Traditional collection management of serials through site licenses and subscriptions is increasingly unsustainable due to rising costs and steady or falling library budgets. The ensuing gaps in access have led to widespread illicit file sharing, resulting in the disintermediation of libraries and the devaluing of publishers. It has therefore become essential to explore alternatives for the delivery of journal literature. We report on the exploration of a new mechanism for the provision of scholarly articles using patron driven acquisition. During the 2012-2013 academic year, the University of Utah Marriott Library, ReadCube, and Nature Publishing Group collaborated on the development and testing of ReadCube Access, an article delivery service designed to allow researchers to immediately access individual articles at a cost lower than traditional interlibrary loan, pay per view or document delivery. The goal of this session is to explore the economics of collection management from the perspective of supplying needed scholarly articles, and discuss how new technologies like ReadCube Access and patron driven acquisition can support that aim. The session will involve a frank discussion of the effects of and attitudes toward illicit file sharing, from which the audience will learn about the scale of file sharing and how it affects the perceived value and therefore funding of libraries. An interactive workshop on cost per use assessment for various acquisition mechanisms will elucidate how the economics of acquisition mechanisms change with demand and under which conditions patron driven acquisition will save libraries money while increasing patron engagement and satisfaction.

1. readcube
Mark England
Collection Development Librarian
An
Phill Jones, PhD
Head of External Partnerships

2. •
–
–
•
•

3. •
•
•

4. •
•
–
–
•
–

5. •
•
Serial Expenditures in ARL Libraries (n=107)
300%
•
250%
Change since 1986
•
•
Serial (Unit cost)
Serial Expenditure
200%
Serials Purchased
150%
100%
50%
0%
-50%
1986
1991
1996
2001

6. I looked for another article with similar
information that was accessible/free
I found it online for free
I got it from a friend
I requested a copy from author
I requested it from my institutional library
I bought the PDF
0
20
Results consistent with Access to Scholarly
Content: Gaps and Barriers (2011). Retrieved
from http://www.rin.ac.uk/node/1172
40
60
80
100
120
140

7. •
•
•
Access gaps result in the
disintermediation of the
academic library.
Access to Scholarly Content: Gaps and Barriers
(2011). Retrieved from
http://www.rin.ac.uk/node/1172

8. •
100%
Percentage increase over 1995 value
90%
–
80%
70%
60%
•
50%
40%
30%
20%
•
10%
0%
1995
2000
2005
2010

9. Google

10. •
•
•
•
•

11. •
•
PDA ($9.99)
Pay Per View
•
Inter Library Loan
Subscription Cost Per Use
•
Best value from PDA
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500

12. •
•
•
•
•

13. •
•
•

14. •
•
Title
Subscription
ReadCube Uses ReadCube Costs
Cost
ILL Uses
ILL Costs
(estimated)
Nature Climate Change
$4,985
12
$96
3
$21
Nature Communications
$3,525
25
$195
27
$900

15. Title
Cell Death and Differentiation
Cell Research
European Journal of Human Genetics
Heredity
Journal of Human Genetics
Nature Climate Change
Nature Communications
Nature Digest
Nature Methods
Nature News
Nature Photonics
Online ISSN
1476-5403
1748-7838
1476-5438
1365-2540
1435-232X
1758-6798
2041-1723
1880-0556
1548-7105
1744-7933
1749-4893
ReadCube
Downloads ILL Requests
Sept 2012 - Submitted Sept
June 2013 2012 - June 2013
(Approved (Entire Campus)
Users)
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
12
3
25
27
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
1

18. •
•
•
•
•
•

19. •
•

21. •
–
–
–
•
–

23. •
•
•
–
License
purchase
License
purchase
Articles
Articles

24. •
•
•
•
•