Action Items: Acquiring Digital Resources

Use these action items and brainstorm other tangible ways to further develop your knowledge of acquiring digital resources and realize the ideals of this section of the toolkit.

Connect with local colleagues

If you work in resource sharing at your library, reach out to the individuals who manage your e-resources and licenses for a 30 minute meeting to introduce yourself and share your perspectives and priorities in developing digital collections (and vice versa). Building these professional relationships aid in dismantling departmental silos and fostering more effective collaboration in the stewardship and lending of digital resources.

 

Review licenses from your institution or consortia

Check with your library’s licensing staff to see if you can review existing agreements signed by your institution. Compare the license terms based on resource type and their role in supporting your digital collections. If your library is part of a consortium, ask to review consortial licenses as well, and compare them to your institution’s agreements to better understand how different organizations tailor licensing terms to meet the varied needs of their user communities.

 

Practice negotiating with a colleague

After reviewing a number of licenses, connect with a colleague and ask to practice a mock negotiation. It does not have to be for an entire license; take one or two clauses from a larger agreement, identify your position and Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), and practice navigating the negotiation to achieve a mutually beneficial agreement. Consider practicing from both the licensee and licensor side to gain alternative perspectives in meeting the needs of libraries and vendors alike. 

Join a resource management listserv

Join the LIBLICENSE listserv or others focused on acquisitions, licensing, and collection development to stay abreast of current happenings in resource licensing.

Engage with vendors on the Principles on Library Ownership of Digital Books

When meeting with vendors, introduce them to the principles, discuss why they are important to your library’s collection development priorities, and advocate for moving towards acquisition models that support these principles. While not every vendor will be open to the idea, affirming the importance of library digital ownership is critical to shifting how libraries can effectively and equitably steward digital collections.