Removal of e-books from Limerick libraries hits students’ pockets

LIMERICK librarians have condemned the removal of thousands of e-books from a publisher’s database that has led to many students being unable to access course material.

In August, publisher Wiley removed more than 1,300 e-books, many of which were recommended by faculty to their students as key books on course reading lists, from these collections.

Ciara McCaffrey, Deputy Librarian at the Glucksman Library, University of Limerick (UL) has condemned the move in the midst of what she termed as a “global crisis” in e-book publishing.

“The timing of this most recent action taken by Wiley Publishers at the start of the academic year and in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis that is hitting students and their families particularly hard is particularly objectionable,” she said on the impact the move has had on UL students.

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Her condemnation was echoed by librarians’ industry-wide in Ireland who in a collective statement expressed their “grave satisfaction” at the publisher.

They said: “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.”

The statement objected to the publisher’s new business model, which is to sell its books as e-textbooks on a subscription model based on class sizes for “exorbitant fees.”

It also lamented the fact that academic libraries pay hundreds of thousands of euros from public funds per year to ensure students have access to the books they need.

“Removing access to core e-book titles at the start of the educational year is a slap in the face for students, faculty and librarians,” Ciara said.

In response, Wiley contacted Limerick Live to issue a statement, informing that Wiley notified its library aggregator partner ProQuest in June 2020 that approximately 1,380 e-books would transition out of its Academic Complete online digital library.

"To allow time for ProQuest to inform its institutional customers about the change and to allow librarians ample time to explore alternatives for their institutions, this transition took place on August 31, 2022. Wiley is working to provide solutions to those customers who experienced inconvenience as a result of the transition.

"ProQuest's Academic Complete collection continues to include a robust collection of Wiley e-books. An additional 1,380 were added in June, bringing Wiley’s e-book count to 12,267.  Wiley remains committed to providing students with affordable e-books through our inclusive access and course materials affordability programs," the statement said.