Background and Questions

Background 

In 2024, BC ELN negotiated a new multi-year bundle consisting of two products, Academic Search and Business Source, as the majority of partner libraries indicated that they saw value in licensing these two products. The team negotiating this new bundle, the Undergraduate Resource Bundle (URB) met with EBSCO throughout the summer of 2023 to negotiate the best possible pricing on behalf of partner libraries. The team started the negotiation process by bringing feedback from the URB Survey, conducted in summer 2023, and comments gathered from libraries into preliminary discussions, and was able to secure an offer for the URB based on the initial commitments from members interested in exploring a bundled approach. BC ELN mitigated much of the impact from the expected reduction of participants, while keeping increases as low as possible over the term.

Details of the 2024-2027 bundle can be found on the Undergraduate Resource Bundle 2024-2027 webpages. 

Questions about the Undergraduate Resource Bundle

When will the current Undergraduate Resource Bundle period end?

The current period of Undergraduate Resource Bundle is set to end on May 31, 2027.

What products are included in the Undergraduate Resource Bundle, and why?

EBSCO’s Academic Search and Business Source are included. Partner libraries made it clear that these foundational resources are essential to supporting students in their early years of post-secondary studies. BC ELN's goal in this instance is to meet undergraduate-level students' broad research needs with reputable academic databases.

Access to supplementary resources previously offered for free of charge as part of the Common Suite deal were also included in the 2024-27 URB subscription. These resources are: MAS Ultra: School Edition, Funk and Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, Military and Government Collection and Primary Search.

When is the deadline to commit to the URB renewal?

BC ELN will ask institutions interested in participating in the URB for an indication of their commitment in principle via survey in June 2026. This is a full year in advance of the URB renewal's actual start date (June 1, 2027) and will allow BC ELN to bring these commitments in principle to EBSCO for negotations, as well as allow institutions to plan their budgets accordingly. Institutions that have indicated their commitment to the 2027-2030 URB will be be asked to indicated their final commitment to the 2027-2030 URB once negotiations have concluded and pricing is available. The URB renewal offer will be broadcast through ConsortiaManager before the current 2024-27 URB ends, likely in early 2027.

Why is it necessary to indicate commitment to the new bundle?

Partner libraries committing to the new bundle in advance allows BC ELN to approach vendor negotiations with concrete numbers for participation, which in turn, helps leverage group subscription power and enables the consortium to obtain the best possible pricing.

Why is BC ELN seeking a multi-year bundle (as opposed to single-year licenses)?

BC ELN’s partner libraries committing to the URB for multiple years provides a guaranteed spend for the vendor and therefore an incentive to consider lower/discounted pricing for the consortium. Partner libraries that participate have the advantage of stable pricing and predictable inflationary increases for several years of budgetary planning.

Was alumni access granted for the URB? 

Alumni Editions access for both Academic Search and Business Source was negotiated in 2023 as an add-on, opt-in agreement for subscribers to both the 2024-2027 URB and for opt-in ASC/BSC subscribers in the same time period. BC ELN will again negotiate for alumni access as an add-on, opt-in agreement for the 2027-2030 renewal. 

Are there upgrades to these products or extra access to other products offered along with the URB?

BC ELN secured consortial pricing for upgrades to both products (Academic Search Complete/Business Source Ultimate) in 2024 and will again negotiate for consortial pricing on these additional upgrades as separate opt-in licenses in the upcoming negotiations.

Questions about the Opt-in (Single Year) Offers

What if my institution doesn't want to participate in the Undergraduate Resource Bundle, but would like to subscribe to either Academic Search or Business Source?

Yes. BC ELN has negotiated pricing for institutions that want to opt in to either Academic Search or Business Source (Complete) for the 2024-27 renewal, and committed at that time to offering the opt-in Academic Search and Business Source licenses alongside all other BC ELN opt-in licenses going forward.

Will there be “known” annual increases for opt-in pricing?

Opt-in offers for Business Source and Academic Search follow the same process as regular annual opt-in renewals. For these renewals, annual inflationary increases are typically negotiated closer to the renewal date. Over the last three years EBSCO’s annual increase has been negotiated in partnership with other Western Consortia. This information is shared with licensing contacts.

In contrast, the URB annual increases are known because vendors are willing to negotiate annual increases for multiple years when institutions commit to multi-year agreements. 

When is the deadline to commit to one of the opt-in offers?

The Academic Search or Business Source single-year licences will be treated like regular product renewals. Offers will be broadcast through ConsortiaManager before the current term of the URB ends, likely in April 2027.