Budget pressures on Canadian university libraries force them to leave many Canadian-published books out of their collections

June 25, 2015

TORONTO, ONTARIO—(June 25, 2015)— In a recent quick survey, 11 Canadian-owned higher education publishers searched for 55 of their books in 10 university libraries, in both print and ebook versions. They chose Canadian-authored titles published in 2012 and 2013 that one would expect to find in the libraries.

The results were surprising. In a system that has broadly declared a preference for ebooks, the titles were in aggregate found only 20 percent of the time in digital form. The titles were found in the collections in either print or digital form, or both, 69 percent of the time. The titles were missing altogether 31 percent of the time.

Considering that participating Canadian publishers selected the surveyed titles as those most likely to be included in Canadian collections, students and researchers who rely on these libraries are missing out on Canadian-published works.

A letter sent on 11 May 2015 from the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) to their publisher vendors puts the blame squarely on budgets overstrained by the US dollar exchange rate. It states that US dollars account for about 90 percent of the libraries’ purchasing. American and international purchasing appears, therefore, to put pressure on the libraries’ ability to prioritize and maintain their Canadian collections. Some libraries use American suppliers even when buying works published in Canada, losing opportunities to spend Canadian dollars.

The Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) survey suggests more questions than it answers. For example, it suggests that publishers selling on popular e-distribution platforms such as ebrary and EBSCO achieve stronger representation of their ebook editions in the libraries’ collections, raising the question of why some publishers avoid those vendors. The reasons for not participating in those channels may include business terms.

In general, the issues raised need further study and discussion.

The clearest conclusion suggested by the study is that Canadian publishers and Canadian university libraries need to open a stronger, continuous dialogue in order to understand each others’ needs. Timely access to Canadian-published resources by Canadian students and researchers appears to depend on it.

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The ACP is the national voice of Canada’s independent English-language book publishers. The ACP supports its 120 members in creating an economically sustainable Canadian-owned and -controlled publishing industry. Visit www.publishers.ca for more information about the association’s programs and mandate.

For further information on the survey, including the collections surveyed, please contact:
Glenn Rollans, Chair, ACP Higher Education Committee, glenn.rollans@brusheducation.ca |780-989-0910 x103
Carolyn Wood, Executive Director, carolyn_wood@canbook.org | 416-487-6116 x222