2019-20 Subscription Review FAQ

The Subscription Task Force was appointed by the Dean of Libraries. It is chaired by Western Libraries Director of Collections Madeline Kelly, and includes three Libraries personnel (Kate Cabe, Jeff Purdue, and Michelle Weston) and three faculty from across the university (Tilmann Glimm, CSE; Mark Neff, Huxley; Rae Lynn Schwartz-DuPre, CHSS).

The Subscription Task Force has been working on the 2019-20 subscription review process since early 2019; however, the Libraries’ Scholarly Resources Group--made up of librarians and other collections experts--began developing a new process for reviewing subscriptions in early 2018. You can read a detailed timeline of how the process came to be under Review Timeline.

ILL costs were not an explicit part of the subscription review process. However, for most titles on the draft cancellation list, ILL is probably a more affordable means of access than subscription. Estimates for the past three years put Western’s average cost per ILL transaction at approximately nine dollars. The majority of subscriptions being considered for cancellation have a cost-per-use above that. Those that don’t, in most cases, have scored poorly in other areas and may therefore still be worth considering for cancellation.

Throughout summer and fall, the Subscription Task Force collected data on Western’s 400+ subscriptions. These data represented a blend of quantitative and qualitative criteria (detailed in the Subscription Scoring section), each of which contributed a number of points towards a resource’s final score. Ultimately, scores ranged from 6.25 to 96 out of 100 points. The Task Force used the lowest-scoring resources to generate the draft cancellation list, accumulating enough titles to meet the $330,000 reduction goal plus a margin for departmental retention requests. The majority of subscriptions on the list fall below 48 out of 100 points. You can see each subscription’s score in the “Total Review Score” column of the draft cancellation list, as well as the scores for each individual criterion broken out.

There are two primary reasons that the draft cancellation list contains such a high number of STEM subscriptions. First, STEM subscriptions tend to be (on average) more expensive than subscriptions in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. The cost-per-use for STEM titles may run higher and, as a result, they may score lower. Second, this year we will be breaking a STEM journal package. Because many of our journal packages are on multi-year contracts, we are limited to evaluating only some of them each year. This year, more STEM titles are being affected; next year, it may be the arts, humanities, or social sciences.

To counter this effect and help ensure that our subscription expenditures remain as equitable as is practical, the Task Force may grant a greater proportion of STEM retention requests than for other disciplines. We expect this balance to shift each year and appreciate your patience and understanding as we strive to keep things as balanced as we can.

You can read more about the evaluation criteria (qualitative and quantitative) under Subscription Scoring.

We will likely have to cancel a large number of the library’s subscriptions; however, each of these subscriptions varies in size, from individual journal titles up to packages containing thousands of titles. In terms of the number of titles we have access to through subscriptions, the reduction will be a much lower percentage. Additionally, for many of these subscriptions we will be able to retain past volumes up to the date of cancellation.

We will also continue to use our interlibrary loan services to provide speedy access to any titles to which we can no longer subscribe.

The Libraries will continue to use interlibrary loan services to provide fast access to content to which we can no longer subscribe, including the most current published research. Articles are typically delivered in less than a few business days, and often much faster--particularly if requestors include an ISSN with each article request. Some articles arrive within a matter of hours.

Beyond interlibrary loan, unless we can collectively find ways to curb subscription price increases and secure funding increases for library collections, we’ll continue to struggle with subscription access to the research we need. Talk to your Senate Library Committee, University Planning and Resources Council, and Faculty Senate representatives about scholarly publishing, Open Access, and library funding.

Inflation on library subscriptions averages 4.5 percent annually. Without additional funding, the Resource Access Budget cannot accommodate these increases--let alone faculty requests for new journals or databases.

Almost all subscriptions--including single journals, journal and ebook packages, and databases--are theoretically eligible for cancellation. The only exceptions are journal packages and databases on multi-year contracts that do not expire until 2022 or beyond. These subscriptions will be evaluated as they come up for renewal.

Historically, the Libraries has maintained a separate budget line for decision package funding (and subscriptions) for three years. During that three-year grace period, subscriptions are protected from cancellation regardless of cost-per-use. However, starting the fourth year, decision package funds are subsumed into the main subscriptions budget line and any decision package subscriptions become subject to regular review alongside other subscriptions. This year, there are no decision package subscriptions still in their three-year grace period, so all subscriptions are up for review.

