The
Library Journal Academic Newswire published an article outlining the pitfalls
e-books have had in 2001 and what further development will take. Now,
“a more sober, less exuberant approach to the e-book will likely
mean progress on some of the issues that have plagued the e-book’s
development,” the news wire said. “Those issues include development
of a sustainable business model, progress on digital copyright law, and
continued technological development.” But, this experimentation is
part of what OhioLINK is--trying new ways of providing information--even
if they don’t work, Gatten said.
In addition to the immediate services it provides, OhioLINK has improved the management of the library, Gatten said. It has helped the library spend its money better.
OhioLINK has also improved price negotiations for journal subscriptions by providing group rates to the institutions in Ohio, said Jeanne Somers, associate dean of Libraries and Media Services.
“We were victims of constantly rising prices on materials,” Somers said. “With OhioLINK, we finally felt some control over the process.”
OhioLINK negotiates lower rates than what each academic library would pay individually, Gatten said.
“We spend about $2 million on subscriptions every year, but because of OhioLINK we pay $250,000-to-350,000 less than what we would have been paying,” Gatten said. “And we are getting about 3,000 more subscriptions as well. So, for less money, we are providing much wider access.” Of that $2 million, about $350,000 goes to OhioLINK to pay for the subscriptions it provides, Gatten said. Amid the budget cuts affecting higher education, OhioLINK is still dedicated to its mission, Gatten said. But, since it is solely funded by the state, OhioLINK will be forced to cut some resources. They currently don’t know what will be cut.
“There are some options,” Gatten said. “If they decide to cut a particular database, and we at Kent State decide it was too important, we can look to pick up the cost.” OhioLINK can still supply it to all the other members. But, Kent State will be very cautious about paying for a subscription alone because the cost of providing a journal statewide ranges from as low as $10,000-to-12,000 up to several hundred thousand dollars, Gatten said. OhioLINK could also negotiate a lower cost from subscription providers, or vendors, Gatten said.
“They can say, ‘look, times are tight. We can pay you less next year, or we can pay you nothing.’ [The vendors] usually pick the first,” Gatten said. Gatten said the library’s goals are still the same: to connect faculty and students to information. OhioLINK has changed how and what the library decides to purchase because of the increased availability and the cost advantages involved, Somers said.
“When faculty members request to purchase a book, we can look to see the member institutions in Ohio that have that book,” Somers said. “We can either get the book from the other institutions, or decide whether we need to buy the book.”
The biggest impact OhioLINK has had on purchasing reference materials has been on the journal subscriptions, Gatten said. “If a journal is available through the Electronic Journal Center, we will not get it because we already have access to it,” Gatten said. “In some cases, we have canceled print subscriptions we had.”
But, as far as buying new materials, it has not had much impact, Gatten said. It is impossible to see if another library is ordering a book. And most scholarly publications have short printing runs and are not available later down the line. The library will usually just buy new books that are requested.
If the library is looking to replace a text, it will look at which libraries on OhioLINK have the text and decide if the replacement is necessary, Gatten said.
OhioLINK also increased cooperation between Kent and other institutions, Somers said.
“We have become more aware of our sister libraries around the state,” Somers said. “Online catalogs are done more collaboratively. And we operate much more collaboratively.”
However, a drawback is that institutions have to give up some autonomy, Schloman said.
“We have to act within the guidelines of the consortium,” Schloman said. “It may not be what a given library may prefer to do.” Also, the money Kent pays to OhioLINK is already committed, Gatten said. The library cannot use the money for other purposes.
“If there are budget cuts, that money is off the table,” Gatten said. But, the collaborative collection decisions prevent the libraries from making unnecessary duplications of resources, Gatten said. “We can spend our money more thoughtfully, so we have a more broader, deeper collection across the state,” Gatten said. Schloman said the cooperation between institutions keeps them more in touch and, thus, better connected.
“Being part of a consortium has changed how we view other colleges,” Schloman said. “It has riches beyond what we could have had as just a separate library. It’s not us and them. We are real partners.”
