An article in the Daily Telegraph today (14 December) has made public the widespread concern within universities at the sudden imposition of a change in business model for ebooks by the publisher Pearson.  It also reveals that this has resulted in a decision by some universities to stop using Pearson ebooks altogether.

The negative impact on students and universities of the changes that Pearson have introduced was highlighted in a number of quotes from SCONUL executive director, Ann Rossiter.

SCONUL has been working with RLUK and Jisc Collections to challenge the company, which has so far resulted in Pearson agreeing to lower their prices.  We will continue to press for a wholesale review of their business model and for this to recognise that access to e textbooks through the library is a key part of academic culture and practice in the UK.

Read the full article here