[Eril-l] [EXT] Retiree access to electronic resources?

[Crawford, Laurel]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my inquiry a couple of weeks ago. I was asked to summarize for the list-some of these responses were sent to me privately and some were posted to the list. We also found policies posted on some other libraries' websites.
Overall Questions

  *   What defines "active" vs. "inactive" for staff and faculty? Who gets to decide? Factors/indicators people mentioned:
     *   Book lending privileges
     *   HR status
     *   The person is still doing teaching, service, or research activities
     *   Official emeritus status
     *   Active email account and/or active campus credentials
  *   Does the number or percentage of affected individuals change the answer?

Everyone agrees

  *   Access for alumni and retirees are two different situations; however, if alumni can access something, retirees can too.
  *   Anyone can access databases by physically coming to the library.
  *   Answer to the question of retiree access lies in a complicated interplay between vendor intent in the license, the library's interpretation of the license, and the IT department's abilities to block and allow different groups.
  *   Most libraries will choose one solution (either allow or block retirees) and apply to all resources, rather than allowing and blocking access for different resources as specified in individual contracts.

Summary

*         Retirees allowed: 5 institutions

*         Retirees blocked: 7 institutions

*         Retirees blocked, but emeriti allowed: 6 institutions

  *   Rationales for allowing retiree access include:
     *   Retirees sometimes teach a class or come out of retirement to work part time
     *   Retirees have an active email address
     *   Retirees have an active login credential
     *   Unauthorized access for retirees isn't the biggest concern for vendors, so it's low risk
  *   Rationales for blocking retiree access include:

o   Most of their contracts do not explicitly allow retiree access

o   Users need "official standing" on campus per contract

o   Retirees are not "current" faculty and staff, as specified in most licenses

o   It's important that IT not allow access for anyone who merely has an active email account

  *   Rationales for treating emeriti differently include:
     *   They have a distinct, official title designation from the university
     *   They're still considered part of the faculty

o   Emeriti are different because they do work for the university...they're still active. It is a differentiation from merely being a "retiree"

o   Vendors are ok with allowing emeritus in, as long as every retiree is not considered emeritus

  *   Technical and logistical concerns include:
     *   One library requires receipt of the retiree's name from registrar or HR to confirm official standing
     *   One library believe they should be blocking retirees, but technical difficulties prevent them from effectively blocking retirees without also blocking large swaths of other legitimate users.


Laurel Sammonds Crawford
Head of Collection Development
University of North Texas Libraries
laurel.crawford at unt.edu<mailto:laurel.crawford at unt.edu>

Preferred pronouns: she, her, and hers

[http://tartan.unt.edu/sites/all/themes/greenlight/images/tartan-a.jpg]

From: Eril-l [mailto:eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org] On Behalf Of Crawford, Laurel
Sent: Thursday, February 8, 2018 10:07 AM
To: eril-l <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
Subject: [EXT] [Eril-l] Retiree access to electronic resources?

Hello collective wisdom,

We are wondering how common it is for academic libraries to allow retirees access to electronic resources, outside of the library, using an institutional login?

As librarians, is it your understanding that our contracts must explicitly permit retiree access, or are retirees considered part of the "authorized users" group?

I'm considering retirees to be people who used to work at the institution but who are now officially "inactive" from an HR perspective, who separated via retirement and not quitting/being fired.

We'd greatly appreciate any advice you may have.

Laurel Sammonds Crawford
Head of Collection Development
University of North Texas Libraries
laurel.crawford at unt.edu<mailto:laurel.crawford at unt.edu>

Preferred pronouns: she, her, and hers

[http://tartan.unt.edu/sites/all/themes/greenlight/images/tartan-a.jpg]

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