“Big Deal” Journal Subscription Packages: Are They Worth the Cost?

Abstract

We assessed the cost-effectiveness of “Big Deal” journal subscription packages by making four cost-per-article-use analyses. Our results showed an average cost of $6.04 for articles in Big Deal packages to which our library subscribes, $17.19 for articles in the Biomedical Library's journal subscriptions, and $15.35 for articles obtained via Interlibrary Loan. An average pay-per-view cost of $37.72 was calculated by consulting publisher websites. We conclude that “Big Deal” journal subscription packages are cost-effective; however, because of their high cost, they consume a large portion of a library's budget and thus limit a library's flexibility to purchase other resources.