Usage statistics are provided to the Libraries by most (though not all) publishers and vendors.

Many vendors provide usage reports that adhere to a standardized format (called COUNTER), detailing the number of full-text downloads (for journal articles), full-text section requests (e-books), searches and results clicks (databases), or multimedia content unit requests (streaming media). These standard metrics allow for relatively straightforward comparisons among subscriptions of the same format type.

Other vendors provide non-standard usage reports, which are incorporated as best as possible into existing library workflows and analysis.

Three-year CPU is equal to cost (each title’s most recent calendar year unit price as established by the publisher) multiplied by three, then divided by use (total number of uses over the past three calendar years). For journals, one use is equivalent to a single full-text article download (in either PDF or HTML format).

The Libraries subscribes to several full-text databases, such as Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete, and ProQuest Newsstand. Western also owns perpetual access rights to JSTOR’s Life Sciences collection as well as over 85% of the JSTOR Arts & Sciences collections. These article databases offer access to the full text of many journals, magazines, and newspapers.

In some cases, full-text article databases are not an exact substitute for a full journal subscription. Coverage may not include every article, letters to the editor, book review, or graphic (illustrations, charts, or maps). Western can provide access to this content via ILL or per-article purchasing, however. Additionally, many of the journals included in these types of databases have “embargo periods.” This means that the publisher of an embargoed title does not allow the database to release the full-text content for a predetermined length of time. Typically, databases are useful for accessing content older than 5 years.

Departments will be asked to review potential cancellations in February and submit any retention requests by early March. Departments will not be limited to a fixed number of requests; however, faculty should keep in mind that the Libraries only has a margin of $50,000-$75,000 with which to meet retention requests across the entire university. The Libraries cannot guarantee that feedback will lead to reinstatement. Additionally, due to the make-up of the cancellation list--which hits STEM disciplines the hardest--the Libraries may need to prioritize STEM retention requests in order to ensure that subscriptions support all disciplines equitably. Departments will be asked to rank their retention requests in priority order, with 1 being the highest-priority request.

If a journal is used regularly as part of instruction, the usage should reflect that curricular need. To make sure your students’ use is counted, always provide access to course readings via course reserves or a permanent link embedded in Canvas—not by sharing the PDF. The Libraries Course Reserve staff can help you add library resources to Canvas.

No. The Libraries will continue to identify effective means of providing books (and other owned resources with one-time costs) to its users.

As part of the cancellation review process this year, departments will be allowed to request new subscriptions instead of (or in addition to) requesting titles for retention. New subscriptions should be ranked alongside retention requests.

Support open access and contribute a pre- or post-publication version of your scholarly work to Western CEDAR, the university’s institutional repository.  In this way, your scholarship and creative activity will be available at Western and worldwide.  CEDAR is a service of Western Libraries in partnership with the Graduate School, the Office of the Provost, and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. By showcasing Western’s scholarly and creative works, CEDAR facilitates global discovery and promotes open access and sustainable scholarly communication. Robust participation in open access by scholars worldwide is the best long-term approach to help transform current, publisher-controlled scholarly communication models.

Learn more about journal pricing and inflation.

Be aware of publisher policies regarding authors’ retention of copyright. Insist on the right to self-archive your work in CEDAR or other open access repository. Contact westerncedar@wwu.edu to learn how to retain your rights.

Consider publishing with professional associations, societies, and other organizations that employ effective, sustainable means of distributing scholarly information. If you serve on the executive or editorial board of a scholarly society, encourage the organization to publish its journal(s) open access.

The subscription prices of scholarly journals have been increasing at a rate faster than inflation for several decades. For many years, Western Libraries has sought to manage subscription inflation on behalf of the university by employing a combination of efforts. Whenever possible, the Libraries has used carryforward funds (funds remaining at the end of a fiscal year which may be carried forward to cover allowable costs in the next budget period) to pay for inflationary increases.  This is not a stable or secure source of funding, and there is not always enough to cover costs. In FY16, carryforward was insufficient to cover costs, and it became necessary to cut approx. $230,000 in subscription costs.  

