Allow SCELC to process library orders, invoices, and renewals.

Orders must be processed by SCELC in order for libraries to qualify for consortial pricing and licensing. Invoices are sent to and paid by SCELC. Subscription renewals are coordinated and communicated by SCELC. These procedures are detailed below under “Ordering, invoicing, and renewal procedures.”

Clearly state direct and discounted pricing.

The consortial pricing offered to our libraries must be discounted significantly off the direct-to-library price. SCELC covers our operating costs with a surcharge on the fully discounted price billed to the library, so the combined SCELC price plus surcharge must always provide a discount as compared to a library’s direct cost. Our surcharge is communicated to libraries alongside offer pricing and on SCELC quotes.

FTE-based pricing models are strongly preferred.

FTE-based pricing is the most successful model for SCELC, especially when those FTE tiers address the 80+% of our libraries that serve less than 5,000 student FTE.

Avoid participation-level and first year discounts.

These marketing devices prevent our libraries from receiving accurate quotes or result in large price increases. Instead, we suggest free trial access, demonstrations of your product, and permanent deep discounts for early adopters to generate interest. 

Establish a standard subscription term.

Annual subscriptions to your product can begin on the 1st of any month between July and March. All SCELC libraries’ subscriptions should have the same standard term and renew on the same date.

Extend monthly prorating to new subscribers.

Orders initiated after the standard subscription term begins are prorated on a monthly basis, generally from four (4) to fifteen (15) months to align with the standard subscription term end date. This grants new subscribers access to your resource on the first day of the month after they order it. We calculate the monthly rate based on the cost of an annual term. 

Negotiate a single consortial license with SCELC.

SCELC prefers to sign one license on behalf of all our libraries. When the second SCELC library subscribes to your resource, we review your license vis a vis the SCELC Contract Points and will initiate the negotiation process. Institution-specific amendments or order forms/agreements are usually signed by SCELC as well.

Keep SCELC up-to-date with product pricing and content.

SCELC uses this information to provide accurate quotes to libraries. The pricing you provide SCELC should have a fixed expiration date and be updated annually. Changes to resource content and features should be communicated to us as well.

Ordering Procedures

SCELC has established ordering procedures to benefit both libraries and vendors.

1. The vendor should notify SCELC to process any orders that qualify for a SCELC discount ASAP. If this is your first order, you’ll need to request the link to complete our vendor information form.
2. Upon notification of an order or intent to order (whether from the vendor or directly from the library), SCELC will send the library a final quote (including SCELC fees as a separate line item) within three business days.
3. Once the library confirms the order, SCELC will typically invoice the library within 1-2 weeks.
4. SCELC will notify the vendor of the order confirmation within 3 business days of receipt. Order notification from SCELC will include: Institution, Product, FTE, Term Start ,Term End, Cost, Institutional Contact Name | Email | Institutional IP Range (and additional information as needed).
5. If the vendor needs an order form to be signed, SCELC prefers to sign it on behalf of the library. Please send order forms to invoices@scelc.org.
6. The vendor should always invoice SCELC as the "bill to", with the library as the "ship to". SCELC will pay the invoice on receipt as long as we have already received confirmation from the library.
7. The vendor should send an activation notice or request for further information to the library’s order contact with a cc: to invoices@scelc.org within 1 week of receipt of the order confirmation from SCELC.

Bill to addresses

SCELC
5161 Lankershim Blvd, Suite 250 (2-126)
North Hollywood, CA 91601

invoices@scelc.org

Licensing Services

For over 20 years, SCELC has applied industry expertise to negotiating licensing on behalf of our members.

SCELC's Approach to Licensing

SCELC negotiates licenses that are favorable to both vendors and libraries.

• The obligation for SCELC is agnostic in nature when it comes to negotiation and seeks to put the best agreement in place that is favorable to both vendors and libraries.  
• In this manner, license language and defined terms can become more standardized for the library market. 
• Amendments made to a single Agreement will have the net effect of applying to all subscribing members.  
• Additional benefits to working with SCELC include consolidated invoices and renewal dates; prompt remittance of payment; and additional avenues for communication with libraries on their interests, issues, and needs.

