Subscription Cancellations & Additions

The financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on The University of Toledo resulted in significant budget cuts across all colleges and departments for fiscal year 2020-2021 (July 1, 2020-June 30, 2021). Unfortunately, University Libraries was no exception. In addition to operating budget and staffing cuts, our subscription expenditures budget was reduced by 14% from the previous fiscal year. Total subscription expenditures for FY2020-2021 were $2,966,891, down from $3,453,726 in FY2019-2020.

After taking annual subscription inflation into account, we initially estimated having to cancel approximately $550,000 in resources.  However, the final amount turned out to be substantially less though still significant: $400,750. This was because many publishers kept their prices flat or annual increases lower than usual due to recognition of the widespread and severe economic impact of COVID-19 on higher education. In addition, OhioLINK was able to successfully renegotiate a number of existing agreements with publishers that reduced members' anticipated cost-sharing amounts for FY2020-2021.

OhioLINK was also able to add five new resources at the beginning of calendar year 2021 thanks to a one-time award of $2.5 million from the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) program.  GEER was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by the U.S. Congress in March 2020.  See "Additions" box at the bottom of this guide for a list of these new resources.

See "Cancellations" box directly below for the final list of resources cancelled for FY 2020-2021. All cancellations were for local (i.e., non-OhioLINK) products.  Our Collection Services Unit and librarian subject specialists made every attempt possible to retain core essential resources in all of the academic disciplines that need the Libraries' support. However, we acknowledge and regret that our users have lost access to a substantial number of important and unique resources. We hope to reinstate at least some of these subscriptions in the near future.

Please direct any questions or comments you may have regarding these cancellations and/or new OhioLINK additions to eresources@utoledo.edu.  We welcome the opportunity to respond and to discuss how we are managing our collection resources during these challenging times.

(Last updated: 8.30.21)

(Last updated: 1/28/21)

(Last updated: 1/27/21)