As the library systems role expands in the way libraries deliver their services and content to the users, we started to see giant providers in the market due to the continued acquisition process between publishers and companies working in libraries domain. The challenge today is how can we work together to combat the market monopoly in library systems?
We can all name companies that solely provide indispensable solutions or services that somehow limit our options and control our negotiate abilities. We assisted in the growth of some of them by trusting and allowing access to our local collection metadata.
It has been a trend for the past few years where large companies in the publishing industry acquire smaller ones. And if we, as library professionals, don’t act to tackle this issue, we will end up in a monopolistic market.
Normally, we discuss solutions to the inflation of information resources. We do not, however, talk about the continued increasing cost of information services. As a result, the purpose of this presentation is to shed light on an existing issue that is frequently overlooked, as well as to brainstorm with other information professionals to collaborate on tackling this growing problem.