Auburn University and the University of Alabama System form new agreement with Elsevier for the renewal of the ScienceDirect journal packages

Auburn University and the University of Alabama System have announced that a new agreement with Elsevier for the renewal of the ScienceDirect journal packages has been reached.

The new contract, effective 2022-2026, will benefit the entire State of Alabama as it encompasses all campuses of Auburn University and the University of Alabama. This agreement also covers several other colleges and universities throughout the state that previously held Elsevier ScienceDirect contracts.

The contract provides a reduction in costs for 2022, with fees lower than 2021, for ScienceDirect journals. Additionally, the remaining four years of the contract provide historically low annual inflation rates.

The goal of cost containment for the state’s largest publisher package that supports teaching, learning and research was achieved with no net loss in access or content. Participating libraries will be able to reinvest their savings in other Elsevier content or subscriptions, change their subscribed title lists for ScienceDirect or apply their financial resources to other needs.

Terms of the new license protect author rights, address text and data mining rights and ensure ADA accessibility, as well as preserve perpetual access rights, interlibrary loan and other use permissions critical to the success of academic institutions in the State of Alabama. All other new Elsevier acquisitions or subscriptions during the lifetime of the agreement will benefit from the same terms and low annual cost increases.

Negotiators made every effort to protect information resources vital to higher education in Alabama, expand a growing research enterprise that fosters economic development for the state, curb ongoing inflation costs and constructively negotiate a successful agreement with their long-time publishing partner.