Statewide Database Licensing Update
Librarians of Washington State unite! You have nothing to lose but having to pay those high prices for access to electronic databases!
OK, so it's not Marx (Karl or Groucho). However, it is the philosophy behind a Washington State Library effort to make the purchasing of electronic databases more affordable to a wide range of libraries across the state. This effort has recently culminated in a state contract with UMI to make its Proquest Direct database available across the state for those libraries participating in the project.
The selection of UMI as the database vendor was based on the evaluation of its databases and the price it offered, and was the result of almost a year's work by the Statewide Database Licensing Committee, comprised of public, academic, and school librarians.
This committee, led by Jeanne Crisp of the State Library, first met in December 1997. By its second meeting it had created a vision of what it wanted to do.
Through Washington libraries all Washingtonians will have access to a range of electronic database products with which to address their informational and educational needs. And, Washington libraries will be able to leverage their resources to gain more cost-effective access to database products.
The thinking behind this State Library effort was that by working together, public, academic, school, and special libraries across the state would be able to maximize their buying power when dealing with database vendors. Until recently, libraries across the state have singly or in small groups worked to get the best deals they could for purchasing access to electronic databases. This approach did not take advantage of statewide buying power and instead led to the vendors being the driving force in what libraries would pay for databases. This in turn led to different libraries paying widely varying prices for the same databases. However, with libraries across the state working together, and with one million dollars in federal money available to be applied over a two-year period in selecting and paying for electronic databases for Washington libraries, the process could be turned around so libraries instead of vendors would be the driving force in determining what electronic databases would be available across the state.
To do its work, the Statewide Database Licensing Committee formed three subcommittees: the Steering Committee in which policy decisions are made; the Database Committee, which evaluated and selected the databases to be considered for purchase; and the Communications Committee, which acted as a conduit for information to the libraries across the state. After a summer of intensive work that included contacting libraries across the state to see what databases they had and wanted, setting up free trials of databases for librarian evaluations, contacting vendors for information, and trying to figure out viable ways of balancing such considerations as database content, scope, usability, and price in a final decision making process, the Statewide Database Licensing Committee narrowed its choices to four vendors. After a final demonstration of the databases and presentations by the vendors on August 4, 1998 the committee voted to begin negotiations with UMI concerning its Proquest Direct and Washington State newspaper databases.
As of this time, the response of the various library constituencies across the state has been overwhelmingly positive. Libraries already getting these databases will now be able to get them for less money, thereby freeing up funds in their materials budget for other purchases. Perhaps more importantly, libraries previously not able to afford such databases will now be able to offer access to them for their patrons. Although final database prices for participating libraries have not been set, as more libraries decide to participate in this project, the price per library decreases for the databases.
This is just the first big step in getting libraries across the state to work together. Other states like Ohio have formed consortia that maximize their buying power when dealing with the vendors of electronic databases. Washington State can do the same. A lot of work by librarians went into making this initial state-wide consortium effort turn out well, led by the indefatigable and diplomatic Jeanne Crisp. What will make this project sponsored by the State Library really successful is if we can follow up on our initial success and put into place a means by which Washington libraries can work together and get the most from their library materials bucks.
Submitted by Jack Harton (Highline Community College)
