The Access Fee Dance — Covering the Cost of the Information Superhighway. Publisher, Vendor and Librarian Perspectives Converging?

By Roger Press (Managing Director, Academic Rights Press) <roger@academicrightspress.com>

the Publishing transformation. Making “All information” Available.

We have lived in an electronic world for only a few short decades. Database technologies have brought information together in new formats and hyperlinked relationships. This exciting new world creates possibilities for the advancement of knowledge and enhancement of learning which we have only begun to discover. Published information has evolved way beyond simple words on a printed page.

The infrastructure required to bring librarians electronic information is vastly more complex than the physical libraries many centuries old with parchment manuscripts and printed books on shelves.

the Access Fee Dance

For many hundreds of years, librarians bought information on vellum (scrolls and books) and paper (print). These products deliver information for perpetual access by library patrons with no “access fees.” These items sit happily on the shelves century after century. The cost of the shelving and library infrastructure is not thought of as an access fee. But the physical library, cataloguing, shelving and reader amenities are required to make information available. Today in 2021, librarians purchase electronic information sometimes for a one off purchase fee. Mentally they do not wish to pay “access fees” after having purchased the information. We will think through answers to these questions: 1. Will Access Fees ever go away? 2. What should access fees include (pay for)? 3. What is the “true” cost of access fees?

Publishing Without the Concept of Access Fees

Will a new publishing model emerge?

This article proposes new models to untangle the complex costs of electronic publishing for large and growing repositories. It could be applied to journal databases, and STM databases. The proposal is an offer to customers of either subscriptions, or a perpetual license plus a modest annual data purchase. Both these include access fees without making it a separate line item.

What is the real cost of access? Do librarians worry that access fees were set when networking, bandwidth and data storage was far more expensive? In that case, is it possible that access fees are a relic from the past? Are access fees being used by publishers for product development, feature enhancement and other items not related to access at all? Drum roll for cost accountants to step in, please. What is the real cost today of the “information superhighway” to get information to the library patron? We propose that subscriptions and annual data purchases cover all costs, without the need to separate out just “access,” or “hosting,” or “platform” fees.

New Approach to Access Fees

A Combination of subscription and Perpetual models for MusiciD.

At MusicID, we have a simple model offering both subscription and perpetual licenses. Perpetual license customers pay the annual data purchase which also covers access. Subscribers (like all subscription publications) cover the access fee in the cumulative subscription. Simple. There is not a category of customer who is not paying for new data each year. Access is included in the annual subscription or data purchase. Is this a model for other electronic publications?

MusicID is a powerful digital humanities tool that gives academics, students and librarians access to the raw, source chart data they need to assess music’s cultural and historical impact, unfettered by the limitations imposed by published charts. Customers purchase new data through annual subscription or annual data purchase to ensure currency.

MusicID is packed with visual and infographic tools that help illustrate findings that create impactful, informative presentations and reports. Mastery of data analysis and data storytelling are essential skills. New data storytelling insights by scholars make visible what could not be seen before.

MusicID offers additional resources to compliment the data. A World Events link each year since the 1950s provides context. It includes Political events worldwide; all the Nobel Prizes; sports results from the Kentucky Derby to Wimbledon; Grammy Awards; Oscars; top film, music and book releases; and significant deaths. This additional information is enriched with outbound links to academic databases. These include publications of Wiley, Taylor and Francis and Cambridge University Press. This enhances research by effectively co-locating relevant information inside MusicID.

We believe many electronic publications provide additional data each year, and could migrate customers to this model. And here’s an idea for perpetual licenses for ‘static’ content.

Placing Copyright scholarly Databases in Context

Co-location of additional resources with the paid resources.

InteLex Corporation’s Past Masters series encompasses the largest collection of primary source full-text electronic editions in philosophy in the world. At Academic Rights Press (ARP), we license content for InteLex and distribute the databases in Europe as perpetual licenses. In the case of InteLex, the works of additional philosophy and related humanities authors are provided to customers without a charge, because they pay the access fee. The functionality of the InteLex platform is valuable to scholars. It saves significant research time, allowing new insights to be produced more easily. The InteLex “Past Masters Commons” includes an ever growing set of content related to the paid content, expanding scholarly utility of the platform. This growing body of complementary content makes access fees more palatable to librarians.