The University of Connecticut Libraries is in the process of an extensive evaluation and review of our e-resource collections. So that everyone involved in collection development (e.g. subject librarians, e-resources librarians, etc.) can have a common vocabulary as we review our e-journal subscriptions, the Electronic Resources Management unit (with help from the Library Society of the World) created this glossary of terms. By request and in the event that this document is useful to others, I am sharing it here.

1. G. Chilton and C. Zhao University of Connecticut July 7, 2015
E-Journal Subscriptions: Glossary of Terms
Term Definition
Access Title A journal title that is accessible with paid fees, but for which access ends once fees are no longer paid. See also
Cross Access.
Annual Access
Fee
A fee paid to continue access to a One-Time Purchase on the vendor/publisher's platform. Typically, the
annual access fees are lower than the initial purchase price. Also known as a Hosting Fee or Continuing Service
Fee.
Available Titles All of a publisher’s available titles including those to which we subscribe, to which we have access, and that
we neither subscribe, nor have access to.
Backfile Older volumes and issues of a journal that we may or may not have access to as part of our
subscription. Backfiles may only be available via a purchase separate from the subscription fees to current
content.
Big Deal When print journals became available online, larger publishers began offering journal packages that included
electronic access to a large portion of the publisher’s Available Titles. The pricing for these bundles were
based on a library’s past spend on print subscriptions from that publisher. “The Big Deal usually allows the
library to cancel paper subscriptions at some savings or purchase additional paper copies at discounted prices.
But the content is, henceforth, ‘bundled’ so that individual journal subscriptions can no longer be cancelled in
their electronic format” (Frazier).
Bridge
Agreement
A limited term amendment to an executed, but expired, license; enacted to afford more negotiation time for a
new license.
Cancellation
Allowance
For journal packages, how many titles or how much of the total spend can be cancelled. Typically, the
cancellation allowance for publisher packages - if available - is noted in the license agreement. Most often
cancellation allowances are a percent of the total subscription fee (e.g. 2 % of the total package fees.)
CLOCKSS A dark archive of scholarly content. Content no longer available from any publisher is freely available.
https://www.clockss.org/clockss/Home
See also LOCKSS and Portico.
Continuing
Service Fee
See Annual Access Fee.
Core Titles See Subscribed Titles.

2. G. Chilton and C. Zhao University of Connecticut July 7, 2015
COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources) is a set of standards for recording and reporting
usage statistics for e-resources. http://www.projectcounter.org/about.html
Cross Access Fee A fee paid to access content for a specific License Term; there is no perpetual access to journals available via
cross access. Access fees are typically for a package of titles and less than it would be for a subscription; they
are analogous to fees paid for access to an aggregate database. Example: Elsevier's Freedom Collection.
Cross Access
Titles
Titles accessible because we pay a cross access fee and/or because we are part of a consortia deal and part of
the deal includes cross access to titles subscribed to by all other libraries in the deal.
Database Model Like a Package Deal, a set subscription fee is paid for a package of pre-determined journals. Usually, no
swapping of titles or cancellations of single journals is permitted. See also Lump Sum and Big Deal.
Embargo A period of time in which content from an e-journal is not available. Typically an embargo impacts the most
recently published content. Embargo periods can be in months (e.g., 3, 6, or 12) or years (e.g., 1 year, 3 years).
FTE Full-time equivalent enrollment. Institutional classification often used to determine subscription or one-time
fees for e-resources and e-journals. (e.g. http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/)
Holdings See Subscribed Titles and Access Title.
Hosting Fee See Annual Access Fee.
ISSN International Standard Serial Number: An internationally agreed on standard number that identifies a serial
publication uniquely. In the U.S. ISSNs are assigned by the Library of Congress and a publication can have
different ISSNs based on format (e.g., print journal, electronic journal)
Jumper A journal that jumps from one publisher to another. See also Transfer Title
License The legal agreement between the publisher and the library and/or the consortia governing the term, fees, use,
access, etc. of e-resources.
License Term The length of time that a license covers (e.g., one year, five years, perpetual).
LOCKSS Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe. A collaborative digital preservation initiative. http://www.lockss.org/. See also
Portico and CLOCKSS
Lump Sum Like a Package Deal or Database Model in which a package of journals is purchased for one fee; title-specific
prices are not included on the journal title list. However, swaps may be allowed. See also Big Deal.
Moving vs. Fixed
Wall Access
A moving wall rolls forward in time, always preventing the most recent years from showing. A fixed wall stops
materials at a particular date, usually because the publisher has their own materials available from that
moment in time. Some publishers do not make recent content available due to concern that making such
content available would hurt print publication sales or because electronic access is exclusively available via

