Tuesday, August 14, 2001

Cal State System Throws Its Weight Around in Negotiating an E-Book Deal By GOLDIE BLUMENSTYK What good is clout if you never use it? That's what officials at the giant California State University System were thinking when they recently sought generous terms in a new deal for electronic library books. System officials say they hope their tactics -- and similar efforts by other large academic customers -- will pressure publishers and electronic-library companies to alter some of their existing pricing models and access rules, many of which aren't well suited to academic users. Evan Reader, the point man for the Cal State pilot project on e-books, says university systems and consortia of libraries aren't exerting enough influence over the evolving e-book industry. "They accept what's put on the plate," he says. "We don't want to do that." The whole idea of consortia, Mr. Reader adds, is "to be able to speak with one voice and have a say in what's going on." He is the director of the Systemwide Electronic Information Resources Group in the C.S.U. Chancellor's Office. At Cal State, says Mr. Reader, "we're not happy with the 'one book, one user' model" that companies like NetLibrary now use. "We want to come up with new ideas." Under NetLibrary's typical model, if a college or consortium buys only one copy of an e-book for its electronic-library collection, only one patron can use that book at a time. If it's a book that is in high demand, librarians' only choices are to disappoint patrons or buy additional copies. Mr. Reader says Cal State cut a different deal with NetLibrary: The system has purchased one copy of nearly 1,500 e-books, with the understanding that about half of them can be circulated to an unlimited number of users at the same time. The books covered by this aspect of the deal are reference books and books on information technology, business, and economics -- which are also typically the most popular among online users. Mr. Reader says Cal State isn't paying any more for its books than other NetLibrary patrons pay for more-restrictive access. "I suspect they went along with it because of our size," he says of the company, which is based in Boulder, Colo. With 23 campuses and 370,000 students, the Cal State system is the largest in the country. Cal State's initial purchase from NetLibrary is relatively small, but Mr. Reader says he imagines that the company sees the potential for "volume sales" if it cooperates now. Marge Gammon, director of marketing for NetLibrary, says the Cal State arrangement is one of several tests the company is working on involving clients and publishers. But she says that these are all in early stages and that no decisions have been made about changing the company's approach to pricing. Before deciding whether to buy more books, Cal State will spend the next several months evaluating how the e-books are used by students, professors, and staff members, Mr. Reader says. He also has been talking with officials of the California community-college system, another behemoth, about joining in on some e-book deals. That, he says, should really get the attention of e-library companies -- and publishers. "If publishers are convinced that there are others ways of making money" besides the models now out there, he says, "they'll go for it." Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

Education Dept. may relax provision denying student aid to those with drug convictions University of Florida expects a decrease in black enrollment this fall Yale plays up abolitionist history and ignores its ties to slave trade, graduate students say OPINION: Bush's stem-cell decision may have unexpected -- and unintended -- consequences Majority of Ireland's medical students are from outside of Europe Cal State system throws its weight around in negotiating an e-book deal A digest of recent corporate news in distance education