
Sustainable Collections: Use
What does it cost? Journal package pricing for VCU
VCU Libraries is committed to providing our scholarly community with access to materials critical for research and teaching. We want to ensure that our spending commitments align with community needs, that we are responsible stewards of our budget in a rapidly evolving information landscape, and that we contain and control costs wherever possible. In order to do this, we are assembling, evaluating, and sharing some important data about cost, usage, and growth trends for our biggest journal vendor contracts. This will help us assess whether large journal packages, often called “Big Deals”, provide good value and represent a sustainable part of our overall investment in information on behalf of the University.
In the first of several steps to promote openness about our spending, we are releasing the following information, outlining the costs and usage of several large journal packages, which together represent 30.35%, totaling $3,833,271 in fiscal year 2019 of our collections budget. We expect to release more detailed information, including title-level data, on a regular basis.
For more information on this initiative, read our FAQ.
If you have further questions or need more information, please contact Karen Cary at kcary@vcu.edu
Package: Elsevier ScienceDirect Freedom Collection
Year | No. of journals | Cost | Rate of increase | Increase (actual) | % Collections budget | Title Usage Profile |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | 3,079 | $1,668,164.94 | 4.30% | $69,269.80 | 14.74% | No use: 270 1-11 uses: 899 12-51 uses: 626 52+ uses: 1,284 |
2017 | 3,199 | $1,718,560.11 | 3.02% | $50,395.17 | 14.34% | No use: 244 1-11 uses: 876 12-51 uses: 720 52+ uses: 1,359 |
2018 | 3,289 | $1,820,040.24 | 2.32% | $61,547.25 | 14.52% | No use: 269 1-11 uses: 892 12-51 uses: 757 52+ uses: 1,371 |
2019 | 3,352 | $1,822,960.12 | 3.67% | $64,467.13 | 14.57% | No use: 293 1-11 uses: 886 12-51 uses: 748 52+ uses: 1,425 |
2025 (est.) | n/a | $2,302,931.54 | 4.30% | $615,462.11 (cumulative over the decade) |
15.60% | n/a |
Package: Sage Premier
Year | No. of journals | Cost | Rate of increase | Increase (actual) | % Collections budget | Title Usage Profile |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | 867 | $222,750.00 | N/A Start of Package | N/A Start of Package | 1.97% | No use: 19 1-11 uses: 199 12-51 uses: 281 52+ uses: 368 |
2017 | 1,001 | $268,068.00 | 20.34% | $45,318.00 | 2.24% | No use: 45 1-11 uses: 278 12-51 uses: 302 52+ uses: 376 |
2018 | 1,077 | $290,512.69 | 8.37% | $22,444.69 | 2.40% | No use: 27 1-11 uses: 322 12-51 uses: 346 52+ uses: 382 |
2019 | 1,124 | $308,106.18 | 6.06% | $17,593.49 | 2.46% | No use: 0 1-11 uses: 285 12-51 uses: 365 52+ uses: 474 |
2025 (est.) | n/a | $437,054.50 | 6.00% | $189,565.57 (cumulative over the decade) |
2.96% | n/a |
Package: SpringerLink Journals
Year | No. of journals | Cost | Rate of increase | Increase (actual) | % Collections budget | Title Usage Profile |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | 3,363 | $633,351.89 | 7.00% | $42,760.86 | 5.60% | No use: 1,119 1-11 uses: 992 12-51 uses: 748 52+ uses: 504 |
2017 | 3,557 | $749,515.62 | 17.39% | $110,163.73 | 6.20% | No use: 1,078 1-11 uses: 1,218 12-51 uses: 648 52+ uses: 613 |
2018 | 3,349 | $776,451.54 | 4.43% | $32,935.92 | 6.41% | No use: 758 1-11 uses: 1,250 12-51 uses: 715 52+ uses: 626 |
2019 | 3,038 | $848,405.04 | 9.27% | $71,953.5 | 6.78% | No use: 272 1-11 uses: 1,296 12-51 uses: 809 52+ uses: 661 |
2025 (est.) | n/a | $1,021,757.26 | 4.00% | $391,867.87 (cumulative over the decade) |
6.92% | n/a |
Package: Wiley Online Library
Year | No. of journals | Cost | Rate of increase | Increase (actual) | % Collections budget | Title Usage Profile |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | 2,606 | $883,352.00 | N/A Start of Package | N/A Start of Package | 7.81% | No use: 709 1-11 uses: 670 12-51 uses: 588 52+ uses: 639 |
2017 | 2,602 | $914,269.00 | 3.50% | $30,917.00 | 7.63% | No use: 692 1-11 uses: 599 12-51 uses: 579 52+ uses: 732 |
2018 | 2,602 | $946,268.00 | 3.50% | $31,999.00 | 7.82% | No use: 617 1-11 uses: 604 12-51 uses: 607 52+ uses: 774 |
2019 | 1,919 | $910,215.00 | -3.81% | -$-36,053.00 | 7.27% | No use: 0 1-11 uses: 182 12-51 uses: 179 52+ uses: 1,558 |
2025 (est.) | n/a | $1,116,350.48 | 4.00% | $190,061.92 (cumulative over the decade) |
7.56% | n/a |