How do libraries tell the story of Transformative Agreements (TA’s) on their campuses? At many academic libraries, a large share of journal package subscriptions are now coupled with free OA publishing via TA’s. Of course, not all TA’s are worthwhile. Some libraries have rejected TA’s as unsustainable or as reinforcing publisher market power. Furthermore, campus stakeholders do not always understand the library’s efforts or intentions with these agreements, which can limit their value.
This presentation will focus on the efforts of a private R1 university that now has more than a dozen TA’s in place. The presenters will address how they evaluate (and often reject) TA offers, in line with the library’s stated collection strategy priorities and institutional context. Additionally, the presenters will discuss their expansive efforts to build campuswide consensus around TA’s and to ensure that campus faculty understand what these agreements do and do not provide. Lastly, the presenters will describe their work documenting the value of TA’s, including the creation of annual Transformative Agreement ROI reports. Our approach does not assume that TA’s are the right approach for every institution, but the methods that we have developed to communicate costs and value may be broadly useful.