In FY17, FY18, FY19, and FY20, library carryforward funds largely covered the shortfall, but due to the rate of inflation, the size of the shortfall grew progressively larger each year.  In FY21 we have a  projected budget shortfall of approx. $330,000 and no anticipated budget increase to cover this amount, which makes significant subscription cuts necessary next year. 

This is not the first time we have faced this situation, and unfortunately, it will not be the last. Utilizing a variety of communications and governance channels over the past seven years Western Libraries has engaged with the community at Western (faculty, staff, students, and administrators, including the Provost’s Office) about the growing subscription crisis and the need for additional funds. In addition, the Libraries has appealed to UPRC and/or the Provost’s Office each year for annual funding increases.  Despite repeated requests and a sympathetic ear from decision makers and shared governance groups, no general-purpose, base collections funding increases have resulted from the university’s biennial or supplemental budgeting processes. 

Since 2014, the only increases to library collections have come from the irregular addition of decision package funds – almost exclusively devoted to STEM fields.  The Libraries has worked with impacted departments to expend these additional resources on new titles and has utilized a portion of the decision package funding to help offset inflationary increases in those fields.  While these increases are appreciated, decision package funds were not purposed nor are they sufficient to deal with the inflation crisis.

Historically, the Libraries has maintained a separate budget line for decision package funding (and subscriptions) for three years. During that three-year grace period, subscriptions are protected from cancellation regardless of cost-per-use. However, starting the fourth year, decision package funds are subsumed into the main subscriptions budget line and any decision package subscriptions become subject to regular review alongside other subscriptions. This year, there are no decision package subscriptions still in their three-year grace period, so all subscriptions are up for review.

 Inflation on library subscriptions averages 3.5-4.5 percent annually. Without additional funding, the Resource Access Budget cannot accommodate these increases--let alone faculty requests for new journals or databases.

Ultimately, regular increases to the subscription budget are one important element in managing this crisis. Western Libraries will continue to work with colleagues inside and outside of the Libraries to advocate strongly for these increases.  But money alone is not enough.  The attached slide illustrates the estimated, cumulative cost to Western for subscription inflation between FY21 and FY25.

Western Libraries has long recognized that the current scholarly publishing landscape is unsustainable for colleges and universities, and alternate publishing models must be found.  To advance open access as an alternative to commercial publishing models, in 2014 the Libraries partnered with the Provost’s Office and Graduate School/RSP to support open access to faculty research, the publications produced by Western institutes and centers, and several peer-reviewed journals.

Western cannot change scholarly publishing on its own or overnight.  It must join with universities and other research institutions worldwide to offer respected open access alternatives to commercial publishers.  A large percentage of researchers must adopt these open access alternatives in order to change the behavior of commercial publishers.

To learn more about journal pricing and inflation, read the latest Library Journal periodicals price survey.

Despite strong advocacy for budget increases, it is unlikely that the university will find the approx. $2.8 million necessary to cover subscription deficits for the next five years. A combination of steps are necessary to bring the subscription budget under control:

• Continued advocacy for annual base budget increases to help pay the increasing cost of library collections
• Use of Western Libraries and/or Academic Affairs carry forward funds, when available, to mitigate the need for reductions
• Greater emphasis on consortial purchasing, negotiation, and advocacy via the Orbis Cascade Alliance and State of Washington in order to reduce subscription costs
• Regular evaluation of library collections to help ensure that subscriptions and other acquisitions are effectively meeting current and emerging curricular and research needs
• Prudent use of an agile and access-based approach to collections, including ILL and document-delivery, if/when costs exceed the available budget
• Limiting Western’s business relationship with commercial publishers that impose excessive price increases in order to maximize profit margins
• Expanding use of alternative scholarly publishing models, including increased faculty participation in Western CEDAR and publication in open access journals
• Subscription reductions when the above steps are insufficient

Subscription reductions are extremely upsetting for library faculty, staff, and administrators.  We would much rather grow the depth and breadth of Western’s library collections.  We recognize the serious negative impacts on faculty and students across the university.  We understand that you, too, would like to see library subscriptions and other collections grow not shrink.

