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This is what I am talking about! Ebook scandal. Academic publishing has always been bad but I have never known it to be as bad as this. This is the new normal. And under pandemic conditions too. @Jisc @IFLA @GOVUK @AlexChalkChelt @LIBEReurope @researchinfo @Number10press
I cannot populate reading lists for courses running in September because publishers have made them unavailable or prohibitive prices. What are students supposed to read? Academic Publishers gross profiteering from publicly funded work. Regulation, NOW
which reminds me....I must email my MP about this finally.
also, anyone up for penning an open letter with me to send to the HE minister?
I am aware that , given the IL drive of recent decades, few academic librarians are still responsible for actively spending course reading budgets. Has it made everyone too distant?
we don't even have that option (not that I would want it) because we don't have the money. I have to scrutinise every single spend and eek out every penny I can. This is only going to get worse
email from @ProQuest telling me the @routledgebooks ebook I ordered for £137 for a 3 user licence back in December 2019 mysteriously did not get processed. Routledge has since increased the price to £550 FOR A SINGLE USER LICENCE. No surprises for guessing the response when I ...
asked them to honour the original price. Suffice it to say I cannot afford the book for my students and SU licence is useless. This has to stop
The only difference being they have relabled the books 'etextbooks' 'premium'. That is all. And I am hearing librarians repeating this label unquestioningly as if they are indeed a different thing. Please don't. You are normalising it
Ps my academics are getting cross I can't provide the book. I am telling them about the planned open letter. They are keen to support it. Librarians, it will not harm your liason credibility to get involved. Our job is to advocate for fair access to information.
Currently we are failing spectacularly
