: THE SIMPLE GUIDE
LOUISE COLE
COLLECTIONS (JOURNALS)
The e-resource licence

Let’s start from the very beginning
All our electronic
resources are licensed to
us, whether we ‘own’ them
through outright purchase,
‘rent’ them on
subscription, or access for
free.
A licence agreement is a
legal contract between
the licensor (the supplier)
and the licensee (the
institution) which spells
out terms of use.
Legally, contract law
supersedes copyright
law.
Licences normally place
limits on how electronic
resources may be used,
who may use them, the
number of concurrent
users and the locations
from which networked
access is permitted.
Individual users are
responsible for ensuring
that their use of electronic
resources complies with
licence conditions.

Bewitched, bothered and bewildered
The model licence
 Same clauses in many
agreements
 Understandable
language
 Usually tailored to
academic libraries
 Easily enforceable
 Users well-defined
 Accepted by most large
publishers
The generic terms of use
 ‘Click-through’
 May be unrealistic
 Require careful reading
and negotiation
 Often vague on user
definition
 Don’t order anything
before seeing an
agreement first!

A cock-eyed optimist
Things to consider when reading a licence:
 WHO. Does the licence allow access for the right people or is it
restricted in any way (e.g. outside UK)?
 WHERE. Is off-campus access mentioned? By what method?
 WHAT. Is it clear what is acceptable and unacceptable use
(e.g. downloading, ILL, course packs)?
 HOW. Which forms of authentication are available? Which
software, browsers, etc are needed?
 WHEN. How long is the period covered by the licence? When
is the notice period for cancellation?
 Are there any unusual clauses (e.g. ‘pay within 7 days’).

Mad about the buy
Some resources do not have licence agreements we
need to sign, but point towards their own Ts&Cs
 Always read the small print and look for the information we
need
 Negotiate and challenge if we need to
 Always keep a written record of conversations over licensing in
case of future problems, and keep any additional
documentation with a print-out of the relevant conditions
 If there are no Ts&Cs either, keep a record of any
correspondence relating to users, use, authentication, etc.
 If buying something outright check for ‘hidden costs’

Taking a chance on …
Activities with elements
of risk
 Allowing access to
someone who is not an
authorised user (giving
access outside of a secure
network)
 Making a password
available on a publicly
available web page
 Systematic downloading
 Uploading a PDF into VLE
To ask the question, or
not to ask the question?
 Licences are often
deliberately ‘grey’, like
copyright
 Agree a definition (a ‘KU
student’, a ‘secure
network’, a ‘site’) and stick
to your guns
 If it’s reasonable, it’s likely
to be OK – but it is not OK
to give all our customers
access

Accentuate the positive
Collections are here to help you negotiate the access
that you want – we can help iron out
 Authentication questions
 Who can access, when, how and from where
 What to expect from the logging in process
 How to exploit the resource (for VLE, ILL, reading lists)
 Queries relating to trials, increasing user numbers, obtaining
usage statistics
 Any clauses we see as incorrect or unachievable (10 day
payment terms, language that doesn’t fit academic use)

Verde – I’m falling under your spell
Remember Verde? (the ExLibris all-singing, all-
dancing, all-encompassing ERM)
 Licence information – phase 1 for LRC staff, phase 2 for
customers (brief details of what’s allowed)
 Access information – browsers, PDF readers, pop-ups, mobile
versions, accessibility, anything related
Plan to use Verde to be one place to host basic
licence information, and to also use ELCAT and/or
KB+ as required
 What’s ELCAT? It’s a bank of JISC licences comparing and contrasting the basic clauses.
 What’s KB+? The JISC initiative on title lists for knowledge base use, which might absorb ELCAT.

Woodman, spare that tree
Those e-links:
 ELCAT http://www.jisc-elcat.com/elcat/index.pl
 KB+
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/di_informatio
nandlibraries/emergingopportunities/kbplus.aspx (we are
about to join this)
 JISC Model Licence http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Help-
and-information/How-Model-Licences-work/Guide-to-Model-
Licence/
 A very open and cautionary story of resource misuse
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/4117

Woodman, spare that tree
Those e-links:
 ELCAT http://www.jisc-elcat.com/elcat/index.pl
 KB+
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/di_informatio
nandlibraries/emergingopportunities/kbplus.aspx (we are
about to join this)
 JISC Model Licence http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Help-
and-information/How-Model-Licences-work/Guide-to-Model-
Licence/
 A very open and cautionary story of resource misuse
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/4117