BioOne (www.bioone.org) is delighted to announce its participation in the innovative SERU (Shared Electronic Resource Understanding) pilot program, sponsored by NISO (http://www.niso.org/committees/SERU/). BioOne joins an inaugural group of publishers, libraries, and consortia that have agreed to use SERU on a trial basis.
SERU seeks to address the problematic status of many publisher-library subscription transactions, currently dominated by extensive negotiated licenses. These formal licenses increase the cost of sales for both parties, delay researchers’ access to content, and perpetuate the often-adversarial nature of the subscription economy. As such, many publishers and libraries have called for a new, best practices approach that streamlines and simplifies the e-resource acquisition process, while still protecting copyright.
SERU has answered this call with a Recommended Practice document for Trial Use that outlines a “framework of shared understanding and good faith.” The Statements of Common Understanding for Subscribing to Electronic Resources include definitions of acceptable and inappropriate use, confidentiality and privacy, service and performance expectations, and archiving and perpetual access standards.
“The SERU license simplifies the subscription transaction and reduces costs for both publishers and libraries, and, in doing so, fits perfectly into BioOne’s mission and market niche. We’re delighted to be a part of such an important program,” said BioOne Executive Director, Susan Skomal.
Going forward, libraries and consortia wishing to subscribe to BioOne will be given the option to forego a traditional licensing agreement and operate under SERU Recommended Practices. BioOne’s sales and marketing partner in North America, Amigos Library Services (www.amigos.org) will continue to manage these transactions. Interested libraries should contact Carrie Esch at cesch@amigos.org with any questions.