Author: Mary Jenkins, Library and Research Services Manager at Devine, Millimet & Branch, PA
Legal information professionals who subscribe to discussion lists are likely familiar with the top five news publications their colleagues frequently request for sharing or document delivery. I’m not going to name any publications here, but I do want to talk about alternative sources.
- Check to see if the publication is aggregated in the platforms to which you already have access. A quick search by the article or publication title may surface the article. Sometimes, we get so caught up on the specific link a user provides that we can forget to check our aggregator services.
- Ask the publisher or vendor for a copy of the article. They may offer a free sample copy or two, either directly or via trial access, especially if it is a vendor with whom you already license content or one eager to earn your business. This approach can help you evaluate a potential future resource.
- Search your information resources and the open web for similar coverage of the same topic. Publisher X may be first out of the gate with breaking news but it is unlikely that the publisher has exclusive coverage unless the article is an interview. If you can wait a day or two, the topic will probably be covered by other news outlets.
- Request a copy of the article from the author directly. This approach is often successful, as authors have a vested interest in expanding their work’s reach and may appreciate the recognition.
- Purchase the article if there is a pay-per-view option. While more typical with scholarly articles, a paid download might be available. The requestor can decide if the need is urgent enough to warrant paying the requisite fee.
- Perhaps other library affiliations can fill the gap—alumni privileges or public library access might meet this need.
If the need for a particular publication is frequent and/or urgent, the information professional should demonstrate the justification for a subscription or license. It may result in your organization’s expanded access to a valued publication. In any case, you will have successfully shared the publication’s cost and terms internally and made the case for legal and ethical access to sources. A commitment to good vendor relations is demonstrated by legal and appropriate use of information resources and respect for the negotiated terms of license agreements. If you need support for avoiding legal risk, consult with your supervisor, in-house counsel, or your firm administrator.
Further Reading
- The AALL Principles & Practices for Licensing Electronic Resources speaks to scholarly sharing and interlibrary loan. See Section III, Practice 7 and Section IV, Practice 2 on the importance of license agreement clauses that address permitted uses including interlibrary loan.
- If you are interested in recommendations about appropriate approaches to interlibrary loan, please read a previous post: Licensed Resources, Interlibrary Loan Requests, and Content Sharing.
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