The digital archival group purchasing scheme helps Higher Education libraries with the purchasing of digital collections and archives from publishers by making them more affordable.
Based on the principle ‘the more products that are purchased, the lower the price’, the digital archival group purchasing scheme has saved Jisc members in Higher Education over £600,000 since it was first piloted in March 2017. Launched into service November 2018, the group purchasing scheme delivered 21% discount off the Jisc-banded list price in year one. Institutions from Jisc bands 1 through to 10 have participated in the scheme, with members in bands 5A/5B accounting for almost 50% of sales overall.
Our transparent and inclusive acquisition model removes the need to negotiate with publishers on an individual level for archival collections. Members automatically receive 20% off the products in the scheme, further lowering costs of digital archival collections the more institutions purchase. As a one-off perpetual purchase, they additionally benefit from no recurring platform fees.
The transition from pilot to service doubled the number of publishers on board, further opening opportunities for learning and scholarship.
Year two of the services will launch in early November 2019, followed by a survey offering members the opportunity to reflect on the group purchasing scheme.
