[OPLINLIST] Changes to Ohio Web Library newspapers

[Stephen Hedges]

Recent developments in the newspaper business are going to force some
major changes in the selection of newspapers currently available in the
Ohio Web Library collection.

ProQuest has signed an exclusive contract to sell the content of 85
Gannett daily newspapers beginning July 1; the ProQuest press release
about this new deal is here:
http://www.proquest.com/en-US/aboutus/pressroom/09/20090407.shtml

This means 9 of the 15 newspapers in our current NewsBank "Ohio
Newspapers" collection will soon be exclusive to ProQuest: the Cincinnati
Enquirer, Chillicothe Gazette, Coshocton Tribune, Lancaster
Eagle-Gazette, Marion Star, Port Clinton News Herald, Mansfield News
Journal, Fremont News-Messenger, and Zanesville Times Recorder. NewsBank
will no longer be able to provide them to us after July 1.

The loss of the Enquirer is particularly troublesome, since that is the
third-largest Ohio newspaper. The Libraries Connect Ohio partners
(http://librariesconnectohio.org) therefore contacted ProQuest to request
a quote for replacement of at least some of the Gannett papers in our
collection. ProQuest's official response:

"Due to business circumstances with Gannett content, we are unable to
offer consortia-level discounted pricing for Gannett news titles at this
time. We will reach out to individual libraries in all markets to provide
Gannett title pricing."

In other words, they will not sell to the statewide Libraries Connect
Ohio partners, intending instead to sell directly to individual
libraries.

Meanwhile, the Libraries Connect Ohio partners continue to deal with
state budget cuts and "spending controls" that will affect our ability to
purchase databases next year. At yesterday's LCO meeting, we decided to
rely on our current subscription to EBSCO Newspaper Source for delivery
of major articles from national and Ohio newspapers, and have requested
pricing from NewsBank for complete coverage of the largest Ohio
newspapers (excluding Cincinnati, of course). We hope to have enough
money left in our coffers to be able to afford a few of these, but
probably won't know which ones until late May or June, as we fine-tune
the balance of the Ohio Web Library funding between state and federal
sources.

Libraries that wish to have complete local newspaper content available
online to the public should take steps to purchase this content
themselves after July 1, unless they are served by the Columbus Dispatch,
the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, the Dayton Daily News, or the Toledo Blade
(Ohio Web Library ~might~ be able to provide some of those statewide,
depending on the pricing.) Christine Morris at OHIONET,
christinem at ohionet.org, is willing to negotiate with vendors to arrange
pricing for individual libraries. If you want to deal directly with
NewsBank or ProQuest, I recommend you start by contacting Ren Dimond
(rdimond at newsbank.com) or Barbara Brazis-Lang
(Barbara.Brazis at proquest.com).

Stephen

-- 
Stephen Hedges, Director
Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN)
2323 W. Fifth Avenue, Suite 130
Columbus, Ohio  43204
614-728-5250    AIM: hedgesst