Since the creation of OhioLINK, the state’s university libraries feel like “one big collection,” Gatten said.
“We have a better sense of the resources across Ohio,” Gatten said. “As far as relations across the state, they have never been stronger.”
In addition to the immediate services it provides, OhioLINK has improved the management of the library, Gatten said. It has helped the library spend its money better.
OhioLINK has also improved price negotiations for journal subscriptions by providing group rates to the institutions in Ohio, said Jeanne Somers, associate dean of Libraries and Media Services.
“We were victims of constantly rising prices on materials,” Somers said. “With OhioLINK, we finally felt some control over the process.”
OhioLINK negotiates lower rates than what each academic library would pay individually, Gatten said.
“We spend about $2 million on subscriptions every year, but because of OhioLINK we pay $250,000-to-350,000 less than what we would have been paying,” Gatten said. “And we are getting about 3,000 more subscriptions as well. So, for less money, we are providing much wider access.” Of that $2 million, about $350,000 goes to OhioLINK to pay for the subscriptions it provides, Gatten said. Amid the budget cuts affecting higher education, OhioLINK is still dedicated to its mission, Gatten said. But, since it is solely funded by the state, OhioLINK will be forced to cut some resources. They currently don’t know what will be cut.
“There are some options,” Gatten said. “If they decide to cut a particular database, and we at Kent State decide it was too important, we can look to pick up the cost.” OhioLINK can still supply it to all the other members. But, Kent State will be very cautious about paying for a subscription alone because the cost of providing a journal statewide ranges from as low as $10,000-to-12,000 up to several hundred thousand dollars, Gatten said. OhioLINK could also negotiate a lower cost from subscription providers, or vendors, Gatten said.
“They can say, ‘look, times are tight. We can pay you less next year, or we can pay you nothing.’ [The vendors] usually pick the first,” Gatten said. Gatten said the library’s goals are still the same: to connect faculty and students to information. OhioLINK has changed how and what the library decides to purchase because of the increased availability and the cost advantages involved, Somers said.
“When faculty members request to purchase a book, we can look to see the member institutions in Ohio that have that book,” Somers said. “We can either get the book from the other institutions, or decide whether we need to buy the book.”
The biggest impact OhioLINK has had on purchasing reference materials has been on the journal subscriptions, Gatten said. “If a journal is available through the Electronic Journal Center, we will not get it because we already have access to it,” Gatten said. “In some cases, we have canceled print subscriptions we had.”
But, as far as buying new materials, it has not had much impact, Gatten said. It is impossible to see if another library is ordering a book. And most scholarly publications have short printing runs and are not available later down the line. The library will usually just buy new books that are requested.
If the library is looking to replace a text, it will look at which libraries on OhioLINK have the text and decide if the replacement is necessary, Gatten said.
OhioLINK also increased cooperation between Kent and other institutions, Somers said.
“We have become more aware of our sister libraries around the state,” Somers said. “Online catalogs are done more collaboratively. And we operate much more collaboratively.”
However, a drawback is that institutions have to give up some autonomy, Schloman said.
“We have to act within the guidelines of the consortium,” Schloman said. “It may not be what a given library may prefer to do.” Also, the money Kent pays to OhioLINK is already committed, Gatten said. The library cannot use the money for other purposes.
“If there are budget cuts, that money is off the table,” Gatten said. But, the collaborative collection decisions prevent the libraries from making unnecessary duplications of resources, Gatten said. “We can spend our money more thoughtfully, so we have a more broader, deeper collection across the state,” Gatten said. Schloman said the cooperation between institutions keeps them more in touch and, thus, better connected.
“Being part of a consortium has changed how we view other colleges,” Schloman said. “It has riches beyond what we could have had as just a separate library. It’s not us and them. We are real partners.”
Since the creation of OhioLINK, the state’s university libraries feel like “one big collection,” Gatten said.
“We have a better sense of the resources across Ohio,” Gatten said. “As far as relations across the state, they have never been stronger.”