WORKING TOGETHER THROUGH MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS IMPACTS AND

WORKING TOGETHER THROUGH MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: IMPACTS AND BEST PRACTICES FOR THE LIBRARY MARKET A VIEW FROM ACADEMIC LIBRARIES

Agenda for Today ● Highlight some benefits for publishers and libraries ● Consider some negative aspects of mergers and acquisitions ● Look at some current trends and best practices

Benefits of Mergers and Acquisitions ● ● ● Stabilize publisher or vendor Protect important titles and services Maintain staffing New cash flow Provide technology and operational support

More Benefits of Mergers and Acquisitions ● ● ● Opportunity to pursue new markets Enhance marketing Improve existing products and services Ability to pursue emerging areas Faster access to content

Negative Impacts of Mergers and Acquisitions ● ● ● Destabilize existing company Loss of content Reduction in service quality Loss of favorite reps Changes to existing licenses and agreements

Current Trends with Mergers and Acquisitions ● ● ● Decline in monograph and serial vendors Expansion in services for existing vendors Vendors become publishers Vendors provide content management Larger portion budget with one company

Current Trends with Mergers and Acquisitions ● ● ● Larger publishers consume smaller publishers Steep increases to subscription price Profitability over quality Impact: society publishers/university presses Unsustainable pricing to force out competitors

Managing Acquisitions in a Changing Market ● Be vigilant- keep watch on company performance ● Prepayments are encouraged - so is insurance ● *Support pricing and content models that benefit your organization, not the provider* ● Actively collaborate with publishers/influence outcomes

Protect Your Organization and Influence Change ● Charge one key position with knowing the market and monitoring changes ● Seek out opportunities to have an impact on changes to content and services ● Be clear to reps and company leadership regarding expectations

Plan for Today and Tomorrow ● Carefully review license agreements after a merger or acquisition ● Make sure content was not lost/ compare lists ● Plan ahead by purchasing perpetual ownership support Portico and similar initiatives

For Questions or Comments: Michael A. Arthur Head, Resource Acquisition and Discovery University of Alabama Libraries Tuscaloosa, AL 205 -348 -1493 maarthur@ua. edu