Over the past few years, the Library implemented and subsidized a pilot project to allow single, pay-per-view access to non-subscribed Wiley content. This overview describes the service and summarizes best practices for use based on project outcomes.
What is the Wiley Article Select Token service?
Wiley’s Article Select Token service is a pay-for-view option that allows users instant, 24/7 access to non-subscribed content seamlessly. Periodically, the Library purchases a set amount of tokens, which allows any authorized user from one of our reported campus IP addresses to “spend” a single token for a single journal article/book chapter/unit. To make access as easy as possible, we implemented the least restrictive control option. Users can seamlessly download Wiley content without any intervention by staff.
A user will see this message if an Article Select Token is required: “Select the confirm option to access the material. All users at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas will have access to this material for 24 hours.”
What material is available through the Wiley Article Select Token service?
- Journal back files collection (pre-1997 content for 1,600+ journals)
- Over 18,000 online books
- 185 major reference works
- Current Protocols Laboratory Methods
Selected journals and reference works are specifically excluded from this service due to third party societies’ or publishers’ restrictions.
What “best practices” can users take to help conserve available Wiley tokens?
Since the Wiley Article Select Token service requires Library budgetary support (average token fee is $19.00), we have identified a few best practice guidelines based on behavioral patterns identified during the pilot project.
- Download your article/chapter/unit and save it locally once you confirm use through a token. Downloading ensures that you won’t need to use a second or third token to re-access the same content at some future date.
- Consider using ILL (interlibrary loan) If you need multiple chapters from a book. A single token allows access to a single chapter. Compare the cost of five requests using routine interlibrary loan ($25.00) versus the cost of the same five requests using the token service ($95.00).
- Try to coordinate access if you know that multiple users will need access to the same material. A single token provides unlimited concurrent user access to material for a 24-hour period.
Next steps for the Library:
The Wiley Article Select Tokens pilot period has provided indisputable evidence of both user need and campus cost benefit. The breadth of content being used is exceptional, and users have embraced the easy accessibility and speed of this service. We’ve been extremely pleased with the outcomes to date. We expect to spend less than the subscription costs that would be involved to add requested materials, and users gain immediate access to an expanded amount of content.
We will continue to assess whether this approach could serve as an effective long-term, supplementary (and economical) collection strategy to the expanding number of expensive materials that are routinely requested.
If you have any questions or feedback about this pilot, please contact Mori Lou Higa at mori.lou.higa@utsouthwestern.edu or 214 648-2989.
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