ARE WE LOSING ALL OF THE JOURNALS ASSOCIATED WITH BIG DEALS?

No.  We will retain subscriptions to many journals used by faculty and students at OU.  By rejecting the increasing costs of big deals, we'll meet our budget reduction target and regain control of our materials budget, using it to pay for the journals we use, continuing to build our monograph collections, and meeting the needs of the University community.

HOW WILL THE LIBRARY PROVIDE ACCESS TO JOURNALS FOR WHICH A SUBSCRIPTION IS NOT MAINTAINED?

Access to unsubscribed titles will be via databases such as Highwire, JSTOR or Academic Search, journal archives we have previously purchased, and interlibrary loan (ILL).  Interlibrary loan requests are generally filled within two days.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUBSCRIPTION AND ACCESS?

We will still have access to journals via interlibrary loan.  Cancelling a subscription will mean that we will not have the full run of some journals.

CAN I STILL ACCESS A JOURNAL IF OUR SUBSCRIPTION IS CANCELLED?

Yes.  Many volumes published before 2019 will continue to be available, and you may gain access to current issues via interlibrary loan.

HOW CAN A JOURNAL SUBSCRIPTION BE RE-ESTABLISHED?

Contact your liaison librarian to discuss re-establishing a journal subscription.  They can advise you as to current library policies and procedures related to journal subscriptions.

HOW WILL I KNOW IF A JOURNAL IS AT RISK OF BEING CUT?

Review the information available on the current project tab of this guide.

WHEN DO SUBSCRIPTION CHANGES GO INTO EFFECT?

Subscription changes will go into effect January 2020.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP?

Controlling journal price increases is a critical issue facing libraries and the scholars they serve.  You can help by publishing in moderately-priced or open access journals, working with editorial boards to minimize publisher price increases, and by submitting your work to disciplinary repositories such as PubMed Central or OU's institutional repository, SHAREOK.  

Another way you can help is to link directly to subscribed journal content in Canvas, rather than upload PDFs of that content.  PDF uploads do not generate usage data, and usage data is a major consideration in our retention recommendations.  See our instructions on how to use permalinks for this purpose.