Author: Ashley Newton, Acquisitions and Metadata Librarian, University of California, Irvine.
The task of renewing subscriptions can come with varying challenges, from navigating budget constraints and competing priorities to managing the expectations of patrons and stakeholders. Rather than simply defaulting to autorenewals, however, it is important to make data-informed, strategic decisions when deciding whether to renew a subscription. The following five questions are designed to help jumpstart your evaluation of a subscription before renewing.
1. Are your patrons using the resource? Begin by obtaining and analyzing relevant usage statistics from COUNTER reports or other available analytics to assess how frequently and consistently the resource is being used. Conducting a cost-per-use analysis can further inform your evaluation. If usage is low and/or the cost-per-use is high, it is important to investigate any underlying factors that may be contributing to those figures. For instance, low usage may indicate that patrons are simply unaware of the resource, suggesting that a marketing campaign could help increase usage.
2. Is the resource still needed? It is important to recognize that patron needs are not static. Libraries must remain adaptable, continuously reassessing their collections to ensure they are aligned with their patrons’ needs. In an academic library setting, for example, the departure of a faculty member whose research relied heavily on a particular resource may present an opportunity to reassess that subscription.
3. Does this resource duplicate content found elsewhere in your collection? The exact resource may be available through another existing subscription, or the subject matter and content may be sufficiently covered by other resources in your collection. In either case, it is worth carefully evaluating whether to maintain both subscriptions.
4. Are the licensing terms and vendor communication still working for your library? Restrictive licensing terms may no longer enable the resource to meet the needs of your patrons. Furthermore, if a significant amount of staff time is spent troubleshooting technical issues, it might be time to reevaluate.
5. Are there alternatives you have not yet explored? Resources and platforms are constantly evolving and it is often worthwhile to explore the current market to determine if any resources are available that are better suited to your library’s needs.
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