The Big Deal Is Dead! Long Live The Big Deal!

In many countries, the proclamation "The king is dead, long live theking" heralds the demise of the old monarch and the accession of a new one. Thistradition ensures that the throne never remains empty while facilitating a smoothtransition of power. When the "Big Deal" journal subscription model debuted in1996, few suspected the extent to which academic libraries would come to rely upon it,or that it would become the primary channel by which academic libraries procure academicjournal content. As budget cuts take their toll on libraries, the demise of the Big Dealmodel seems inevitable as the true value of all-inclusive packages becomes less evident.But is it? Collection analysis reveals that many titles included within these Big Dealpackages remain unused or underutilized, significantly decreasing the overall value ofserial subscription packages. SPARC's Big Deal Cancellation Tracker shows an increasingnumber of libraries and consortia forgoing this model in favor of regaining localcontrol over their collections and budgets. Binghamton University Libraries is noexception. Recent curriculum changes and financial developments have prompted us toadopt an ongoing evaluation of our users' information needs and proactively negotiateand cancel deals in order to better serve our constituents. This session described ourfact finding, workflow modifications, and data analysis processes as well as theoutcomes of our adventures in pursuing and planning for the cancellation of Big Dealagreements based on local collection development priorities and serials budgetrealities.