Today CRKN unveils its updated Licensing Principles, a two-part document that includes Licensing Program Principles and Principles for Negotiations. These Licensing Principles build upon CRKN’s First Principles, which were developed in 2009 to prioritize collaboration, transparency, and consensus-building among CRKN members.
“Our First Principles have served us well through the evolution of CRKN’s licensing program,” says Clare Appavoo, Executive Director of CRKN. “In our 2019-2024 Strategic Plan, our first goal is to Transform Scholarly Communications. To enable transformation, we looked at the foundational approaches that define both the ways we work together as a library community in Canada, and our expectations from our vendors. These updated Principles clearly do just that and formalize our approaches and aspirations for a transformed scholarly communications landscape,” continued Ms. Appavoo.
The updated Principles were developed by members of CRKN’s Content Strategy Committee in a year of significant negotiations with a clear mandate to reduce Big Deal costs, increase open access options, and remove non-disclosure clauses. “The mandate from CRKN members has been clear,” says Dr. Guylaine Beaudry, Vice-Provost, Digital Strategy, and University Librarian at Concordia University, and Chair of CRKN’s Content Strategy Committee. “I am inspired by the future these Principles guide us towards, and I very much look forward to drawing on these Principles to meet our shared goals in Canada and internationally,” continued Dr. Beaudry.
The updated Licensing Principles were drafted by first undertaking a scan of updated principle documents for negotiations and licensing. “In preparing these Principles, we were inspired by the work of colleagues around the world who have boldly articulated a clear path toward sustainable scholarly communications,” states Dr. Beaudry. In particular, the Content Strategy Committee included inspiration from Couperin, JISC, the University of California, MIT Libraries, the Greater Western Library Alliance, and OA2020.
The application of these Principles is effective immediately, and the Principles will be shared with vendors with whom CRKN negotiates. “These Principles are not meant to be abstract,” says Ms. Appavoo, “rather these Principles formalize the way we have been negotiating and collaborating as a consortium, and we are thrilled to have our vision clearly and transparently articulated”.
The CRKN Licensing Principles are available on the CRKN website.
For more information, please contact Rebecca Ross, Senior Director, Strategy and Engagement at rross@crkn.ca or 613-791-8334.