3. G. Chilton and C. Zhao University of Connecticut July 7, 2015
another provider. JSTOR is one example of a product with fixed and moving walls, as is ProQuest's Historical
New York Times. See also Embargo.
One-Time
Purchase
An e-resource that is paid for with one fee for perpetual access. To maintain access via the vendor/publishers'
interface, an Annual Access Fee is typically required.
Order Type The type of e-journal subscription acquired: Package Deal, Title-by-Title, Subscribed Titles only, or Subscribed
Titles + Cross Access. See also Pricing Model.
Package Deal A package of journals that includes a pre-determined list of journals only for a set subscription fee. The
swapping of titles or the cancellation of a single journal is usually permitted. See also Big Deal, Database
Model and Lump Sum.
Perpetual Access The continued access to subscribed content even when a subscription to current content ceases. Also known
as Perpetual Rights. See also Post-Cancellation Access.
Perpetual
License
The continuing right to access Subscribed Titles after the termination of a subscription to current content.
Also, a license with no termination or end date.
Perpetual Rights See Perpetual Access.
PORTICO A membership-supported digital archive that preserves access to e-journals, e-books, and other scholarly
electronic content. http://www.portico.org/digital-preservation/
Post-
Cancellation
Access
Access to Subscribed Titles after subscription cancellation. Post-cancellation access can include online access
via the vendor/publisher’s platform or via storage media (e.g., DVD, external hard drive, etc.) that the
vendor/publisher provides to the library upon cancellation. See also Perpetual Access.
Pricing Model How the pricing is determined for the package. Such as Title-by-Title or Lump Sum.
Renewal
Frequency
How often subscriptions are reviewed and renewed. For most journal subscriptions, renewals occur every 12
months and the Subscription Period is from January to December.
Serial A publication in any format released in continuing installments or successive parts and including numeric or
chronological designations and intended to be continued indefinitely. Serials include periodicals; newspapers;
annuals (reports, yearbooks, etc.); the journals, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, etc., of societies; and
numbered monographic series.
Spend The minimum amount that must be paid, either annually or for License Term.
Standing Order An order placed by a library with a publisher, jobber, or dealer to supply each volume or part of a specific title
or type of publication as published, until further notice. Unlike subscriptions, which must be paid in advance,
standing orders are billed as each volume is shipped. Sometimes used synonymously with continuation order.

4. G. Chilton and C. Zhao University of Connecticut July 7, 2015
Subscribed Titles Titles for which we pay a subscription fee and as a result have Perpetual Access for the volumes and issues for
which we paid subscription fees.
Subscription
Agent
A firm or organization which arranges, at the order of an individual or library, for the regular delivery of serials
as published, and handles the financial records. For example EBSCO, Harrassowitz.
Subscription
Period
The subscription term. Typically 12 months on the calendar year (January through December).
Swap Prior to the annual renewal of a journal package, the taking out of one journal title and replacing it with
another journal title available from the same publisher. In order for the swap to occur, the subscription cost
for the title(s) added must be same or greater than the subscription fee for the title(s) removed.
Swap Allowance The clause of a journal package license describing the terms, conditions, and limits of swapping titles in and
out of the package upon annual renewal.
Title-by-Title A package in which we pay subscription fees on a title-by-title basis. Typically, journal titles can be Swapped
provided that the total subscription fees or Spend remains the same or higher.
Transfer Title A title that moves from one publisher to another. See also Jumper.
Unsubscribed
Titles
Titles to which we do not subscribe but to which we may have access to as part of a negotiated deal,
particularly a consortium deal. See also Cross Access Titles.
Cited Sources & Additional Information
Emery, J. and Stone, G. (n.d.) TERMS: Techniques for Electronic Resource Management. Retrieved from: https://library3.hud.ac.uk/blogs/terms/
Frazier, K.. (2001) The librarians' dilemma: Contemplating the costs of the "big deal." D-Lib Magazine. 7(1). Retrieved from:
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/march01/frazier/03frazier.html
LIBLICENSE. (6 January 2012). Licensing Vocabulary. Retrieved from: http://liblicense.crl.edu/resources/licensing-vocabulary/
Parker, K. (24 March 1999). Electronic Terminology for Acquisitions. Retrieved from:
http://www.library.yale.edu/ecollections/ETerminology.html
Reitz, J. M. (2014) ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science. Retrieved from: http://www.abc-
clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_about.aspx

5. G. Chilton and C. Zhao University of Connecticut July 7, 2015
University of Arizona School of Information Resources & Library Science. (2013). The Information Professional's Glossary. Retrieved from:
http://sirls.arizona.edu/resources/glossary.html
University of Mississippi Libraries Bibliographic Services. (12 October 2009) Serials Glossary. Retrieved from:
http://www.lib.usm.edu/techserv/ser/glossary.html
Thank You!
Many thanks to, Stephanie Willen Brown, Stephen Francoeur, Christina Pikas, Catherine Pellegrino, and Dorothea Salo (Library
Society of the World) for their review and suggestions that improved this glossary immensely.