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Outreach to acquisitions/collection librarians and using Worldcat data

One of the core goals of the Opening the Future model is to shift from a bifurcated environment where acquisitions budgets are used to buy books, while scholarly communications budgets are

used to fund OA, into a more holistic environment in which all acquisitions expenditure contributes to making content open for all. Nevertheless, such an environment still exists in 2024, and outreach needs to take account of this. 

When selling the Opening the Future model to acquisitions librarians, the focus should be on the unique content that is delivered to each participating library (the backlist). Institutions in this situation will also usually focus on a teaching need for the title or whether faculty have requested a purchase, which can be challenging to demonstrate. Demand-driven acquisition paradigms have also instilled a false belief in the sustainability of on-demand access. 

Various data sources, such as Worldcat or Open Syllabus, can help to make the case to acquisitions librarians, although the data can be read in different ways by different institutions. For instance, if Worldcat data indicate that a library has previously purchased every title from a press, some libraries will see this as a good indication that they should join the Opening the Future model as it represents a cheaper way to acquire all new books. Others, though, may question why they should subscribe when they already have all the titles. Hence, data are never neutral and require contextualisation for each library.

HereIn isorder to find relevant acquisitions/collection librarians, you can use Worldcat or Open Syllabus data above, or you can purchase access to subject librarian contact lists from reputable marketers. Alternatively, you can research which universities have a heavy teaching or research focus in the subject you are offering. You may already have strong links to libraries via your current sales activities. 

For a generic template based on our own outreach to acquisitions / collections librarians:librarians please click here 👉Template direct outreach to acquisitions librarians.docx

Dear _____

With apologies for writing out of the blue, I work at [short description of the press and its strengths]. I’m writing to ask if your institution would consider joining our collective subscription scheme for open access books, Opening the Future/[whatever name you may give your own implementation of it]. 

The model enhances your local collection with access to relevant and high-quality backlist titles, using the subscription fees to then publish forthcoming frontlist titles open access. This means that research is freely disseminated, and authors do not have to rely on finding funding for book processing charges. Rather than waiting for a specific threshold, each library subscription contributes to incrementally flipping a series of the press’ frontlist to OA. 

After an initial three year subscription, your library gains perpetual access to the backlist titles in your subscription package, making this an attractive and low-cost acquisition, the proceeds of which are used to publish more of our frontlist OA in a sustainable and equitable way. 

WHAT DOES IT COST: Membership is extremely cost-effective, with pricing tiered according to size of institution. Access to the packages of books starts at just c.£____ p.a. for the smallest libraries, up to c.£___ p.a. for the largest. Signing up is simple through Jisc’s standard Licence Subscription Manager and all membership fees are used only to produce new OA frontlist monographs. 

WHAT’S INCLUDED: The press is offering books on ____________ For a full list of the packages with descriptions, please see here [insert link to your relevant site].

HOW TO JOIN: Jisc/Lyrasis members can subscribe through their normal acquisition process at:

  • [Insert relevant catalogue link here]

The backlist titles in the packages are DRM-free and unlimited access, are accessible on persistent DOIs, and have easily ingestible metadata in the form of KBART or MARC files. COUNTER-compliant usage data is also available. 

Since we began this programme our supporting libraries have enabled us  to publish approximately ____ titles OA already [insert link here to wherever they are collated]. 

This subscription model represents an important shift in how OA books are funded, moving away from the unaffordable BPC model,  spreading costs more equitably, and helping to create a global OA collection. It is also compliant with OA monograph mandates such as UKRI’s. 

I would be happy to answer any questions - with many thanks for your consideration of this proposal. If you have a colleague who might be better placed to consider this, may I ask you to send this email on.

Best wishes,

[insert name]

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