A Guide to NESLi2
What is NESLi2?
NESLi2 is the UK's national initiative for providing
access to electronic journals on behalf of the higher and further education
and research communities. It's an initiative of the Higher Education
Funding Council for England, on behalf of all the higher education funding
bodies, and is run by JISC Collections, a company owned by the Funding
Council.
NESLi2 allows many thousands of researchers and students around the UK to
have desktop access to large numbers of scholarly and academic journals
Why is the initiative called NESLi2?
The original NESLI (National Electronic Site Licence Initiative) commenced
in 1997 and ran until 2003. Following a review of the initiative, a second
phase, NESLi2, commenced in 2004.
Where can I access information on NESLi2?
The NESLi2 website, at http://www.nesli2.ac.uk/, gives a wide range
of information on the initiative, both for librarians and publishers, as
well as details of the publishers participating in the scheme. Part of the
website is a secure confidential area which is only available to the NESLi2
‘Representatives' at each university or college library, and where full
details of publisher agreements are made available.
Which titles are accessible and which publishers are involved in
NESLi2?
The e-journals that are accessible to users are those published by the
leading major scholarly publishers who have agreements with JISC. Libraries
at the universities and colleges include the titles in their catalogues or
in other indexes which link users from references to the articles. A list
of the publishers with whom there are agreements for 2007 can be seen at
the NESLi2 website. The site also gives details of publisher agreements in
earlier years.
How many e-journals are available in the initiative?
For 2007, some 6841 electronic journals are now accessible - published by
19 commercial and society publishers and university presses. They provide
access to tens of thousands of articles. A large number of the journals are
the leading titles in their fields.
Who can have access to the journals?
Electronic journals in NESLi2 can be accessed by all authorised users at
each of the universities or colleges that decide to participate in an
agreement that the Negotiation Agent has reached with a publisher. Access
is available on site but also remotely by way of Athens authentication
systems or by using user names and passwords.
How do they access the journals?
All publishers will have loaded the IP (Internet Protocol) numbers of the
subscribing institutions, so that staff and students can be linked
automatically from their library OPAC or internet search to the articles in
the journals. For off-campus access, users can gain access by way of their
Athens number, or by username and password when offered by the publishers.
Who negotiates with publishers?
JISC Collections has outsourced the role of ‘NESLi2 Negotiation Agent'
to an independent company called Content Complete Ltd
(CCL). CCL negotiates with those publishers identified by UK
universities by way of a survey. It was selected following a formal
tendering process. The company has handled NESLi2 negotiations with
publishers since June 2003.
CCL is only responsible for NESLi2 negotiations which cover electronic
journals and is not involved in negotiations for other electronic resources
such as databases and e-books. These are handled by the JISC Collections.
CCL works very closely with JISC Collections and with the JISC Journals
Working Group which oversees the management of NESLi2.
Where are the journals are held?
Are the journals held centrally at JISC? No, all journal content is held
either on the publishers' own servers or on the platforms of third
party companies with whom the publishers have agreements. These include
organisations such as Ingenta, MetaPress, Ebsco EJS or SwetsWise.
Librarians will have set up links to these platforms so that users can
easily access the journal articles.
Can libraries choose which NESLI2 agreements to participate
in?
NESLi2 is an ‘opt-in' initiative, so libraries can review each of the
agreements that CCL has negotiated and decide which ones they wish to join.
How are electronic journals priced?
Publishers have their own models for pricing access to electronic journals.
In most cases NESLi2 works with these models, but always seeks to obtain
the best terms in regards to prices and access arrangements. Increasingly
publishers' prices for e-journals are based on sizes of institutions
and JISC has created a classification of all NESLi2 institutions using
‘Bands' (the JISC Bands) and these are used by many of the publishers
participating in NESLi2.
How are orders and payments to publishers handled?
For most of the agreements negotiated within NESLi2, libraries place their
orders, and make their payments, directly with the publishers (or via their
chosen subscription agent). However, where it has been possible to
negotiate an improved price from publishers in return for centralised
payment, then libraries' orders and the associated central payments are
handled by the NESLi2 Negotiation Agent on behalf of the libraries.
What happens to print journals?
Institutions can choose whether they wish to continue to receive their
subscriptions in print in addition to the online access they receive
against their NESLi2 order. All offers give Institutions the option of
renewing or cancelling their print subscriptions depending on their
requirements and whether they are ready to move to online-only.
What is the NESLi2 Model Licence?
There is a NESLi2 ‘Model' Licence, available to view at the NESLi2
website, which is used as the contractual basis of the agreements with
publishers. This addresses all the issues that are important for both the
NESLi2 libraries and for publishers. The Model Licence is regularly updated
in the light of relevant developments both in the academic institutions and
in electronic publishing. This licence is signed by each subscribing
institution and the publisher. A summary guide to the main elements of the
Model Licence is also available at the NESLi2 website.
Does NESLi2 also include databases and e-books etc?
NESLi2 only covers electronic journals. JISC Collections negotiates with
many publishers for other types of electronic resources including databases
and e-books. The JISC Collections website is at
http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/
What is the JISC Journals Working Group (JWG)?
The Journals Working Group (JWG) is one of a number of Working Groups set
up by JISC. The JWG comprises a group of librarians who represent the
diverse range of institutions eligible for NESLi2 deals. They provide a
range of expertise and advice to the Negotiation Agent and have ultimate
responsibility for the NESLi2 initiative. Details of members may be seen at
the NESLi2 website.
How are libraries informed of the NESLi2 agreements with
publishers?
A list of publishers with whom there are agreements in 2007 is available at
the NESLi2 website. The site also gives details of agreements over the last
6 years.
The NESLi2 Negotiation Agent provides librarians at
eligible institutions with a monthly report on the progress of its
negotiations with publishers; this is only available to the nominated
librarians and is kept confidential. The Negotiation Agent also informs the
libraries when an agreement has been reached with publishers and makes a
detailed ‘offer' available on the ‘secure' area of the website for
libraries to consider. A closed listserv, lis-nesli-reps is also available
for discussing matters relating to the initiative.
What can authorised users do with the e-journals?
Users of the e-journals can search and electronically save and print out
copies of individual articles for their own use. They can usually also
incorporate some of the material in course packs or presentations etc.
Publishers generally own the copyright of much of the material they
publish, so it is advisable to seek guidance from librarians on how
electronic articles may be used.