E-Resources Subscription for the University

System: An initiative from UGC&INFLIBNET

By
Dr. T. A.V. Murthy

tav@inflibnet.ac.in
Overview

 E-resource subscription scope :

users, resources
 Evolving model
 Implementation mechanism
 Pilot work
 Further initiatives
Who are our users?
 Universities
 Total No. : 273
 UGC assisted : 150+
 INFLIBNET supported : 142
These 142+ universities - core group to
begin with
 Colleges
 More than 14,000
 Govt.- 20%, Private – 80%
What is the journal collection base?
 Current journals collection
 Average number of titles subscribed: 250
 60% titles : Indian publications
 Few universities do not subscribe to any
foreign journals
 Abstracting/ indexing journals (e.g)
 Chemical Abstracts : 25
(98 Chemistry Depts)
 Biological Abstracts : 9
(101 Biological Sciences Depts)
 Why is this problem?
 Known universal problem
 Increase in price
 Fluctuation in conversion rates
 No proportionate funding to sustain the collection

 What is the way out?

 Large number of journals are available in e-form
 Access is provided on the Internet through web
 Subscription under consortia/ national site licensing
Therefore the initiative of
e-resources subscription from
UGC & INFLIBNET in the 10th
Five year plan to provide wider
and larger access to electronic
journals and databases
What does e-resources subscription
cover?

 Full text of journals

 Bibliographic databases like Chemical

Abstracts, Psychological Abstracts

 Other sources
An evolving model
 Provides access to and supports only electronic
version
 Not to be linked with print subscription
 Perpetual access to subscribed resources
Archival access for back issues Provision for
DDS/ILL
 Few print subscription proposed
 Subscription for minimum 3 years initially
 To be reviewed at the end of three years
How is it being implemented?
 In phase manner
 Universities : In Groups
 Subject : Four
 Resources : journals & bib. databases
 Major funding (up to 90%) from UGC
 INFLIBNET to administer, maintain and monitor
 Potential resources to be identified through
experts consultation involving universities
 Participating university to sign an MoU with UGC
& INFLIBNET
 Start with a pilot work in select disciplines
Major issues involved

 Identification of universities to be
served
 Identification of resources to be
provided
 Identification of potential
publishers/vendors/aggregators
The pilot work

 To start with 4 disciplines identified

 Biological Sciences

 Chemistry

 Mathematics

 Physics

 A expert group is formed in August 2002

 Interaction with 142 universities initiated
Identification of universities
 Selection from 142 universities using
following criteria:
 Universities having
 departments in selected four disciplines
 number of faculty members
 students
 number of PhDs
 NAAC accreditation
 network infrastructure
 research contribution in terms of
publications
Identification of e-resources

 Bibliographical / abstracting databases

proposed

 BIOSIS Previews : Biological Sciences

 Chemical Abstracts : Chemistry
 INSPEC : Physics & allied
areas
 MathSciNet : Mathematics
Identification of e-resources…
 Selection of full text e-journals
 Complex issue
 User base is large(150+ universities)
 Difficult to get inputs from universities
 User information
 Existing journal collection information
 Large number of journal titles
 Too many in the game
 Publishers
 Vendors
 Aggregators
Identification of e-resources…

 Selection of full text e-journals…

 Sources/ tools used
 Journal Citation Report (ISI)
 Journals covered by Current Contents
 Journals research institutions
 Journals database at INFLIBNET

 Comprehensive core list of journals

prepared based on the above sources
Identification of potential
publishers/aggregators & others
 Publishers
 Non-profit making
 University Presses (e.g. OUP,CUP)
 Professional Societies (e.g. ACS, IoP)
 Research Organizations (e.g. CSIRO, NRC)
 Scholarly Publications initiatives (e.g.
SPARC)
 Commercial publishers
 Aggregators
Immediate tasks

 Selection of the following:

Number & names of universities

 Bibliographical databases
 Core list of journals
 Potential publishers/vendors/aggregators
What next?

 Extend this initiative to other areas

including Humanities & Social sciences
Summary
 E-subscription - major initiative of UGC & INFLIBNET
 Identification of potential users & resources is a
complex process
 Model in the evolving phase
 Started on a pilot basis for four disciplines
 Success depends on university participation & co-
operation
 Long term support from Govt. & UGC required