Subscription Orders & Renewals

Updated May 7, 2020

Alliance Procedures for Ordering and Renewing Electronic Resource Subscriptions

Each Alliance resource Agreement has a single renewal date. (See below.)

New Alliance subscription orders that are part of an existing agreement will be treated as part of the renewal process.

A minimum of three (3) participants is preferred, though not always required, for a resource subscription Agreement to be managed by the Alliance. (See below.)

Effective with renewals with start dates on or after July 1, 2020, the Alliance ER renewal process will be managed via ConsortiaManager. Renewal reminders will be sent directly from the ConsortiaManager system and will not be distributed to the alliance-er and ernonmember lists. Licensing and other Agreement documentation will be available in a consortial Google Drive folder and linked from CM.

Orders

A minimum of three participating institutions is preferred in order to subscribe to (or subsequently renew) a product through the Alliance. Note: If the number of participating subscribers drops below three, Alliance ER staff will notify the remaining subscriber(s) that they will need to renew directly with the vendor.

The Alliance only supports a single renewal date per resource. Institutions wishing to join the Alliance subscription who currently subscribe with an off-cycle renewal date should:

  • Quotes can be requested at any time. (See our page with E-Resource Price Quote Information here.)
  • Notify the Alliance that they intend to join by sending a message to eresources@orbiscascade.org.
  • Contact the content provider directly and copy the Alliance.
  • Request an initial prorated subscription term (i.e., partial year) to synchronize with the Alliance renewal date.
  • Request Alliance pricing for the prorated subscription term (at publisher’s discretion; not always granted).
  • Confirm the new subscirption in ConsortiaManager to ensure inclusion in the Alliance Agreement going forward.

If you are interested in a subscription to a resource not currently managed by the Alliance, please contact eresources@orbiscascade.org. To gauge interest of other members, please feel free to start a discussion via the alliance-er@orbiscascade.org list.

Renewals

Annual Renewals

For annual renewals, content providers are typically asked about pricing two or more months prior to renewal. The vendor provides a quote, which is proactively vetted by Alliance staff and updated in ConsortiaManager.

Multi-Year Agreements

For multi-year agreements, discussion about new agreements may start six months or more before a new agreement is expected to be signed.

After pricing is confirmed, an announcement email is sent from eresources@orbiscascade.org to the Alliance ER member and non-member lists notifying of the pending renewal. The email announcement provides:

  • Information regarding the product(s), including links to current title lists if available
  • Best list pricing
  • Alliance quotes for current subscribers
  • An opportunity to renew, drop, or get a quote
  • A response deadline for inclusion in the renewal purchase order
    • This is usually 2-3 weeks depending on when the vendor provides pricing

An overview of Alliance multi-year journal package agreements is here.

Renewal Notification

This announcement notifies current subscribers that they have the opportunity to drop their subscription up to the deadline. Non-response is treated as an automatic renewal. Following the close of the review period, a renewal confirmation notice will be sent and include a summary of any changes.

Communication

Details of Alliance e-resources communication should not be shared beyond program member and affiliate participants, and Alliance staff. This expectation includes information shared on Alliance email lists. Libraries that are not currently enrolled in the program should contact eresources@orbiscascade.org to inquire about participation.

Note: Each institution is responsible for designating one or more individuals to monitor the respective email lists for resource information and managing their subscription(s) in ConsortiaManager.

Central Staff

Alliance ER staff are responsible for negotiating the lowest subscription purchase price, renewal price, annual price increase, and terms for centrally-managed licenses. From time to time, we may make subscribers aware of better deals offered by other vendors for the same product.

Feedback

Subscriber feedback regarding products and/or process is encouraged. Our procedures may change over time as we receive input from subscribers.

Non-Renewals and Cancellations

Libraries are expected to maintain their subscription for the entirety of the subscription period (typically one year). In the case of multi-year agreements, Alliance staff will try to negotiate to allow for cancellations due to exigent financial circumstances.

Note that off-cycle cancellations (whether for one- or multi-year agreements) resulting in a total or partial (i.e., “prorated”) refunds may only be granted by the publisher and are not usually permitted. Except for cases of financial exigency as explicitly permitted within a signed license, it is incumbent on the institution to work directly with the provider for a possible cancellation. Once an annual resource has been invoiced and/or paid, it is typically considered non-cancelable. Note that mid-cycle cancellations are not managed via ConsortiaManager.

For annual subscriptions, non-renewal at the end of a given subscription period may be indicated by selecting to ‘Reject’ a renewal in ConsortiaManager. (Note that non-renewals in CM are designated as “cancellations.”) Non-renewals are handled by the Alliance as part of the regular subscription cycle. For non-renewal of a multi-year subscription, please notify the Alliance as soon as possible, since these agreements are quite complex and reduced participation may impact overall consortial pricing.