Is a Deal Between 44 Texas Colleges and Elsevier ‘Historic’?; Inside Higher Ed, December 9, 2022

 Susan D'Agostino, Inside Higher Ed; Is a Deal Between 44 Texas Colleges and Elsevier ‘Historic’?

"As pandemic-weary U.S. colleges face strained library budgets, many seek creative ways to lower costs and preserve access to scholarly content. That shared goal brought 44 colleges in Texas together to negotiate a deal with Elsevier, the behemoth publisher of over 2,500 scientific journals, including The Lancet and Cell.

The consortium—known as the Texas Library Coalition for United Action—announced last month that it had reached a deal with Elsevier that is expected to improve access to scholarship, afford researchers greater control over their work and save the member institutions millions. Some laud the agreement as historic. Others say it falls short of long-sought-after goals. If nothing else, the deal offers one example of how a collection of colleges is moving forward in a tense academic publishing ecosystem."

Publishers Face Pressure From Libraries to Freeze Prices and Cut Deals, Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/27/09

Via Chronicle of Higher Education: Publishers Face Pressure From Libraries to Freeze Prices and Cut Deals:

"A price increase of about 5 percent a year has been the industry standard, according to Mr. Price, but Oxford has not yet announced its fee structures for 2009-10. "We're waiting for pricing decisions to be made," he said. "The question is, Do you raise prices in a year like this?"

Now more than ever, publishers feel they must walk a fine line. "We want to make sure we're not undervaluing our product, but we don't want to be seen as harsh," Mr. Price explained. "We're trying to be mindful of tough times."

He has heard from colleagues in the business that some publishers are likely to hold prices flat in response to the economic downturn, or even lower their prices...

Even consortia have had to adjust their strategies. It might be a stretch to call this a silver lining, but members of Mr. Doyle's consortium have been working to make the most of their collective resources. For instance, the University of Oregon and Oregon State University have talked about coordinating database cuts so that they don't both end up axing the same useful resource. "When things get tight," Mr. Doyle said, "you have to think about doing things a little differently.""

http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i29/29a01301.htm