The impact of the current e‐journal marketplace on university library budget structures: some Glasgow experiences

Abstract

This paper examines the pressures being exerted on university library budget structures by consortial licence agreements and “big deal” arrangements. Particular reference is made to developments at three higher educational institutions located in the city of Glasgow, Scotland: the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian University, and the University of Glasgow. Pricing in the electronic information environment is likely to remain a complex and difficult area for the foreseeable future and academic library budgets will need to be sufficiently flexible in nature to be able to accommodate the complexities of current economic models. This flexibility is likely to require some degree of funding to remain under central control.