Scholarship as a Commodity: Is Buying in Bulk the Way to Go?

10/1/2001
NELA Annual Conference
Burlington , VT

Julia Gammon
Head of Acquisitions, University of Akron Libraries and
Marketing Manager, University of Akron Press

Presented by the New England Technical Services Librarians (NETSL) at the New England Library Association's Annual Conference, Burlington, Vermont.

Co-sponsored by the North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) and the NELA Academic Librarians Section.

Julia Gammon used humor and plenty of statistics to describe a variety of large-scale collection management actions, as undertaken by a large consortium. Ms. Gammon began her talk with a quick look back at collection management from the mid-19th century to the present. She showed that different issues have come to the fore at different periods, from concerns about selecting the "best books" and avoiding bad ones, to budgeting for periodicals, the appearance of subject selectors and relationships with vendor agents, and on to the "information explosion" of the late 20th century. Emphasis has subtly shifted from developing collections to managing them. Present-day concerns focus on resource sharing, managing cooperative access to virtual collections, changes in the structure of information services and scholarly communications, and the phenomenon of information as a commodity.

A brief background in the history of library consortia preceded Ms. Gammon's major subject: the OhioLINK consortium, its goals and philosophy, and its many "buying in bulk" activities. OhioLINK was created, in part, after the "failure" of OCLC as a resource sharing system dedicated to Ohio libraries alone. There was a fresh mandate by state government for university and college libraries to share resources, made more urgent by lack of space and the understanding that no new building was likely to be approved. At present, OhioLINK provides statewide access to a combined catalog, patron-initiated online borrowing, 18-72 hour delivery of requested items, and statewide access to reference and research databases and Digital Media Center collections. Its program philosophies were described as:

"User empowerment rather than mediation
Abundant rather than rationed access
Universal rather than selective access
Integrated rather than segregated access
Leveraged spending rather than reduced or less efficient spending
Progressive, vested interest cooperation rather than parochial orientation."

Ms. Gammon presented background information, policies, and comparative indicators for the in-bulk activities of buying books, storing books, sharing books, buying serials, buying e-books and buying images. A few of the many notable aspects of these programs can be highlighted here. "Storing books in bulk" refers to a sophisticated system of regional book depositories in Ohio. Although items are collectively stored, they remain owned by particular libraries, and can be added back into their collections proper once they are requested by patrons. Bulk serials activities include the creation of the Electronic Journal Center, which provides collective access, as of October 2001, to over 4150 electronic journals (i.e., 2.6+ million articles) from sixteen major publishers or vendors. The Digital Media Center combines commercial and locally-created image databases, including materials as diverse as video physics demonstrations, museum-supplied art images, and the Wright Brothers Archive.

To conclude, Ms. Gammon described "lessons and/or barriers" which have become apparent from the OhioLINK experience thus far. Selection, in this context, is a long-term process which depends on good (and improved) patron use information for better decision-making on the part of both buyers and sellers. Demand can only be underestimated. Improved economics and new usage dynamics overwhelm the differences between types of libraries in a consortium of sufficient size. The politics of money and control can be overcome. While in the short term, consortia are able to buy more effectively, in the long term they must be willing to examine and change less efficient buying habits. Some constants remain: too many overlapping or competing consortia, not enough direct product competition, price growth exceeding budget growth, and too many options for acquiring electronic resources.

The benefits of belonging to a consortium are many. Economic leverage is gained through lower unit prices, controlled costs, and increased bargaining power. There is much greater leverage for access to information. Operational leverage benefits include maximizing the cost-effectiveness of investments in technology, the ability to customize access to group needs, and the ability to be better-prepared for coming developments. Well-managed consortia make it possible to re-order the economic equation, to expand rather than ration access. Perhaps the most encouraging lesson, though, is this: "the big libraries never lose, and the small libraries always win."

David Miller
NETSL Writer/Editor
Levin Library, Curry College
Milton, Mass. 02186