Month: January 2026

Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. Part 1 – Purchasing E-Books.

Anth SinnottLeave a comment

In the ever-evolving landscape of academic library collections, the shift toward digital has often been framed as a straightforward evolution, a simple migration from shelf to screen. Yet, as any Acquisitions Librarian can tell you, the reality of building a digital collection is a complex dance of licensing, logistics, and strategic negotiation. While our patrons see the convenience of a click, we navigate a labyrinth of platforms, permissions, and pricing models behind the scenes.

Welcome to the first post in my new series, Buying and Managing E-Books for Acquisitions Librarians. Over the coming weeks, I will be pulling back the curtain on the digital supply chain to explore methods of purchase, supplier relationships, and what happens next

My plan is to cover the following elements:

Image by Michael Haderer from Pixabay

Purchasing E-Books

1 – Supplier Type: Aggregators

Aggregators—such as ProQuest (Ebook Central), EBSCO, and VLeBooks—act as the massive department stores of the library world. They host content from thousands of different publishers on a single, unified platform, providing a centralized hub for discovery and management.

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5 Ways A Well-Designed Controlled Digital Lending Scheme (CDL) Can Improve Your Academic Library

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If you’ve spent any time in a university library lately, you’ll know we’re living in a bit of a divided era. On one hand, we’ve got these magnificent, sometimes centuries old, print collections that user communities love and value (and honestly, who can blame them? There’s nothing like the smell of an old book). On the other, we’re battling a digital marketplace that feels increasingly like a wild west of restrictive licenses, rising costs, and content that can vanish at the whim of a platform update.

Enter Controlled Digital Lending (CDL)

While the legal headlines have been dominated by the high drama Hachette v. Internet Archive case in the US, a situation that has certainly set the cat among the pigeons, the UK conversation is much more grounded. We aren’t looking to create a “digital library of Alexandria” overnight, we’re looking for sensible ways to manage the resources we already pay for. As has been repeatedly highlighted in the SCONUL landscape review (and followup work) by the always excellent Jane Secker and Chris Morrison, CDL isn’t a radical hack, it’s a strategic way to bridge the gap between our physical past and our digital future.

Here are five ways a well-constructed CDL scheme can transform the academic library landscape in the UK.

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

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5 things for University Librarians to think about when exiting a Read and Public agreement

Anth SinnottLeave a comment

The landscape of UK higher education has recently shifted, with news that terms have been agreed with five major academic publishers via Jisc negotiations. While some might be tempted to view this as a “done deal,” another perspective would describe it as a pragmatic reflection from the sector that further negotiation on terms is simply no longer possible.

The harsh reality is that, given the severe financial challenges facing the sector, many of these agreements will remain fundamentally unaffordable for many institutions. This isn’t just a budgetary squeeze, it is a cliff edge. Difficult decisions regarding the deployment of available funds will need to be made with extreme speed, likely resulting in several institutions withdrawing from at least one major deal. At the University of York, our experience of withdrawing from seven Read and Publish (R&P) agreements as of the beginning of 2025 has shown that there is currently no roadmap or sufficient systemic help for exiting these Big Deals.

To that end, here are 5 key considerations to help navigate the complexities of an R&P exit. These are not exhaustive, nor are they universal, this is simply one University Acquisitions Librarian’s interpretation of a complex and stressful situation, with some practical tips in the hopes that others in a similar situation may find it helpful.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

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