Subscription Agents FEATURE
of EBSCO Subscription Services Division: ‘The collapse of Swets has made customers more aware of the need to conduct thorough financial due diligence on the agencies with whom they work. We have noted an increase in requests for financial documentation, as well as more financial-stability related questions in the RFPs [requests for proposals]/tenders we receive. More customers are asking us to include documentation about how EBSCO handles prepayment monies. We think all of this is a good thing.
‘For years, EBSCO has been encouraging customers to conduct this sort of due diligence on their vendors. We believe customers need to know the financial standing of their serials vendor and they must know how that vendor conducts business. This includes EBSCO. We are proud of the fiscal procedures EBSCO has
When a subscription agent goes bankrupt it is the libraries that get the sympathy
instituted in order to protect our customers. We believe customers feel a sense of security once they understand the disciplined approach we have taken on their behalf.’
said “Right, we’ll sell direct to the big boys and you can pick up the scraps and any good business you find we’ll take off you” and libraries have been unwilling to pay intermediaries for the service they provide. Libraries have been pushing intermediary margins down through the floor, and so you get the problem that libraries buy from the lowest bidder, protecting and preserving the weakest player in the short term, and undermining the industry as a whole in the long term.’
On the whole, when a subscription agent goes bankrupt, it is the libraries that get the sympathy, with the subscription agents portrayed as little more than parasites in the ecosystem, but not everyone sees it that way. As the above industry insider went on to say: ‘Libraries didn’t lose too much because the publishers on the whole gave them their stuff anyway; this happened before, and libraries know they can blackmail the publishers if it all goes wrong. Libraries just didn’t pay attention to the commercial risk; librarians aren’t very commercial and aren’t very realistic. Everybody
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knew that Swets was in financial trouble, but libraries tend to say: ‘We can’t make those kinds of judgements; we’re not qualified to determine whether this company is viable for the long term or not. The only things we can measure are service-level agreements and price, and so we will measure that’. They’re poor at best value.’ Libraries have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to ensure the long-term viability of a subscription agent before they hand over large sums of money, a responsibility to both their users and publishers. In an age where the professional status of librarianship is increasingly challenged, it is not good enough for librarians to say they do not have those skills. Indeed, there do seem to have been some changes.
Increased scrutiny
Following the demise of Swets there has been increased scrutiny of subscription agents’ financial standing, which has been welcomed by some in the field.
According to Allen Powell, president
Powell continued: ‘As for the impact of the Swets dissolution, we believe that both customers and publishers are reassessing their relationships with vendors, and appear to be moving to consolidate with those who, after appropriate due diligence, provide minimal risk and highest value.’
Inevitably more scrutiny of financial records will favour the larger, more established companies with efficiencies of size, and EBSCO undoubtedly now dominates the field of subscription agents. But increased scrutiny doesn’t address the underlying challenges facing subscription agents; it doesn’t address the problem of publishers bypassing subscription agents, and it seems as though the challenge from new publishing models will continue unabated. With these challenges, however, potentially come new opportunities for new intermediaries.
Changing opportunities
One of the biggest potential future challenges for subscription agents is that of open access; when everything is free, there is no need for people to handle subscriptions. Although such a utopia (or dystopia depending on your perspective) is
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 Research Information 5
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