[Eril-l] Newsbank

[Remy, Charlie]

Hi All,

I’m wondering if other libraries on this listserv are facing similar challenges to ours below with Newsbank?

Our library has subscribed to the microfilm edition of our local newspaper for many years. About 5 years ago, Newsbank began an exclusive contract with our local paper.  Around the same time period, we started having higher and higher annual inflationary increases on our microfilm subscription. Increases were justified with the rationale that microfilm material costs were going up.

Starting next year, Newsbank will no longer be selling any newspapers via microfilm. Instead, they’re moving libraries to “digital microfilm” which is a searchable image (but non-searchable PDF image downloads) with perpetual access moving forward.  This means if we start subscribing in 2019, that’s when our content begins.  Several items concern me, namely the new platform lacks many important functionalities like the ability to see the article title in search results, easily navigate to pages where articles continue in the digital replica, etc.

Over the years, Newsbank has consistently been inflexible and unwilling to work with us. Examples include:

  *   Unwillingness to sell us online access to only our local newspaper (in ASCII text). Instead, they only sell academic libraries large domestic and international newspaper databases that we cannot afford. They do, however, sell individual online newspapers to public libraries.
  *   Stating that it’s supposedly a requirement to add one of their expensive newspaper databases just so we can maintain (and pay for) access to the digital microfilm next year.
  *   Unwillingness to offer multiyear agreements with inflationary caps on the microfilm or digital microfilm.
  *   Despite signing an exclusive agreement with our local newspaper several years ago, Newsbank still has not determined if or when they will digitize and sell its archive as a product to libraries.

Have any of you been in a similar situation with Newsbank?

For those who have been subscribing to Newsbank microfilm, what are your plans for 2019 when it will no longer be available?

Please share your experiences with me off list and I can compile an anonymized summary of responses for the list.

Thanks in advance!

Charlie Remy


Charlie Remy
Associate Professor
Electronic Resources and Serials Librarian
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library
UTC-Dept 6456
600 Douglas St.
Chattanooga, TN 37403
charlie-remy at utc.edu<mailto:charlie-remy at utc.edu>
Tel. 423-425-4470<tel:423-425-4470>

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