A Single Consortial License

• SCELC can negotiate a centralized license agreement to alleviate the institutional burden of negotiating individual licenses with each institution.  Many of our partnerships require license agreements to incorporate specific terms within.  
• The purpose of a single consortial license agreement is to further articulate the values and priorities in protecting all parties where the licensing of resources is concerned.  
• In addition to identifying the core responsibilities of SCELC and the vendor, a consortial license agreement aims to lay out the license’s scope in terms of restricted and permitted use(s) of a licensed resource or product.  
• The agreement should acknowledge and outline responsibilities for SCELC, the vendor, and libraries.  
• For more detail, please see SCELCs desired contract points.

Licensing Lifecycle

• Initial steps are to set expectations and share goals and timelines.
• A typical license negotiation should take 1-3 months to complete.
• SCELC prefers to work with Google Documents to allow for ease of editing and tracking of changes / versions.
• DOCUSIGN can be leveraged to ensure timely signatures and distribution of fully executed copies. 
• Licensing Services will also work to edit a vendor’s boilerplate agreement. 

Participating Institutions & Compliance

• When agreed upon terms are created and executed, members become automatically subject to the Terms of the Consortial License Agreement. Consortial License Agreements are made available to Participating Institutions via our acquisition software ConsortiaManager.  
• When libraries join SCELC, each library understands and agrees that it will become subject to the Terms & Conditions of a Consortial Agreement.  Please see the Library Agreement Form. 
• SCELC seeks to bring transparency and understanding to the permitted/prohibited uses by the library, as well as faculty and students, so that responsibilities are clearly outlined.

Submit an Offer

Have an offer to make to the SCELC Community? Submit your offer here.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is the Offer Program?

SCELC’s Offer Program presents electronic resources at an exceptional value to a growing network of over 300 Member and Affiliate Institutions.  It is designed to introduce new products as well as extend visibility to existing products.  

How are resources selected for the Offer Program?

The Offer Program reflects the products made available to the greatest number of libraries at the most advantageous price. An offer’s success is generally driven by library demand and broad appeal. 

What determines the Pricing of an Offer?

SCELC licenses products to libraries at a lower rate than an individual library would pay directly to a vendor.  While pricing and discounts vary by vendor and product, the SCELC discounted price is to never exceed the cost a library could negotiate on its own.  

The Business Services Team works closely with each vendor to ensure offer pricing provides the best value and is scaled appropriately for its libraries.  Pricing is most commonly tiered by Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) and/or Carnegie Classification.  As such, the majority of SCELC Member and Affiliate institutions are characterized as small libraries and are typically represented within the smallest FTE tier.  

List and discounted pricing is made available to libraries for analysis and reporting purposes. If  a vendor is unable to provide a discounted price for its products, then SCELC will not pursue an offer.  

What determines a library’s Eligibility for an Offer?

SCELC is an opt-in consortium and our diverse membership includes academic, research and medical institutions. Additional special-interest communities within SCELC include art schools, seminaries, museum libraries and more. 

While SCELC works with many California institutions, many Member and Affiliate libraries are located in other states beyond California. Any restrictions on eligibility are determined by the vendor.

How a Vendor participates?

SCELC now integrates product information from Active Offers into ConsortiaManager – SCELC’s catalog and ordering software.  In this way, SCELC anticipates libraries’ needs and partners with vendors to help bring these products to market at an outstanding value.  As SCELC continues with its integration to ConsortiaManager, libraries are now able to view their individual price quotes and navigate the ordering process with ease.  

Wherever possible SCELC negotiates a consortial license agreement with vendors to alleviate the institutional burden of having to negotiate individual licenses with each subscribing institution.  Orders, invoices, and renewals are also managed by SCELC.

Does the Offer Program provide other opportunities to engage with SCELC libraries?

When working with a specific vendor, SCELC evaluates how well the resource meets the needs of libraries and their user community.  This evaluation is executed by the SCELC staff as well as the Collections and Electronic Resources Committee and other advisory committees.