British Online Archives (BOA) have been accepted onto a new framework with Jisc, which is geared towards selling BOA’s resources at a discounted rate to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the UK, helping them to achieve massive savings on behalf of the sector.
The initial 2-year framework acts as a vehicle which allows institutions access to static digital archival collections under a group purchasing schemes. The more products that are bought per publisher by any institution over the course of an academic year, the lower the price for those participating.
British Online Archives, (BOA) who are based in East Ardsley, Wakefield, are the primary source publisher. They build upon a long and illustrious history of archival publishing and preservation that stretches back almost seventy years, operating under its parent trading company, Microform Academic Publishers.
Home to over eighty digitised primary source collections, BOA supports the research of university students and academics all over the world, through the scanning and digital distribution of primary sources. They hold 3 million records covering 1000 years of world history, from politics & warfare to slavery & revolution.
The Jisc digital archive collections group purchasing framework, aims to support HEIs with a more efficient, coordinated and transparent approach to the acquisition of digital archival collections. It leverages institutions’ collective purchasing power to lower costs and the principle “The more products are bought, the lower the price”.
David Sarsfield, Head of Library Sales at British Online Archives says of the scheme:
“As an independent academic publisher based in the UK, it is crucial BOA builds a brand that is both relatable and trustworthy within its own territory. Being accepted onto the framework will greatly help with this process. Speaking regularly with university librarians and acquisition specialists, it is clear that budgets are getting tighter throughout what is an uncertain period. Providing Jisc member institutions with the opportunity to purchase our collections at significantly discounted rates – waiving access fees in the process – further demonstrates our shared commitment to granting access to high quality resources at an affordable price.”
Karen Colbron Digital Content Manager at Jisc commented:
“For libraries, digital archival collections of primary resource material are an important complement to traditional resources like journals and books, but budgets are stretched so they find it difficult to purchase these often-expensive content resources. The group purchasing scheme for digital archival collections presents an opportunity for UK higher education institutions to lower the cost of acquiring content, so researchers, teachers and learners can all enjoy access to a wider range of resources and libraries can achieve more with less”
