N8+ and collective collections what’s the little idea?

N8+ and collective
collections: what’s the
little idea?
Phil Sykes
University of Liverpool
June 1, 2022
UKSG Conference
Telford

Topics I’m going to cover:
 The idea that underlies the N8+ consortium
 How the idea can change the balance of power between publishers
and universities
 How the idea could be used in collective collection building
 Are there any large lessons to be drawn from our experience of N8+?

The idea
 We had come to accept high journal prices as a fact of life
 We use modern analytical tools to give us a clear idea of the
consequences of big deal cancellation for individual universities
 We pol that data to work out what the impact is on a collaborative
group of universities, if they lend titles to which they have post-
cancellation access to one another
 We use electronic ILL to mitigate the adverse consequences of
cancellation

We use modern analytical tools to give us a clear idea of the
consequences of cancellation for individual universities.
Where does access come from after a big deal cancellation?
 Open Access
 Post-cancellation access
 Re-subscription to specific high use titles
We generated some primitive data on this in 2016; but everything changed with
the advent of Unsub which showed our researchers would still have access to
60-70% of the articles they needed

We pool that data to work out what the impact is on a collaborative group
of universities if they lend titles to which they have post-cancellation
access to on another
 First group we did collective modelling on was the N8 – Liverpool,
Lancaster, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, York, Durham, Newcastle
 In a cancellation scenario, those libraries would be able to supply about
60% of the articles their users needed instantly and a further 20%
quickly from other partners. S0: up to 80%
 For the 31 members of N8+, the equivalent figure was 65% instantly,
and 30% quickly from other partners

We use electronic ILL to mitigate the adverse
consequences of cancellation
 Used RapidILL, which we already had impressive experience of at Liverpool,
where it had already allowed us to speed up most of our ILLs from several
days to four or five working hours
 Could improve on this speed, given that cancellation savings would allow us
to spend money on staff to speed up supply
 Originally worked on an assumption of two hour delivery time
 In fact, in the first large scale trial we performed among a subset of N8+
members, the median delivery time was 36 minutes - i.e. lapse of time from a
researcher requesting an article to it landing in their inbox

How will this change the balance of power?
 Up to now, all we thought we could offer researchers in a cancellation
situation was a world of pain!
 Now we can say “You can have 65% of what you want instantly, 30% in
a matter of minutes, with only 5% taking longer
 It also releases huge amounts of money for other purposes. At
Liverpool, we would have given £400k back to the PVC for Research for
re-purposing grant applications, PG studentships, research leave etc.

Collective Collections
 A by product of the attempt to secure better prices from Elsevier was
the creation of a collective collection
 Two databases come out on beekeeping. Both Liverpool and
Newcastle want both, but can’t afford both
 Liverpool buys one, with a contribution from Newcastle, in return for
which they get requests from that database supplied within an hour
 Newcastle buys one, with a contribution from Liverpool, in return for
which they get requests from that database supplied within an hour

Any lessons to be learnt from this?
 Failed ideas might flourish in the future. Maybe try
again a few years down the line
 If you’re doing something risky, start small
 Develop a culture of innovation
 It’s the little ideas that make the difference

Clive James on the Big Idea
“A real idea slows you down by demanding that you make
yourself as plain as possible. A big idea – the nice name
for a hazy notion – speeds you up. You try to find out what
you mean by examining the words in which you say it – by
mixing one abstract concept with another as if two kinds of
sand could make cement.”

© 2022 Ex Libris | Confidential & Proprietary
Controlled Digital Lending
Role in Ex Libris Products
Judith Fraenkel, June 2022

Digital Innovations
“Digital innovations are more
of a human science than
computer science"
Lettie Y. Conrad
Taken from:
https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2021/07/14/title-digital-
transformation-requires-cultural-evolution/

What is Controlled Digital Lending?
Controlled Digital Lending enables a library to
circulate a digitized title in place of a physical
one in a controlled manner. Principles:
• “owned-to-loaned” ratio
• Circulate exact number of copies of a specific
title the library owns
• Prevent users from redistributing
• Mimic restraints on physical material – for
example, one reader at a time

Controlled Digital Lending
https://controlleddigitallending.org/

18
CDL – Why do academic libraries need it?
• Make it possible for libraries to fulfill their “vital function in
society” by providing easy online access to learning & research
material
• Digital aides for readers with print disabilities, research
efficiency needs and more
• The “Twentieth Century Problem” - older books still under
copyright but unlikely ever to be offered digitally by
commercial services
• Additional:
• Quick lending turnaround
• Print conservation
• Ecological awareness – saving shipments for resource sharing

CDL as a Service

© 2022 Ex Libris | Confidential & Proprietary 20
CDL Focus Areas
Course Resources –
Alma D
• Short term access
• Patron waitlist
management
General Circulation –
Alma
• Long term lending
• Sync digital /
physical
fulfillment
Inter Library Loan (ILL) –
Rapido
• Consortia
• Single institutions
• ISO ILL for CDL
conformance
Available
Now!

21
CDL for Course Resources
• Limit number of concurrent users according to
number of items on shelf
• Limit viewing session to X hours
• Enable patron waitlist for digital resources
• Any viewer, any discovery layer – Primo, Leganto etc

22
Long-term Loans – Roadmap Plans
• Long term loans with CDL copy
• Integrate with physical circulation /
fulfilment flows (including Terms of Use)
• Sync physical and digital fulfillment,
maintaining own-to-loan ratio
• Leverage Alma as a unified resource
management system

23
Resource Sharing – Roadmap Plans
• Enable libraries to share CDL resources
• Ensuring the physical copy cannot be
circulated until the CDL copy is “returned”
and maintaining the own-to-loan ratio
• Offering patrons visibility upon discovery
of CDL available options
• Conformance with ILL CDL

CDL General Areas of Work
• Own-to-loan ratio
• Prevent redistribution
• Exempt specific user groups from CDL
• Other: Advanced copyright statement management; Watermarks
• Limit session period
• Waiting list
• Any viewer, any discovery layer – Primo, Leganto etc.
• Other: Closed captions / subtitles for patron accessibility
• Waitlist control
• Analytics:
• Average waiting time per resource
• Early returns
Copyright
Fulfillment
Administration

CDL – You can’t do it on your own..
Am I even
allowed to
digitize this
book??..
How can I
maintain own-
to-loan ratio
for this scan?
I wonder what
the best practice
would be for
course resources..
How can I make
the digital
lending process
more efficient?

Community driven approach
The Ex Libris community formed The CDL Advisory Group, providing advice, user
stories, workflows and shared experiences on the various areas related to CDL
mainly focused on three areas relevant for Controlled Digital Lending:
Copyrights group Circulation group Resource sharing
group

The CDL Advisory Group

But who really wants CDL?
• Together with the
Advisory Group we
launched a survey with
very interesting results
and broad participation
• 94 institutions
provided responses
including institutions
from the UK

CDL Survey

CDL and Library Usage

CDL – Decision Making

CDL and Resource Sharing

What is happening now?
Creating a group of
development partners

If you would like more information or
to discuss my presentation, please contact us at
judith.fraenkel@clarivate.com

N8+ and collective collections what’s the little idea?

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