American University Library - For a Fistful of Dollars: The Real Story of "Free" Library Resources

For a Fistful of Dollars: The Real Story of "Free" Library Resources

"For a Fistful of Dollars" was written and designed by American University Serials Librarian Claire Dygert and Reference and Instruction Librarian Stacey Marien, in cooperation with the American University Library Exhibits Team.

This exhibit was designed to bring into perspective the true cost of the electronic resources that many users consider to be "free," simply because these electronic indexes, databases, and collections are accessible to students, faculty, and staff from any computer linked to the World Wide Web.

The Real Story of Free Library Resources

Close-ups of the Exhibit

Feedback on the Exhibit

The Real Story of Free Library Resources

The 1980s ushered in technologies that have had a profound impact on the way libraries make information available. Personal computers began to proliferate, and CD-ROMs were introduced. The most powerful revolution in electronic publishing occurred with the emergence of the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s. Within a few years of its appearance, the Web surpassed print and CD-ROM as the favored medium for reference tools such as periodical indexes, statistical databases, and collections of full-text articles.

While these new technologies allow users to do in minutes research that used to take hours, the transition from print to digital resources comes at a huge expense to libraries.

Close-ups of the Exhibit

Many students are surprised to learn that web-based library databases are not in fact free. The exhibit showed the cost of electronic resources using "real world" examples.

(The LexisNexis Academic database mentioned above provides full text access to national and international newspaper and magazine articles, case law, medical journal articles, and corporate financial information as well as polling data, biographical information, an almanac, quotation resources and much more, costs American University Library $12,000 per year.)

The left panel provided the opening statement for the exhibit...the real story behind "free" library resources (see text above).

The right panel showed the high cost of print resources. The first journal (red cover), Teaching and Teacher Education, costs $815 per year. The second, Journal of Applied Physics, comes in at $3577 per year. The third, Marine Biology, costs the library $4482 per year.

Journals to support scholarly research and the university curriculum can be expensive. Since 1986, journal costs have increased an average of 9% each year. If this rate of inflation continues, academic libraries will pay on average 1774% more for journal content by the year 2020 than they did in 1986.

Journal Costs: Current Trends & Future Scenarios for 2020 by Martha Kyrillidou, Senior Program Officer for Statistics and Measurement, Association of Research Libraries (ARL).

Although print journals themselves may be expensive, the equipment required to view them is either free or relatively inexpensive. This section of the exhibit case illustrated that someone with perfect vision can read a journal for free, but if an individual needs glasses to read that can add $175.

In order for users to read the online counterparts of journals the library has had to build and maintain a technological infrastructure that requires continual upgrading. American University Library currently supports more than 200 personal computers connected to the Internet by high speed T1 and T3 lines. These cost $600 to $1400 each plus $50/month (personal computer with a DSL Internet connection).

In addition to the technology necessary to deliver electronic versions of research tools, licensing fees for the tools themselves are far more expensive than traditional print subscriptions. For example, the annual license for Web-based delivery of Public Affairs International Service bulletin (PAIS) is more than three times the cost of an annual subscription to the print version.

"Real World" Comparisons

According to Bride's Magazine, the average cost of the dream wedding is $19,000. If the happy couple is willing to cut the guest list they can have their dream wedding OR they can contribute $15,000 to the library to get a year's worth of access to all the First Search databases, including WorldCat.

A family of four can take a two-week African Safari for $18,000 (airfare not included) OR you can add the plane tickets and have the yearly cost of the science database SciFinder at $32, 450.

For $1140/month or $13,680 a year, you can rent a one-bedroom, 700 square foot apartment in Glover Park OR you can pay the Library's yearly subscription to the major business database, ABI/Inform at $11,000 a year.

A Lexus or Lexis-Nexis? For $36,000 you can purchase a 2002 Lexus GS 300 four-door sedan OR you can pay for access to Lexis-Nexis Academic for three years. At the end of three years, you'll own the Lexus but will still have to make yearly payments to get access to Lexis-Nexis.

Looking to buy some jewelry? $9200 will get you a pearl, sapphire and ruby necklace on Sothebys.com OR you can research Sothebys using the electronic resource Business and Company Research Center. The yearly cost for this business database is $10,000.

For $6300 a year, you can research your topic using the library's most popular database, ProQuest General OR for that price, you and a friend can buy season's tickets to the Washington Wizards--the $75 seats.

For $78,000 you and a friend can take a trip of a lifetime by flying around the world on a private jet excursion OR you can have access to the premier citation database, ISI Web of Knowledge for $76,000. Just remember you have to take that vacation every year to equal the library's annual expense for this resource.

Accessing Electronic Resources : We're Checking IDs and IPs

Although access to the electronic resources on the library's ALADIN Web gateway appears seamless - just like clicking on any free Web site - in fact, the library pays annual licensing fees to the vendors of these resources. To make sure that only valid university users are able to access these paid sites, the library provides the vendor a numerical "IP" (Internet Protocol) address that identifies the user as coming from a computer on an American University network.

American University faculty, students, and staff may also used licensed electronic resources from any off-campus computer connected to the World Wide Web. When not on a university network, however, AU users must provide authenticating information, such as social security number, AU identification number, or library barcode number before being granted access. This ability to access electronic resources from home computer, office desktop, or laptop, makes it possible for AU users to complete sophisticated research around the world.

Feedback on the Exhibit

"Interesting exhibit. However, we all recognize the library is not 'free'; we either pay for DC (or state) libraries in taxes or the AU library in tuition/service charges." -Anonymous

"...raise the fees or have Ladner appropriate monies from elsewhere. Tuition is high enough...but (yes, we know) we need these services. Nice exhibit, though!" -Anonymous

Exhibitors' response:

"In response to the previous comments about paying high tuition...The library has not had an increase in its budget for several years. This means a decrease in buying power and we are unable to keep up with the inflation of information resource costs. The tuition at AU is high but the library does not make the decisions on what the tuition is being spent on. We developed this exhibit to highlight the actual costs of electronic resources."

"FABULOUS!!! Raise the library's budget!" -Anonymous"Very interesting display, puts the dollars in perspective." -Anonymous"While I appreciate your effort in dealing with limited resources it is inconceivable...why Ben Ladner does not provide more money for the library from AU's resources. The library, after all, should be the heart of any university--and this one has its clear limitations!" -Anonymous

"Great exhibit. No, libraries are not free and getting more costly to run (from a library administrator and parent!)" -Anonymous