[Lyrarl] Putting price of e-books via different aggregators into appropriate comparative context

Tue Sep 23 10:30:32 EDT 2014

Luke,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The per title prices among the publishers certainly vary across the spectrum, and you are correct that this variance accounts in part for the per title prices we can calculate for the various aggregated packages.

There are some differences in the approaches to pricing by the aggregators, though, that merit consideration. When calculating the prices of its collections, MUSE uses an average list price (hardback) and applies discounts off that price. For the 2014 publication year collection under the terms of our group offer, an ARL library receives a 43% discount off the total hardback list price of the titles.

The De Gruyter/HUP collections are priced using the average list price of a paperback, with additional percentages off that price for each title. The HUP titles definitely are favorably priced when compared to other university press titles. The % discounts off list in the De Gruyter/HUP offer are not as great as the % discounts off list for the MUSE collections (the deepest being 12.5% off paperback list), but that seems reasonable when one considers the fact that HUP's starting point is the paperback list price and that their  pricing in general is on the lower end of university press price continuum.

OUP's pricing approach for their own monographs and those from their partner presses is different. OUP creates 5 pricing tiers based on FTE. The beginning price per title in the lowest Tier A for the smallest institutions is the list price of the hardback. Pricing for the other tiers is increased by 4% per tier, so that the Tier B price is 104% of list price, the Tier C price is 108% of list, the Tier D price is 112% of list, and the Tier E price for the largest institutions is 116% of list price. At the discount thresholds we have been able to attain in the ARL offer for UPSO, the prices for large institutions such as ARLs end up being 13-16% off the actual list price. Since OUP titles are generally priced higher than other university press titles, the end result of all this means that the per title cost in the OUP/UPSO collections is quite a bit higher than in the other two offers.

It may well be appropriate, for a variety of reasons, for monographs from one publisher to be priced higher than monographs from another publisher. I think the question about OUP here really is their approach to elevating the list price for Tiers B-E over the print list price before they apply any discounts. This is not an approach taken by the other aggregators with whom we have negotiated offers.

With respect to single title purchase costs, I have heard many reports that the prices set by the MUSE publishers, on average 1.5 x print list price, are higher than the cost to acquire the same title through other platforms such as JSTOR, ebrary, EBL, EBSCO, etc. I'll note that the publishers set these per title costs for their content at MUSE, not MUSE itself. As Deborah just commented, the evaluation of the options needs to include the usage rights available and the DRM restrictions that may come along with the titles on other platforms. MUSE titles are always DRM-free.

Hopes this helps shed a little more light on the issues.

Celeste

From: lyrarl-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org [mailto:lyrarl-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org] On Behalf Of Swindler, Luke
Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2014 9:33 AM
To: LYRASIS ARL Collection Development Contacts
Subject: [Lyrarl] Putting price of e-books via different aggregators into appropriate comparative context

Celeste,

When taking into account price per title as a possible factor influencing library acquisition, Lyrasis needs to keep in mind that cost is not related to platform per se; rather, price fundamentally reflects what the publishers included by an aggregator offering charge for their print and e-books.

This determinant becomes evident when one looks at mean book prices according to YBP Library Services data.  OUP monographs are significantly more expensive than the average price of the university press book:  Whereas the YBP mean price for university press monographs in FY2013/2014 was $73.02, OUP came in at $91.73.  Harvard University Press, by way of contrast, registered an exceptionally low mean price of $40.35.  As a result, UPSO titles-which are dominated by OUP imprints are significantly more expensive than De Gruyter distributed e-books that include only HUP, while MUSE titles are in between in terms of cost.

Within this broader context, comparisons of which aggregator offers the best pricing needs to be based on analyzing the same publishers in the mix.  Having reviewed numerous records in YBP's GOBI database for university press e-books that are offered by different aggregators, for example, MUSE versions of e-books seem to me to be more expense than the same titles offered by Books at JSTOR platform.

In conclusion, price may constitute a factor in library acquisitions but can only be assessed within the context of what publishers charge for their books.

Luke Swindler

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Luke Swindler                               Collections Management Officer
Davis Library    CB #3918                        luke_swindler at unc.edu<mailto:luke_swindler at unc.edu>
University of North Carolina                           TEL (919-962-1095)
Chapel Hill, NC  27514   USA                        FAX (919-962-4450)
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"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most
intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change." Charles Darwin

On Sep 22, 2014, at 11:33 AM, Celeste Feather <celeste.feather at lyrasis.org<mailto:celeste.feather at lyrasis.org>> wrote:

I'd like to check in with you quickly as I begin working with the university press ebook aggregators for 2015 collection offers through the ARL Licensing Initiative in the next few weeks. As I look over all the activity of the past few years, one thing I've noticed is that participation in the OUP University Press Scholarship Online (UPSO) offers is lower than participation in the MUSE and De Gruyter/Harvard University Press offers. I'd like to get a little more information from this community about why this might be happening.

One reason that quickly comes to mind is the per title pricing in the UPSO collections, which is higher than the per title pricing from MUSE and De Gruyter/HUP. I continue to press this point with OUP. I also know that there are several existing consortial group offers for OUP/UPSO ebooks that pre-date the ARL Licensing Initiative, and these may be contributing to the lower participation level.   I am wondering, though, if there are other factors that I could share with OUP as we negotiate for 2015.

If those of you from libraries that have not participated in an ARL UPSO offer yet could take 3 minutes to give me some feedback, I would be most appreciative.

Here's a link to a quick survey so I can gather your responses efficiently:   https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ARLUPSO

Please respond by Friday, September 26 if you are able. I will always take input at any time, of course!

The survey asks the following questions:

1.       Did your library consider participating in the ARL offers for Oxford University Press Scholarship Online during 2013 and 2014? Yes/No

2.       [If No] What factors contributed to the decision?
a.       Already participating in another group offer for UPSO content
b.      Prefer to purchase titles selectively rather than in collections
c.       Lack of available funds
d.      Content not of high interest to user community
e.      Other, please comment:

3.       [If Yes]What factors contributed to the decision not to participate after your library considered a purchase of UPSO content?
a.       Cost too high
b.      Lack of available funds
c.       Did not like platform
d.      Preferred to purchase titles selectively rather than in collections
e.      Other, please comment:

4.       How likely is it that your library will consider participating in the upcoming UPSO 2015 offer?
a.       Very likely
b.      Somewhat likely
c.       Don't know
d.      Not likely

Thanks for your help.

Celeste

Celeste Feather
Senior Licensing Program Account Manager
LYRASIS
celeste.feather at lyrasis.org<mailto:celeste.feather at lyrasis.org>
800-999-8558 ext. 2954 (Toll-free)
678-235-2954 (Direct)
celeste.feather (Skype)

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