NEWS

ProQuest Expands Publisher Participation in Access-to-Own to Include Almost 400,000 Titles

New model offers balanced, usage-based acquisition for frontlist and backlist

With its newest acquisition model launching next month, ProQuest has grown the number of titles available through Access-to-Own to almost 400,000 and dramatically increased publisher participation in just eight months. ProQuest developed Access-to-Own in collaboration with libraries and publishers around the world to provide a usage-based acquisition model that offers a balanced approach and a wider array of frontlist as well as backlist titles to libraries and the researchers they serve.

Access-to-Own will be available on ProQuest’s Ebook Central platform that enables libraries to tailor their book acquisition workflows according to their unique priorities. Whether it’s run as part of Demand-Driven Acquisition (DDA) programs or in combination with subscription and perpetual archive models, Access-to-Own offers a middle ground between short-term loans and outright purchase, facilitating title ownership by applying budget dollars spent on ebook rentals to perpetual purchases. Access-to-Own is ideal for research institutions and academic libraries that want to employ usage-based purchasing to secure frontlist content and prefer that a greater proportion of their collection fund spend goes toward ownership rather than short term access.

ProQuest has already signed more than 205 publishers to its growing roster of Access-to-Own participants. Some recently signed publishers and distributors include:

• Harvard University Press
• Independent Publishers Group (IPG)
• Policy Press
• Edinburgh University Press
• University of Chicago Press
• Schweitzer

“We are excited to be offered a solution which will allow access to embargoed frontlist titles,” said Jackie Harrison, Content and Collections Consultant at University of Hertfordshire.  “This latest development shows not only that librarians’ concerns are being listened to, but also that ProQuest is willing to use its resources to help libraries to continue to evolve and support researchers.”

“A recent Gallup and Inside Higher Ed survey of chief academic officers reported that only 14% strongly agree that their financial situations have improved in the past year,” said Kevin Sayar, Senior Vice President and General Manager, ProQuest Books. “Partnering with academic libraries for more than 75 years, we recognize first-hand the need for flexibility in order to meet researchers’ unique needs on a limited budget. We are committed to creating innovative solutions that will allow libraries to focus on the mission that they all share – empowering researcher achievements and success.”

Libraries will be able to purchase directly from ProQuest or participate in Access-to-Own through DDA programs via key partners, including Coutts/Oasis (early Q3) and YBP/Gobi (starting in late Q3-Q4 2016). Libraries interested in Access-to-Own should contact their ProQuest Sales Specialist or Content Workflow Consultant to get started.

http://www.proquest.com