

• Many journals are born digital with no print counterpart

45

Why is VAT important?

It adds 15% to journal prices in the UK

Not in the interests of:• Research: scholarly information is expensive enough

• Libraries: higher prices, claim-back procedure can be tortuous

• Publishers: additional administration, higher prices

Agents are actively lobbying the European Commission through The Frankfurt group (of which ASA is a member) to demand that e-resources be zero- or low-rated for VAT

46

Standards

47

Standards

• Athens/Shibboleth

• COUNTER/SUSHI

• EDI

• ONIX

• ONIX-PL

• ISSN

• etc.

48

Further reading

• I have provided a handout/support document

• Web addresses for full information about each of these standards

• Available on Blackboard

49

Summary

Agents: Are committed to enhancing the efficiency of the

information supply chain Are experts in one-to-many relationships facilitating

millions of transactions between libraries and publishers Provide sophisticated services designed to facilitate

library workflow Support libraries (and publishers) through wider industry

involvement and lobbying Enable librarians to focus on core activities/more important

issues Confer major savings in staff time and cost etc.

50

Remember, without agents…

51

…it would be murder in the library

52

Thank you for your attention.

Questions, comments…

www.subscription-agents.org