Service number 07
Serials and Subscription Management
Subscriptions quietly consume a large share of a library budget and generate most of its administrative work. We run the cycle of renewals, check-in, claims, access problems and usage evidence, so decisions rest on figures rather than habit.
| Usage standards | COUNTER reports where publishers supply them |
|---|---|
| Access methods | IP-range, federated access, proxy configuration |
| Claim cycle | Raised within a defined window of the expected issue date |
| Reporting | Per-title usage and cost-per-use, quarterly |
Section 01
What you receive.
- Consolidated subscription register with holdings and renewal calendar
- Issue check-in and claim handling for print titles
- Access verification for electronic titles, including link resolution
- Usage statistics collected and reported per title
- Renewal recommendation report with cost-per-use figures
Section 02
How the work runs.
- Consolidate subscription records from every source into one register
- Set a renewal calendar with decision dates ahead of each deadline
- Check in issues, raise claims and track supply against entitlement
- Verify electronic access and resolve authentication faults
- Report usage and cost-per-use ahead of the renewal decision
Section 03
Who this is for.
- Libraries with substantial print and electronic subscription budgets
- Institutions inside a consortium arrangement
- Libraries needing usage evidence to justify renewals
Section 04
Questions we are usually asked.
- Do you take over the subscription agent relationship?
- No. The institution keeps its own agent and contracts. We manage the library-side work: the register, claims, access checks and usage evidence.
- What if a publisher does not provide COUNTER data?
- We record that gap explicitly in the report rather than substituting an estimate, and where possible use proxy or link-resolver logs as a secondary indicator.
Section 05
Enquire about serials and subscription management.
Tell us the size of the collection, the systems already in use, and the deadline you are working to. That is enough for a useful first reply.