I've stayed out of this discussion for the most part because I've been a little busy this week. But I would like to add a few random thoughts about tiered pricing and FTE and such. Pardon me if I ramble
First, I am the media librarian for the largest public university in the US. So any tiered pricing based on FTE or Carnegie classification would mean instantly that we would have to purchase at the highest price. We certainly already do that for most of our electronic sources which are so priced. Others have written that larger schools have larger acquisitions budgets that smaller schools. That is very true. Our acquisitions budget exceeds 8 million dollars. But it is very important to point out that because of our size and our larger budget we carry the burden, the expectation even, that our collection development will be broader and deeper and more comprehensive than other institutions. What may appear to be a luxury to others presents just as much a hardship to us, and budgets are still tight, because we have an obligation to collect far more of the expensive and obscure content. And then make it available to others through ILL. So while your institution may not be able to afford "The International Journal of Lesbian Basket Weaving" perhaps ours canŠ and your faculty member or student researchers needing articles from it are able to get those articles from us, through ILL. I am blessed to not have a media budget. My purchases come from a general acquisitions budget. And I collect aggressively (as many of the distributor reps on this list can attest). Not accounting got feature films and odds and ends through the year, my National Media Market purchases this years numbered about 150 titles. Please don't see this as braggadocio but rather a statement about how we are supporting the independent filmmaker market. (This is on top of our Films on Demand subscription and our Alexander Street Press collections). This is our roleŠ. ONE of the reasons that we are able to acquire so broadly is from our volume and our purchasing history with the major distributors. But another reason is that I do most of my selection at the National Media Market, where I am able to batch my ordering and negotiate for discounts from the list price. This is one of the primary reasons I attend the Market. But I will, if possible, buy the home market copy if one is available. EVERY institution is going to handle things differently, and make their decisions based on their own circumstances. Large size however, does not automatically translate to heavy usage. Our copies of the 2 different films we have of bee colony collapse (not, Disappearance of the Bees) have been used 3 times. But we paid the institutional price for those titles. I'm sure that there are many other examples that all of us can relate. I do not offer any solutionsŠ but caution that "one size does not fit all". I think MOST of the distributors I know understand this and are willing to offer variable pricing. And I appreciate that. -deg deg farrelly, Media Librarian Arizona State University Libraries Hayden Library C1H1 P.O. Box 871006 Tempe, Arizona 85287-1006 Phone: 602.332.3103 --- To market, to market, to find some fresh filmŠ I'm attending the 2013 National Media Market, November 3-7In Charleston, South Carolina. See you there? --- I'm attending the 2013 National Media Market, November 3-7 In Charleston, South Carolina. See you there? VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
