A consortium of hundreds of South Korean universities has reportedly reached a new deal with scientific publisher Elsevier for access to ScienceDirect, a database containing content from 3500 academic journals and thousands of electronic books. The agreement includes price hikes between 3.5% and 3.9%. The publisher had earlier pushed for a 4.5% increase.
The universities will be seeking more concessions in future negotiations. According to Lee Chang Won, secretary general of the Korea University & College Library Association, Elsevier should abolish the minimum flat rate system, in which these universities have to pay for digital content that nobody reads. The Korea University & College Library Association, together with the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE), leads the consortium.
In May 2017, the association, the council, and other groups formed a consortium to represent 300 university and college libraries in negotiations with 42 database providers. The group took a hard line on Elsevier's proposed rate hike and also sought concessions on charges for open-access publications and little-used journals included in the database. When talks hit an impasse at the end of the year, the group organised a boycott under which the schools refused to renew their contracts. Elsevier agreed to provide access while negotiations continued.
Individual universities will now have the option of a 1-year renewal at an increase of 3.9% or a 3-year contract with yearly increases of 3.5%, 3.6%, and 3.7% above the 2017 baseline. Schools are expected to start concluding contracts with Elsevier this week. The publisher has however agreed to continue to provide access to ScienceDirect until documents are signed.
Singapore-based Elsevier spokesperson Jason Chan has confirmed that the publisher reached an agreement with the South Korean consortium for access to ScienceDirect through 2020 and has agreed to continue to discuss future access options.
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