Irish Librarians condemn publisher Wiley’s removal of hundreds of titles from ebook collections – Library Association Of Ireland

"Irish Librarians and library-related organisations wish to express our grave dissatisfaction at the sudden withdrawal by Wiley publishers of over one thousand titles from key ebook collections to which many academic libraries subscribe.  On 31st of August 2022 Wiley abruptly removed more than 1,300 ebooks, many of which were recommended by faculty to their students as key books on course reading lists, from these collections. Electronic access to these titles was procured by libraries on behalf of their institutions in good faith and in good time for the new academic year.  However, Wiley removed these books from already-subscribed services without making any efforts to inform academic libraries that pay hundreds of thousands of Euros from public funds per year to ensure students have access to the books they need.

We condemn Wiley’s lack of consultation with libraries, the suddenness of this move and the timing which has caused high levels of disruption at the beginning of the new academic year.  Libraries have had to embark on time-consuming efforts to urgently liaise with faculty, amend reading list collections, find alternatives, get pricing information and investigate new procurement options, all at a time when we should be orientating new students who are settling in to the first normal academic year after an extremely difficult period during the pandemic.  Ciara McCaffrey, Deputy Librarian at the University of Limerick said: “This is a disgraceful action by one of the largest publishers in the world with annual revenues in excess of $US2 billion. Removing access to core ebook titles at the start of the educational year is a slap in the face for students, faculty and librarians.  We are desperately trying to sort out the mess it has caused when we should be focusing on ensuring our students get off to the best start possible.” ..."