Big Deal Cancellations and Scholarly Publishing: Insights from Faculty and Graduate Student Interviews | Hare | College & Research Libraries

Abstract:  Big Deal cancellations are increasingly undertaken by academic librarians faced with rising subscription costs and shrinking collections budgets. While past research has focused on librarians’ decision-making processes and communication strategies, this study aims to understand the perspectives and experiences of faculty and graduate students with Big Deal cancellations through interviews at three medium-sized Canadian institutions. It considers cancellations as a collaborative process of information exchange, rather than a top-down process. This study’s findings can inform how cancellation projects might be undertaken with enhanced understandings of their lived realities of Big Deals and the current state of scholarly publishing.