From: Bruce Heterick <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2012 18:44:22 -0500

First, Happy Thanksgiving to our friends in the U.S., and apologies to
everyone on the list for the long-ish posting on the weekend.
However, I felt that Peter Hirtle’s posting about Books at JSTOR on
Wednesday afternoon required a fairly immediate response.

As we launch Books at JSTOR, I think it is important to reiterate a
few of the guiding principles that we were encouraged by publishers
and libraries to pursue as we build the program:

1.       allow the participating publishers to control their content
and pricing; JSTOR should focus on the platform;

2.       provide a tiered pricing framework that allows smaller
institutions a more affordable way to purchase ebooks from these
important publishers;

3.       provide volume-level discounts to institutions (both
individual and consortia) based on their level of participation in
Books at JSTOR

4.       offer options to libraries that would allow them to purchase
books in a variety of combinations including individual pick-and-mix,
a choice of single-user or unlimited access, and a demand-drive
(patron-drive) acquisition program;

5.       present model(s) which would encourage publishers to include
content – particularly supplementary course-adoption titles – that are
not typically available in *any* other aggregations, as well as
encourage publishers to move a higher percentage of their titles into
a DRM-free environment.

Not everyone may agree with these principles, but they did emerge out
of extensive consultation with both the library community and the
publishing community.  Many of you participated in forums we held –
prior to making the decision to move forward with Books at JSTOR –
where dozens of librarians and university press staff sat together to
discuss many of the issues that were deemed important in delivering
books in digital form to institutions.  Finding the balance of those
needs – often referred to as “the uncomfortable middle” – is naturally
going to create some dissatisfaction, and I believe Peter has
expressed some of that in his latest post.

Books at JSTOR is offering books for purchase in one of two models:
(1) multi-user, and (2) single user.  All of the books in the program
are available in the single user model.  This model was designed to
encourage publishers to make more of their ebooks available for use,
including the titles designated as course-adoption titles, which have
historically not been included in ebook aggregations.  In most
instances, publishers have tied their single-user price to the print
price.  JSTOR then tiers that price down, based on the institution’s
JSTOR classification.   In the single-user model, the user can:

* discover ebooks on the JSTOR platform, which is one of the most
heavily used platforms in academia;

* read the entire contents of the book online; and

·* download chapters with no expiration.

The single-user model does require DRM that currently restricts the
printing and copying of chapters.  This print and copy restriction is
a technical limitation for us at the moment (rather than a policy
limitation) and we are working to provide more flexibility in a future
release.  The single-user model also limits the number of chapter
downloads for a book to 30 per year.  Additional chapters can be
purchased in a year, and up to 2 additional copies of the title can be
purchased in a single-user model each providing an additional 30
chapter downloads and another simultaneous user.  This model provides
a lower cost option for libraries that can be scaled to user demand.
Usage reports are provided for libraries to determine the usage of
titles in the single user model and the ability to purchase as many
chapters as needed per title to meet the demand of the end user.  The
library also has the option of migrating from the single-user model to
the multi-user model, if the publisher has made that title available
in the multi-user model.

So long as it serves everyone’s best interests, the multi-user model
is the model that we aspire to for all the titles in the program.
This model is most similar to the experience that users have with
journals on the JSTOR platform.  At launch, about 58% of the titles
available in the single-user model have been made available in the
multi-user model.  Our goal is to provide our participating publishers
with purchasing data and usage data that will encourage an ever larger
percentage of content moving into the multi-user model as each year
passes.  As I outlined earlier, the publisher sets the prices for the
books in the Books at JSTOR program, and in the case of the multi-user
model, the current average price appears to be in line with the prices
these publishers have set with other aggregators.  In the multi-user
model, the user can:

* access purchased ebooks online without limitation;

* download chapters in PDFs that have no expiration and no DRM;

* save and share downloaded chapters with other authenticated users; and

* print and copy without limitation.

With regard to Peter’s comments about providing discounts for
purchases when a print copy of the book had been purchased previously,
we must note that this is not typically offered by the publishers
participating in Books at JSTOR in other aggregations.  The Books at
JSTOR model does, however, provide for deeper discounts for backlist
titles.

We regard this as a beginning, not an end.  Ebooks are still in their
infancy and there is a lot to do – with libraries and presses working
together – to make that “uncomfortable middle” a little more
comfortable for everyone, particularly the faculty, students and
researchers that use ebooks.   We’re excited to get started!

Bruce Heterick
Vice President
JSTOR | Portico
[log in to unmask]
212-358-6416