E-Licensing Group
The E-Licensing Working Group of the RAC of the GMR works with the MCLS (Midwest Collaborative for Library Services) to negotiate offers of health-related online packages (ebooks, ejournals, databases, etc). These are available to all GMR members in the 10-state region, though on occasion offers are only available to hospital libraries. For more information about MLCS, go to http://mlc.lib.mi.us/cms/sitem.cfm.
Communication
If you are interested in keeping up with potential offers, consider subscribing to the GMR-ELG listserv. The listserv address is: gmr-elg at listerv.uic.edu.and it is live now, so you can sign up for it. General announcements about upcoming offers will be made via GMRLIST, and the discussion about the offers will take place on the GMR ELG listserv.
To subscribe to GMR-ELG, send the command SUBSCRIBE GMR-ELG BARACK OBAMA to listserv at uic.edu, replacing "Barack Obama" with your first and last name. Make sure the subject line is left blank! To view the archives of this list, you will need to register and get a password. Go to the listserv command center: http://listserv.uic.edu/htbin/wa?GETPW1
and create a password. Then you can go to this page http://listserv.uic.edu/htbin/wa?A0=GMR-ELG to view the list archives.
As an offer comes in from MCLS, an advisory committee will review the offer first to see if it is worthwhile to pursue for our region. The negotiation process is what happens next with the vendors of these products. During the negotiation process, every effort will be made to ensure equitable offers across different types of libraries in our membership. The discussion of these offers will take place on the GMR E-Licensing Group listserv. The GMR is not involved with the negotiations for these products. The negotiations will be done by our contact at MCLS in Michigan. The role of the GMR was to get the process started.
Trials and Special Offers
Advisory Committee
An advisory committee has been created to review offers as they come in. The committee consists of hospital librarians (small and large hospitals) as well as academic health science libraries (small, medium and large institutions).Their main duty is to review offers as they come in from MCLS and to determine if an offer is worth promoting to the rest of the region.
Resources*
Here are some resources and guides for improving the licensing of electronic resources. This information is intended to help librarians and other information professionals improve their capacity for licensing resources and demystify this challenging but important part of librarianship.
- Demystifying the Licensing of Electronic Resources: A Glossary of License Terms (ARL)
A very helpful reference for terms commonly found in licensing agreements.
- LIBLICENSE
An exhaustive resource for librarians, including model licenses, licensing vocabulary, licensing terms and descriptions, a bibliography, additional resources, and more. LIBLICENSE-L discussion list and instructions for joining are available as are the archives of the list.
- Libraries and Licensing (ALA)
A brief guide to several of the Association’s concerns regarding licensing and libraries.
- Licensing Electronic Resources: Strategic and Practical Considerations for Signing Electronic Information Delivery Agreements (ARL)
A very brief but thorough overview of the issues libraries should consider when licensing for electronic resources. The authors do a very good job of focusing on key elements—definition of “users”; the uses of information; consultation with institutional policy and legal counsel; and more.
- Negotiating Networked Information Contracts and Licenses: READI (Rights for Electronic Access to and Delivery of Information)
This 1994 guide from the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) guides readers through the various elements and contractual language of licenses for networked information. Elements covered include copyright, liability, methods of use, use restrictions, etc.
- Principles for Licensing Electronic Resources (ARL)
A brief overview of licensing principles as authored by ARL, ALA, AALL, AAHSL, MLA and SLA.
- Resources on Electronic Licensing (MLA)
A guide to resources on electronic licensing compiled by MLA, including LIBLICENSE-L, MLA CE courses and more.
- Shared E-Resource Understanding (SERU) (NISO)
Sponsored by the National Information Standards Organization (NISO), SERU is an attempt to establish a statement that describes common understandings around e-resource subscriptions, allowing libraries and publishers to forgo a license by referencing the common understandings. The benefits of SERU include easier transaction of electronic resource subscriptions, rapid acquisition and minimal delay for access, and time and cost savings for both libraries and publishers.
- Software and Database License Agreement Checklist (University of Texas)
Interactive checklist to help institutions assess the terms of their database and software licenses.
*List compiled by staff at NN/LM MAR
This icon designates a link outside the NN/LM GMR Web site and
indicates a non-GMR hosted resource.
