From: Curtis Lavery <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 1 Oct 2013 00:39:15 +0000

Michele,

At the California Digital Library, our standard practice is to require the
option - at our choosing -  of an electronic copy of perpetual content
delivered in a mutually agreed upon format, or access through a trusted
third-party archive such as Portico.  We agree to pay a nominal fee for
processing and delivery of content if the delivery option is chosen.  We,
of course, may choose to access that content at the vendor's site if the
access fee is reasonable, or negotiate free access if we are licensing
additional vendor content.

Perhaps you can negotiate a more workable notice period.  We have found
that it takes several months to coordinate delivery and processing for
hosting the data.

If you have any questions, we can talk offline if you send an email to
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Cheers,
Curtis Lavery
Licensing Manager
California Digital Library

-----Original Message-----

From: "Shipley, Michele" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 16:10:50 -0400

I have a question about what other libraries consider to be acceptable
language in a license agreement covering perpetual access to electronic
journal backfiles purchased by the library. Miner Library recently
purchased electronic backfiles for several important journals from a major
vendor. This was a one-time purchase; Miner now "owns" the backfiles.
However the license agreement for the backfiles states that the vendor may
decide to stop providing access to the backfiles with a 30 day notice. In
the event the vendor stops providing access to the backfiles they will
provide an electronic copy to Miner or, if they choose, make the backfiles
available through Portico or CLOCKSS. We are being told that this is the
industry standard.

Has anyone else run into language like this and been able to negotiate a
better guarantee of perpetual access? Is this language really the industry
standard?

Thanks for your help. Michele

Michele Shipley, MLS
Assistant Director of Digital & Branch Libraries Edward G. Miner Library
University of Rochester Medical Center Rochester, NY 14642
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