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Abstract

With Western economies in crisis and sterling radically devalued against the dollar and euro, perhaps it is time for a radical review of the ‘big deal’ model for academic journal purchasing. An exploratory online survey directed at academic librarians in the UK HE community sought to establish whether this dominant purchasing model is still highly valued by librarians, or whether there were aspects which they now found less attractive, particularly when money is tighter. Preliminary findings were reported at the UKSG Annual Conference in March and are expanded upon in this paper. Further work will be undertaken to survey librarians in Europe and North America to see whether any of the comments and concerns raised in the UK have a resonance in the wider HE world.