Publisher Partnerships

The British Library’s aim is to facilitate researcher access to information through our varied products and services. We are constantly seeking closer partnerships with publishers to enable us to do this efficiently and to develop shared revenue streams. The British Library has over 10,000 registered customers worldwide, as well as many customers who use our services on an ad hoc basis. Our strength is the ability to provide copyright fee-paid articles from many of the world’s publishers from a single point.

How can the British Library partner with you?

a) We provide a one-stop shop for our customers to purchase ad hoc material, single copies or multiple reprints, generating copyright fees for the publisher and reducing the administration overheads for the customer.

b) We hold the largest collection of material in the world, which means that our digitisation team can provide a single service point for backfile digitisation and collaboration with your partner for value-added services.

How does a direct licence benefit you?

New distribution channels for material via British Library services and approved information brokers
Quarterly payment of copyright fees direct from the British Library including detailed reporting of supplied copies
You can set your copyright fees to reflect the value you place on your content, ensuring subscriptions are not jeopardised
Develop relationships and contacts via the world’s biggest document supply service
A swift and efficient multiple copy service
A separate safe store for published content.

Why does the British Library need a direct publisher licence?

We use purchased material to support our Document Supply Service. Permissions to produce licensed copies are granted either via the CLA (Copyright Licensing Agency) or directly with publishers. The CLA licence is mandated by publishers and covers copying from printed content that the Library subscribes to. It allows one copy to be made for each request. The CLA has reciprocal agreements with all the major regional rights organisations (such as CCC).

A direct licence:

Enables the use of electronic sources to make single and multiple copies of articles.
Permits access to electronic material in the British Library Reading Rooms.
Supports the use of header data in the library’s Electronic Table of Contents service.
Forges a closer working relationship with you.

What does setting up a direct licence involve?

If you are interested in setting up an agreement please contact our Publisher Relations department. The next step is for a British Library Licensing Manager to contact you to discuss licensing requirements. On receipt of a signed licence, the Library can start ingesting your electronic data. A direct licence requires the setting up of an electronic feed of journal data. Content would be stored on a secure server. The Library is currently ingesting the content of many major STM publishers.

What sort of multiple copies service can we provide?

Many customers require multiple copies of articles to be included in information packs and other secondary information sources. The British Library can provide these articles within 24 hours to customers when licensed to do so. We use a secure DRM system to ensure that only the number of copies that have been licensed are downloaded.

How can we help you digitise your content?

Our extensive collection of print journals means that we can also help with the digitisation of your journal content. Whether you want us to manage the whole process for you, or you simply have missing issues, we can provide a cost-effective and efficient service.