Challenges to Licensing from Some Publishers: Past Activities
NOTE: After successful negotiations, Nature journals were licensed and made available as of November 2001.Update: Nature and licensing of digital version (July 2001)
July 26, 2001
Licensing in digital form remains a top priority for the CDL. Our objections to the Nature institutional model have been largely remedied, the pricing is now reasonable, and CDL and campus library funds have been identified to support the license. I am hopeful that licensing terms can be resolved in time to make Nature and Nature monthlies available by fall.
The major unresolved licensing issue is:
Perpetual ownership/right to archive. The UC libraries collectively believe that, for the substantial investments we make in content and in order to serve future scholars, the rights to own what has been purchased/licensed in digital format are essential. Nature may change hands, Nature may be archived by a third party, and UC does not expect to pay repeatedly for the same content. UC should have the rights to archive the digital content it has purchased.
This is a principle that is important to other research libraries as well and I am hopeful that Nature Publishing Co. is reviewing and well change this policy in the near future.
Beverlee A. French
Associate University Librarian
Director, Shared Content
California Digital Library
University of California
300 Lakeside Drive 6th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612-3550
