[LIBRARYDIR] gift subscription ethics

[Mindy Coslor]

Hi Stacy,

We discourage outside gifts of subscriptions.  One of the reasons is the ethical dilemma of a subscription at the much cheaper individual rate for a library.  It subverts the publisher's right to make a profit.  Potentially, we could be billed for prior years if it were discovered.  It doesn't make me feel comfortable.

The other reason is the lack of control over claiming and continuous subscriptions.  We've had experience with people donating and then dealing with the lapses that occur.  We would rather bill departments and set up the subscriptions ourselves.

Mindy

Dr. Mindy Coslor, Ph.D.
Director of Library Services
Skagit Valley College
360.416.7761

From: LIBRARYDIR [mailto:librarydir-bounces at lists.ctc.edu] On Behalf Of Stacy Prest
Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2017 1:21 PM
To: librarydir at lists.ctc.edu
Subject: [LIBRARYDIR] gift subscription ethics

All-
We have had faculty and/or staff offer to furnish the library with a "gift" subscription to a journal in their field.  They want them to be catalogued and available for students to check out.  My ethical concern is that the "individual" cost is being paid for, not the "institutional" rate.  Is this an ethics violation?  If any of you have experience with this or have had any rulings on it, I'd love to know how you handle it.  And, of course, we all know that there are costs involved with these "gifts"!  :)
Stacy

Stacy L. Prest
Director of Library Services
Walla Walla Community College
500 Tausick Way
Walla Walla, WA 99362
509.527.4294


ACRL "Excellence in Academic Libraries" Award Recipient 2013
       WWCC Library: Connecting Students to Information

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