The University of Houston is a member of the Texas Library Coalition for United Action (TLCUA). The Coalition, comprising more than 40 institutions, has been negotiating journal subscriptions with academic publisher Elsevier for the past year. These negotiations cover journal subscriptions and access to journal content.

The cost of journal subscription packages has been unsustainable for some time. Annual price increases from Elsevier far outpace inflation and flat budgets mean we can’t keep up while maintaining our current collections. We are working together with Texas universities to find a solution.

The Coalition’s goal in negotiations with Elsevier is to reach a successful contract. Key issues in negotiations include:

• Increased faculty control over their own scholarly publications
• Pricing models that are sustainable for strained library budgets in higher education

Achieving a successful contract will include some change in journal access. This may mean UH Libraries purchases access to fewer journals and utilizes our existing interlibrary loan partners for access to some journals. Alternatively, the Coalition may delay signing a new contract, affecting access to new Elsevier content and some historical content. If access to our existing subscription content is lost, we are prepared with ways to get you access to articles you need. Resources such as Reaxys, Knovel, and Scopus are not part of this discussion.

Your support is critical in these negotiations. Share your questions or feedback with us at collections@uh.edu or with Marilyn Myers, associate dean for academic and research services at msmyers@uh.edu. Let us know if you are personally contacted by Elsevier about the TLCUA negotiations.