Western Libraries wants to work closely with faculty and university administration to find lasting solutions to the subscription crisis.  As part of the university, Western Libraries does have budgetary, fiduciary, legal, and ethical responsibilities. At this time, it appears unlikely that library subscriptions will be saved from deep reductions next year.  If there is no significant, additional funding available in FY21, we will be forced to make the required cuts.  If this is the case, it will become particularly important that we turn our attention to long-term solutions that avoid subsequent reductions.

In terms of asking departments to rank subscription retention requests, it was not the task force’s intent to pit faculty against their department colleagues. Instead, task force members saw this as an opportunity for departments to have greater control over the outcomes of this process. The task force thought that by coming together and leveraging the cumulative subject (and curricular) expertise of the faculty, departments could help identify the most essential resources to retain.  The task force did not expect the decisions to be easy, but it believed they would at least be better informed.

To give a little more background about how the task force arrived at that perspective: task force members did not want to limit the number of titles a department could request, but they did need a way to help triage the retention requests later—either based on defined criteria or based on some kind of ranking.  In 2015-16, departments spent considerable time preparing thoughtful arguments around “defensible criteria,” but ultimately the university was able to save relatively few of those requested titles.  Based on that experience and frustration the Libraries heard expressed about the criteria in a subsequent faculty survey, the task force created a 2019-20 process in which departments did not have to justify why something should be saved -- merely that it was a top priority.  Based on this thinking and encouraged by examples from other institutions (particularly, North Carolina State University and University of Alaska), the task force decided to try departmental rankings. Again, the intent was not to be divisive.  It was to give departments the opportunity to better control these important decisions.  Absent rankings, the librarians will do their best to make retention and cancellation decisions based on the information they have.

The vision of our university calls on each of us to advance the ideals of exploration, critical thinking, connection, and creativity. Collectively, we seek to provide a transformational educational experience for our students, grounded in innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity; as well as justice and equity in our policies, practices, and impacts. Through these efforts, we hope to address the world’s most challenging problems, questions, and needs. The heart of the Western Libraries’ mission is one and the same: to advance these goals, connecting people to the resources, expertise, and spaces necessary for impactful teaching and lifelong learning, while advancing equitable and inclusive access to information in all its forms.

In this spirit, the Western Libraries continues to move forward in new directions, favoring broad access to information over more traditional models of ownership, challenging the narrative that knowledge can be owned, and seeking ways to keep information open to the community where it can best serve the greater good. We are not  alone in these efforts: libraries around the world are pushing for a more sustainable, open, and just approach to information.

The Libraries will continue to use interlibrary loan services to provide fast access to content to which we can no longer subscribe, including the most current published research. Articles are typically delivered in less than a few business days, and often much faster, usually in 12 hours or less, particularly if requestors include an ISSN with each article request. Some articles arrive within a matter of hours.

Beyond interlibrary loan, unless we can collectively find ways to curb subscription price increases and secure funding increases for library collections, we’ll continue to struggle with subscription access to the research we need. Talk to your Senate Library Committee, University Planning and Resources Council, and Faculty Senate representatives about scholarly publishing, Open Access, and library funding.

In the long-term, the proliferation of journal titles, rising costs of library subscriptions, and for-profit journal landscape require a more forward-looking conversation about scholarly publishing. Western has the opportunity to be part of these important discussions.

Faculty and staff can support open access and contribute a pre- or post-publication version of their scholarly work to Western CEDAR, the university’s institutional repository.  In this way, your scholarship and creative activity will be available at Western and worldwide.  CEDAR is a service of Western Libraries in partnership with the Graduate School, the Office of the Provost, and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. By showcasing Western’s scholarly and creative works, CEDAR facilitates global discovery and promotes open access and sustainable scholarly communication. Robust participation in open access by scholars worldwide is the best long-term approach to help transform current, publisher-controlled scholarly communication models.

Consider publishing with professional associations, societies, and other organizations that employ effective, sustainable means of distributing scholarly information. If you serve on the executive or editorial board of a scholarly society, encourage the organization to publish its journal(s) open access. Be aware of publisher policies regarding authors’ retention of copyright. Insist on the right to self-archive your work in CEDAR or other open access repository. Contact westerncedar@wwu.edu  to learn how to retain your rights.