Cowles Library announces an innovative new approach to building its collection, letting users decide which electronic books to purchase. The Library has added access to 25,000 e-books, available through the on-line catalog.

Cowles Library announces the availability of new academic content by being one of the first universities in the Mid-West and the nation to implement a Demand Driven Acquisitions pilot.  This new approach in the selection of material for the library is in partnership with EBL (Ebook Library Corporation).  EBL offers titles from over 320 leading Academic and Professional Publishers.  The titles selected for inclusion in the Cowles catalog are geared to support Drake’s academic programs and curriculum. 

EBL’s Demand Driven Acquisition model allows Cowles Library to make un-owned titles visible to users in the library catalog. Users discover titles like they would any other books they wish to use. At point-of-use, the library will be charged a pay-per-use fee, and on the 4^th use will automatically purchase the item. “We view the EBL model as an exciting new service to the students, faculty, and staff of Drake University,” says Cowles Library Dean, Rod Henshaw.  “While we have provided access to e-books for more than a decade, providing "on-demand" access to many thousands more titles is a significant development in our collection model.  After all, today's scholars expect "on-demand" services in other parts of their lives; why should electronic texts be any different?” Cowles Library has a long history of technological innovation to support user services, from an initial Library Web site launched in 1994, to our current Web presence, which is powered by Open Source software and facilitates user feedback.  EBL's user-driven model is an important addition to this rich tradition of service-driven progress at Cowles Library.

Kari Paulson, President of EBL says, “We are delighted to see our Demand-Driven model being adopted in the Mid-West by such innovative institutions as Cowles Library. Especially in times of economic restraint, this model provides a very efficient and cost-effective way for libraries to open access to a great range of content to students while ensuring funds are allocated to resources that are truly needed. ”

The library faculty and administration has been sharing our ongoing concerns regarding pricing increases by the publishers and distrubitors of the information resources we license on behalf of Drake students and faculty.  Library budgets are relatively flat and yet most publishers insist on yearly "inflation" increases ranging from 4-15%.  Several publishers have recognized the unstainability of that model and are lowering their price increases or (in some cases, below) are not charging a price increase this year.  Kudos to them!  Now, will the STM (Science, Technical, Medical) publishers ever follow suit?

From e-mail dated 4/22/09 from Oxford University Press:

In light of the impact the economic crisis is having on library budgets, Oxford University Press has given careful consideration to the pricing of our online products for the next academic year beginning July 1, 2009. OUP's annual subscription increases for online databases (this excludes journals), which covers ongoing product investment as well as inflationary costs, have ranged on average from 4-8% over the last several years. We have reviewed the impact of various price increases on our customers, as well as the results of increases on our not-for profit organization. Oxford itself has not been immune to the current crisis.

We recognize that tightening budgets will require libraries to make difficult choices this year, and we want to help enable institutions maintain subscription services during this time. To that end, Oxford is announcing that our reference and academic monograph subscription product prices will remain at their current levels of pricing, with no increase on July 1, 2009.  This applies to institutional subscriptions in North and South America, and includes OUP's reference and law subscription products, listed below: (titles that Drake subscribes to are in BOLD)

American National Biography Online
Oxford Biblical Studies Online
Dictionary of National Biography Online
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Online
Grove Art Online
Grove Music Online
Oxford African American Studies Online
Oxford English Dictionary Online
Oxford Islamic Studies Online
Oxford Language Dictionaries Online
Oxford Reference Online Premium, Western Civilization and Literature Collection
Oxford Scholarship Online (subscription)

Our relationship with the library community, which shares our mission to disseminate the highest-quality scholarly material to a broad audience, is extremely important to OUP, as is our continued commitment to scholarship.  Although we are not increasing prices this year, we pledge to continue the robust maintenance of our online subscription products at the level you have come to expect from Oxford.  

Now more than ever, we want to ensure that your institution is getting the most possible from your OUP subscriptions.  We are also working on a number of programs and strategies for 2009 to help libraries drive usage and increase discoverability of their online holdings, and welcome your feedback and advice in the form of a brief survey (cut+paste if hyperlink does not work) http://www.oup.com/us/libsurvey2009. All persons who complete the survey will be entered to be one of 10 winners who will win their choice of the Oxford Atlas of the World or the Oxford Companion to Food.  Thank you in advance for your thoughts and your time.

Rebecca Seger
Director, Online and Library Sales
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Email: rebecca.seger@oup.com

From e-mail dated 3/23/09 from Lexis Nexis:

The current economic situation has touched everyone on a personal and professional level.  There is no doubt that the economic downturn is greatly affecting the library community. 

