Moving Beyond Print (Hot Topic)

Libraries have been moving to electronic resources for decades. The exigencies of the pandemic have accelerated this transition so much that it's important to have a new conversation about what it means to move beyond print. Natural characteristics of print that tend to disappear when content is provided electronically—e.g., versioning, preservation, ownership, security, and privacy of access, shareability and lendability—must now be explicitly requested and guaranteed in electronic resource licenses. These important considerations are only part of the increasing challenge of vendor relations as print disappears. With no alternative for access to the content, how can libraries keep from being disadvantaged in negotiations? What options remain for meaningful pricing benchmarks, and what can libraries do to rein in price increases? Is it possible to keep print publications alive when the electronic alternatives are not sufficient? This panel discussion will include law librarians experienced in multiple environments, including members of AALL's Committee on Relations with Information Vendors (CRIV), and the President of the NELLCO Law Library Consortium. The panel will seek to illuminate several perspectives on the transition away from print resources and to suggest some goals for the near future.

Target Audience:

Library directors or managers, especially those with responsibility for electronic resources contracts; librarians involved in collection development, strategic planning.