Licensing and Negotiations for Electronic Content

ABSTRACT

This article provides an overview of the basic characteristics of database, or eContent, license agreements, defines general licensing terms, maps the anatomy of an electronic resources subscription agreement, and discusses negotiating skills and techniques for library staff.

KEYWORDS:

• License
• licensing
• negotiate
• negotiating
• negotiation
• electronic content
• eContent
• database
• databases
• journal
• contract
• agreement
• licensor
• licensee
• information
• subscription

Amy Crawford is the Manager of Electronic Resources and Technology for the OCLC Western Service Center, located in Ontario, CA. In addition to managing training and support for OCLC reference products and services in the western United, she negotiates all third-party eContent agreements for OCLC Western, OCLC Eastern (formerly OCLC CAPCON), and OCLC Canada. Prior to her time at OCLC Western, Amy worked as Licensing Program Coordinator and Contract Administrator for SOLINET, the Southeastern Library Network, in Atlanta, GA. Amy has taken both licensing workshops offered by Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and has studied both bargaining and negotiations as part of her MBA program at California State University—Dominguez Hills.

This information is not to be used as a substitute for legal advice. When negotiating contracts for electronic resources, library employees should always work with legal counsel to ensure each license adheres to individual library standards.