To address funding concerns in the library community SOLINET initiated discussions with LexisNexis to review proposed 2009 pricing actions and to develop a plan to help customers meet the challenging economic environment. As a result of these discussions, LexisNexis made the decision to forego the previously announced 2.5 % annual rate increase on all LexisNexis Academic and Library Solutions Web products for the upcoming subscription year starting July 1, 2009.  These include: LexisNexis Congressional, LexisNexis Statistical, LexisNexis Academic (Drake subscribes), LexisNexis Government Periodical Index, LexisNexis Primary Sources and LexisNexis State Capital. 

Additionally, LexisNexis will limit the cost of LexisNexis Academic and Library Solutions Web subscriptions by waiving any increases in FTE counts for the coming year. We will also provide special offers on other products and services throughout the year to help our customers meet their end user research needs at the lowest possible price. 

LexisNexis values its close ties to the library community and we are proud of our long record of being a responsive and responsible vendor.  We are committed to supporting the work of libraries in these tough economic times through our products, our pricing, and uncompromising customer service.  

We look forward to maintaining our relationship with you and working with you to maintain and protect your library resources.

Sincerely,

Timothy Fusco,

Vice President, Publishing Operations

LexisNexis

The Naxos Jazz Music Library collection features Sonny Rollins, Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and many more. This is a component of the Naxos Music Library.

Photo credit: Brooke Peterson

We have a new database subscription called the Naxos Music Library.
http://cowles-proxy.drake.edu/login?url=http://drake.naxosmusiclibrary.com/

(Excerpted from publisher web site): Naxos Music Library contains over 355,000 recordings of classical, jazz, wind band, choral, and world music streamed at "CD quality" to your computer. This collection contains 28,020 CD's, and over 399,800 tracks of music. 500 CDs are added every month. Contains Comprehensive Liner Notes. Includes Opera Synopses and Libretti, Composer and Artist Biographies and other Essential Information.

The recordings in Naxos Music Library include the complete catalogues of BIS, Chandos, CPO, Hänssler, Hungaroton, Marco Polo, Naxos and selected titles of other leading independent labels, with more labels being added from time to time.

The Naxos Spoke Word Library "comprises one of the most comprehensive collections of classic audiobook material available online."  It is a component of the Naxos Music Library.  The Naxos Spoken Word Library contains over 1,170 classic titles.  Over 340 Authors, Playwrights, and Poets are included.  All are read by "literary greats."

Brief blurb excerpted from publisher web site:

--The world's greatest literature-many classic novels, plays and poetry, from medieval times to the twentieth century.

--21 categories, from Children's classics, Classic fiction, to Shakespeare's Plays, Music Education, and many more.

--All works read by professional actors/actresses, English literature by English, American literature by American.

Cambridge Histories online contains over 250 volumes published since 1960, equating to around 196,000 pages of  scholarship. (excerpted from publisher web site):

• Covers over 15 different academic subjects: Americn History, British History, Economic History, General History, History of Science, History of the Book, Language & Linguistics, Literary Studies, Music, Philosophy, Political & Social Theory, Regional History, Religious Studies, Theatre Studies & Performing Arts, and Warfare).
• Search and browse content (basic & advanced search and a content specific browse)
• Personalisation including, saved & most recent searches, workspaces and bookmarks
• Citation export functionality

Cowles Library is pleased to announce that we have purchased the following database: Historical Chicago Tribune (1849-1986).

This is the digitized version of the Chicago Tribune, covering over 137 years.

Select "News-The Historical Chicago Tribune" from database pull-down menu.

Cowles Library has purchased a major database called: the United States Serials Set.

To search the Serials Set select the "Advanced Search" tab, and then "Serial Set" from the list of choices. This database also includes Serials Set High Resolution Maps (1789-1969). To search this component of the database, go to the "Advanced Search" tab.  Then, select "Serial Set Maps." Note: you will need to de-select the other components to search ONLY the Maps.

From publisher web site:

Considered one of the most important sources for the study of American history, politics and society, the U.S. Serial Set gives you the thinking behind the events to add context and insight to your research studies.

This collection of government publications captures key aspects of American life from the early 19th century onward - from agriculture, to westward expansion, scientific exploration, politics, international relations, business and manufacturing. Few, if any, research collections compare to the Serial Set in time span, subject variety, source authority and diversity or relevance to the modern studies of yesterday's activities and attitudes.

Product Overview

The LexisNexis collection begins in 1789 with the American State Papers and details Congressional business through 1969. It includes reports and documents either produced or ordered by Congress, as well as presidential communications and treaty materials. Of particular importance to those who study law, the Serial Set contains Congressional legislative reports that provide unrivaled insight into the legislative intent of laws enacted before 1969.

For more information go to the Insider's View of the U.S. Serials Set.

Cowles Library is excited to announce the purchase of a new database: Eighteenth Century Collections Online.

Taken from publisher web site: