Join us for the free, virtual ACRL/SPARC Forum “Learning from Libraries’ Growing Experience with Unbundling” on Thursday, September 12, 2024 from 3-4:30pm ET / 12-1:30pm PT.
For many years, there has been a steady drumbeat of libraries unbundling from big deal journal packages or going out of contract altogether with select publishers. Some libraries recalibrated their relationship with the largest publishers in order to better align their spend with their values, some have taken these steps out of necessity due to rising costs, and some have been driven by a mix of both.
The next ACRL/SPARC Forum will explore the increasing depth of experience libraries have with unbundling and how this experience can help institutions that may wish to consider a similar path. The conversation will touch on how libraries prepared for their negotiations that led to unbundling or going out of contract, what their strategies have been to support their campuses in continuing to access the articles they need, and how they have used the often-significant savings each has realized.
The Forum will feature libraries that have been profiled by SPARC as part of a larger series to surface the experience of institutions that have unbundled or gone out of contract with publishers. Specifically, the event will include:
- Anne Langley, UConn Library
- Chris Bourg and Erin Stalberg, MIT Libraries
- Param Bedi, Bucknell University
- Stéphanie Gagnon, Bibliothèques de l’Université de Montréal
These profiles will provide a starting place for this discussion, and participants are encouraged to review these brief write ups in advance.