Why the University of Iowa Libraries has not licensed the online version of Nature

The University of Iowa Libraries recognizes the importance of Nature and the Nature monthlies as among the most influential scientific journals published. We are eager to provide campus-wide access to Nature in electronic format, but find that we, like many research libraries, cannot agree to the terms andconditions that the Nature Publishing Group has proposed. Our specific concerns fall into three areas.

• The current institutional license terms include a 12-issue delay for selected sections of Nature and a 3-issue delay for portions of the Nature monthlies. In contrast, individual subscribers have immediate online access to the full content of these titles. Analysis by another CIC institution suggests that approximately 40% of content would be withheld for Nature and 30% from the monthly Nature publications.

• In terms of cost, the pricing for online access is high relative to that of peer publications. Nature online is priced at $8,641 per year for institutions the size of Iowa, while the Nature monthlies are priced at $5,655. The print edition of Nature costs $695 per year.

• The license does not provide permanent access to the licensed content of the journals. Other journal publishers with whom the Lisbraries has license agreements allow permanent ownership and persistent archival rights to the content in digital form. It is important for the Libraries to continue building permanent assets with its collection funds.

It is the opinion of the University of Iowa Libraries that these terms do not meet the educational and research needs of the campus, despite the value and importance of the Nature Publishing journals. Joining a number of major academic institutions, including Harvard, Yale, the University of Illinois, and the University of California system, we are urging the Nature Publishing Group to revise their institutional license to one that is more equitable and appropriate in terms of timeliness, cost, and ongoing access to content. Experience has shown that decisions not to purchase such products can lead in time to more acceptable licensing terms, and we hope our decision and input to the publisher will result in the review and revision of the Nature online license agreement. We would appreciate your comments and concerns on this issue. You can direct your comments or questions to Edward Shreeves, Director for Collections and Information Resources (335-5871 and email at edward-shreeves@uiowa.edu).

If you would like to express your views to Nature Publishing, you may contact

Ms. Della Sar, Director of Global Marketing, d.sar@nature.com

Ms. Annette Thomas, Managing Director, a.thomas@nature.com

Mr. Philip Campbell, Editor, p.campbell@nature.com

Edward Shreeves
University Libraries

University Libraries, University of Iowa.
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URL: http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/collections/nature/index.html
Last updated: Friday, Apr 06, 2001